Schroten: Commitment to people with disabilities in politics

The federal elections are just around the corner - and with them the direct opportunity to give people with disabilities a stronger political voice in Switzerland, because they are severely underrepresented in the legislative and executive branches at all levels. Inclusion cannot be achieved in this way. This is precisely what the awareness campaign developed by Pro Infirmis and Jung von Matt with the claim "Get used to it" alludes to.

The storytelling agency Schroten and the production company Mattogrosso enrich the campaign with different film content on the content level. In four video portraits lasting several minutes, endurance athlete Celine van Till, event organizer and politician Tobias Fankhauser, actress Miriam Kotlaris and autism expert Matthias Huber answer the question of how political and social realities shape the barriers in their everyday lives.

Ableism, self-determination law, hurdles

Accompanying this, the professional paracyclist and reigning world champion in the single pursuit Flurina Rigling presents discursively anchored contributions at the intersection of politics, inclusion and her own life reality as a person with disabilities in a ten-part social media series. The videos covered topics such as Ableism, the Zurich Self-Determination Act, or the hurdles for people with disabilities in political participation.

"The aim of the content campaign is to depict the realities of life for various people with disabilities," explains Fabienne Widmer, campaign manager at Pro Infirmis. "Schroten and Mattogrosso have succeeded in conveying an impression of how diverse the realities and thus also the challenges are that people with disabilities face on a daily basis. It is therefore essential that they are better represented in Bern in order to finally get closer to an inclusive society in this country."

Around 1.7 million people with disabilities live in Switzerland. They make up 22 percent of the population. Currently, however, only two parliamentarians share their experiences. Pro Infirmis is actively involved in the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD). People with disabilities are still clearly disadvantaged in many areas of life - be it in the labor market, in the education system, in self-determined living or even in politics. Schroten's videos convey these abstract contexts on a human level.

Responsible at Pro Infirmis: Fabienne Widmer (Co-Head of Communications), Annina Sele (Campaign Coordination), Sandro Imhasly (Responsible for Photos & Social Media). Responsible for grist: Adrian Schräder (overall responsibility), Sebastian Sele (editing & concept), Flurina Rigling (moderation and editing), film production: Mattogrosso GmbH, Benjamin Weiss (producer), Marc Bachmann (camera), Annika Fausch (editing), Roland Frei (sound mixing).