Do we really have room for everyone? – The daily newspaper

The documentary about “Ola – A Completely Ordinary and Extraordinary Man”, directed by Ragnhild Nøst Bergem, is showing in Norwegian cinemas these days. In the wake of the premiere, more research into adapted workplaces is being called for, and the need to create a more inclusive working life is back on the agenda.

The Solberg government at the time decided that at least 5 percent of new employees in the state would be people with disabilities. Today the government has removed this condition. It raises questions about whether there are real attitudes and willingness to act behind words of praise about facilitating a more inclusive work life.

The five percent requirement has been removed and has not yet been replaced by any other measure. One may wonder what this expression is.

One explanation is that the path from words to action is often very long in politics, and that in the case of inclusion of people with disabilities, there is no real will for the structural and attitudinal change that this requires.

Creating an inclusive society requires that we collectively develop new attitudes toward humanity, and this must also be reflected in our ability to take our time and allow for forms of expression that are not “perfect.”

The obsession with productivity that characterizes much of working life and education does not fit into a society that accommodates people like Ola. The elimination of the five percent requirement is an example of how such changes actually require other designs for working life. In this case, it may have proven too broad for the government’s liking.

The vast majority of conversations about inclusion take place without the people involved being present. In this way, the basic attitude of “us and them” is maintained, no matter how good the intentions of the conversation are.

The vast majority of conversations about inclusion take place without the people involved being present. In this way, the basic attitude of “us and them” is maintained.

The concept of inclusion is often justified in the United Nations Convention on Human Rights, and is based on the premise that those outside society should be allowed in. In this way, community is presented as if it were a fixed dimension, which marginalized people must access. But the whole will always be an expression of the parts, and therefore it will naturally change if the parts change.

Moreover, this is justified by the fact that being abroad can be lonely, painful and a direct obstacle to the ability to self-actualize. This is largely the case.

But an important aspect that is rarely highlighted is what society misses when it is shaped in such a way that not everyone can participate. Conformity begets conformity. A society unable to absorb those at the extremes of the natural distribution will gradually shape itself in such a way that fewer people will find a place for themselves.

In a society that rewards efficiency, productivity, and material prosperity, more and more human qualities will be neglected and eventually excluded.

Therefore, inclusion is not only important for inclusion some. Inclusion is about a community striving to be an honest expression of itself everyone Its members. This would naturally have something to say about how it was shaped, which could explain for example the design of Vidaråsen – the village in Vestfold where Ola lives in the film.

In other words, inclusion means the ability to allow all voices to be heard, and the art of social work is to enable harmony between voices.

Or to put it in more everyday language: finding ways to live together where one’s needs and abilities have a legitimate place. Moreover, needs are not only satisfied, but they have an impact on the surrounding environment, and in this way enrich it.

In a society that rewards efficiency, productivity, and material prosperity, more and more human qualities will be neglected and eventually excluded.

The person who dares to wear his heart on the outside is implicitly asking for an accepting society.

Therefore, diversity – or the true expression of who we are – is not only valuable, but invaluable. Through the richness and fullness of the encounter with human qualities, we get the opportunity to discover and develop more aspects of ourselves.

The film is important because the encounter with Ola is not just an encounter with Ola, but an encounter with something within ourselves. In an escalating and sometimes relentless pursuit of fulfillment, any encounter with the tenderness and beauty of fallibility is welcome.

The person who dares to wear his heart on the outside is implicitly asking for an accepting society. This is how people like Ola can influence our world in the direction of greater goodness, presence, and sincerity.

Carrie Christensen: One step in the right direction

For those of us who find ourselves in a position where we can influence our surroundings, and we all do in one sense or another, this film is an inspiration to work for social structures that serve and support human beings. An inspiration to stand against social development where the opposite is the case.

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