NoisyVision: together «beyond the wall»

Low vision, hearing loss, retinitis pigmentosa, Usher syndrome, Stargardt syndrome: the NoisyVision association wants to explain these words. He does not do it with so many speeches: it is the lives that speak. On his website, many tell about their situation of visual or hearing impairment. "Suddenly I can no longer drive the car, the bike and the forklift. I lose my job "writes one of them, in the account of his coexistence with Usher syndrome, a rare generic disease that causes deafblindness" Having become aware of the situation, I had to make a choice: to start a new life ". A journey of awareness: "Have you ever looked at it from another perspective? Have you ever spied behind the wall of impediments? Here, if you manage to peek behind that wall, you will have practically climbed over it ». It is so for many that they tell themselves: disability becomes a discovery, tiring and enriching. And for many, the limits become values, opportunities. "I can stop seeing but I'm smart enough to watch," writes another witness. It is precisely the desire to show the creative and expressive potential of disability that guides NoisyVision, which aims at the formation of an international network of people, associations and organizations that want to return their resources and professionalism to make environments and services more accessible. #Yellowtheworld is the latest campaign launched by the association, which encourages the use of yellow to highlight obstacles and steps: it is the most recognizable color for people with visual disabilities and facilitates their mobility. In a map, NoisyVision has collected the positive examples identified in the world.

Many initiatives of the association. Among these, the Yellow Steps: inclusive and accessible walks, involving people with sensory and non-sensory disabilities. For example: two days in Turin between museums and crafts, four days along the transhumance route with donkeys, a week on the path of the Gods. Paths of trust and knowledge, in which one guides each other to refine the senses. A participant, after a few days of walking with blind people, writes: "In a historical moment in which what matters is the appearance, it is nice to be able to live an experience that totally excludes this form of communication". And it leaves plenty of room for more.

Chiara Vitali
NP october 2020