SoIn for Society and Inclusivity #3

SoIn

… for SOciety and INclusivity

What if disability were a driving force for innovation?

“Ask not what you can do for people with disabilities, but what people with disabilities can do for you.” This is one of the rallying cries, one of the guiding principles of my association, CAPSAAA, which is dedicated to raising awareness about disability. Deliberately provocative, this reversal of John F. Kennedy’s famous words challenges our societal norms. It invites us to question our preconceived ideas and embrace a new vision: creating a caring society that is accessible to everyone, with those who are most vulnerable leading the way.

Education plays a fundamental role in this endeavour. Passing on knowledge, sharing experiences, learning to see things differently: by making disability an educational resource, we can change attitudes. Far from being obstacles, our differences are challenges that inspire collective creativity. Experiencing life from a different perspective allows us to develop unique insights and discover a new conviction: that we can become stronger by recognising and embracing our limitations.

What if we turned the paradigm of inclusion on its head?

Inclusion is often seen as a bridge between the world of disability and mainstream society. But what if we imagined people with disabilities as educators, as guides who pass on knowledge? Their lived experiences have so much to teach us: how to overcome adversity, how to appreciate the richness of diversity, and above all, how to turn difference into strength.

This is where the real challenge lies: making education a powerful tool for raising awareness through sport, art and culture, all those universal languages that break down fears and prejudices. By learning from one another and sharing our common vulnerabilities, we can redefine difference as the norm rather than the exception.

Through sharing, awareness-raising and civic education, we can rediscover what lies at the very heart of our humanity.

Happy reading, and happy holidays to everyone!

Ryadh Sallem
Paralympic athlete French and European Champion in Wheelchair Basketball and Wheelchair Rugby
CAPSAAA Association, Paris
capsaaa.net | educapcity.org

Editorial Board

Vincent Vidal has been an independent journalist for over 30 years. He has worked for cinema, women’s, and children’s press. He now turns his focus to the world of antiques, antiquities, and design. Since 2017, he has been the editor-in-chief of the Journal du Village Saint-Martin, a publication dedicated to the 10th arrondissement of Paris. Vincent Vidal is also the author of about ten practical or historical books, including: La Petite Histoire du préservatif, Mode d’emploi du nouveau papa ou Habiter un souplex.

Ryadh Sallem is a board member of ‘Paris 2024’, a high-level athlete with 5 participations in the Paralympic Games (French swimming team, wheelchair basketball, and wheelchair rugby) and a leader in the SSE (Social and Solidarity Economy). This multi-champion in sports and life is known for the numerous battles and victories he achieves in the social and solidarity field. He initiates humanitarian and associative projects aiming to fight against all forms of discrimination, of which disability is a significant component, and founded CAPSAAA, a Parisian sports club and association dedicated to disability prevention and awareness. Organizer of the DEFISTIVAL, creator of the ‘Challenges of Civilizations,’ promoter of societal and cultural symposiums, he is also the originator of EDUCAPCITY, the great civic rally dedicated to 8-14 year olds. A humanist ‘serial entrepreneur’ who urges to reject any form of fatalism and has only one idea in mind: to promote brotherhood and peaceful living together.

Valérie Delattre is an archaeo-anthropologist at Inrap (National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research). She specializes in funeral and cultural practices from the Protohistory to the Middle Ages; she leads a national scientific research program dedicated to the archaeology of disability, intervenes in an associative framework, and within the CNCPH (National Consultative Council for Disability). She is notably the author of Il était une fois la différence. Les archéologues racontent le handicap, published by Actes Sud Jeunesse editions.

Rate this book