Around one billion people, or let’s say 15% of the world’s population, suffer from some sort of disability. That means that one in three people has special needs, be they definitive or temporary. In Portugal only, there are more than one million people with special needs, of which 550 thousand are children under the age of five.
Such people are more likely to be rejected by society, as some of them say that they are frustrated about being denied the right to work. The question is: Do we really need to deny them this chance? Are they not capable of working? We don’t think so! And so does TUR4all Portugal, which developed jobs for disabled persons while giving them a new reason to smile each morning.
By joining hands with FCB Lisbon, which came up with an amazing idea, the first Iberian platform in the area of accessible tourism came up with a concept that empowers disabled people to enter the job market. We’re not talking about any job that’s out there, but a job of showing people around: a tourist guide. So how can a person with reduced mobility become a tourist guide? Hold on; TUR4all Portugal has the answer. You just need to keep reading.
By adding an extension to a regular bicycle, people with disabilities are now able to present the beauty of Lisbon to tourists. And more interestingly, in a very pleasant way, both for the tourist and for the guide. All the NGO needed to do was to pair a wheelchair with a bicycle. The prototype, which was made in Spain and presented to the audience in March, allows wheelchairs to be attached to bicycles. Ana Mendes Godinho considers this idea—born from an FCB Lisbon insight—as “meeting all the requirements to be materialized.”
The unusual vehicle represents “an idea for Portugal which sees the tourism industry as a priority. An idea that can create a new profession in the tourist business for people with motor disabilities, and that can be replicated elsewhere”, uncovered Edson Athayde, CEO and Creative Director of FCB Lisbon, who stays behind the materialization of the concept.
The “Wheelchange Tours” were put into operation in March and presented by the Portuguese Secretary of State for Tourism as part of the Bolsa de Turismo de Lisbon investment programme. Interestingly, the initiative is “an open source project.” Anyone can use it as they please, without having to pay any royalties. The audience can even use it as a source of inspiration for something new. The most important thing, claims the Lisbon-based agency, is to help make the world a more understanding place, where one can work regardless of their physical status. Together, we can change the world, even if it takes one pedal at a time!