On 3 December, World Day for People with Disabilities, the first stage of the Jamba Prizma, a year-long community-building programme, debuted. For some time now, the Jamba team has been thinking that it would be great to bring the Jamba community together from time to time. We already held a similar one at CEU in the summer, where we came together to connect, play and discuss in a completely barrier-free way, and the feedback was clearly very positive. So there was no question that we would like to bring the Jambos back together again, because in addition to having a great time, we exchanged a lot of useful information, which can be a huge resource.
The event began with a screening of the documentary Crip Camp, followed by a round table discussion to round off the evening. Crip Camp tells the story of Camp Jened, a camp for disabled teenagers in 1970s America. The camp was founded in the 1950s by a handful of volunteers who, inspired by Woodstock, created an environment where it finally didn’t matter if you had a physical disability, special needs or were marginalised. Here, at last, not only did none of the campers have to be ashamed, but they could enjoy life surrounded by plenty of humour and a genuinely accepting environment. The life they really deserve. Unfortunately, the camp closed, but many campers carried on the spirit and approach and became activists for an inclusive society, fighting for equal treatment with impressive perseverance and courage.
The film is inspiring and tells the story of activism in a very exciting way, so it could serve as a starting point for the roundtable discussion. When planning the roundtable discussion, it was important to involve several organisations working with minority groups. Budapest Pride delegated Máté Hegedűs, the Uccu Roma Integration Foundation delegated Judit Ignácz, the Haver Jewish Cultural Education Foundation delegated Julia Dés, and our activist guest representing people with disabilities was Zóra Molnár, a Jamba staff member. (Originally Dani Csángó was supposed to come from Freekey, but unfortunately he had to cancel due to illness.)
The discussion – although we touched on many difficulties and challenges – was generally good-humoured and sensitive to each other’s problems and situations. The audience was part of it, actively involved with their questions and thus becoming active participants in the social discourse.
