Many are still mesmerized by Paris. So when our French partners offered to organise VIEWS' second session in Paris, the idea was happily accepted.
Prices being high in Paris though, we planned a shorter camp so that a maximum of people could still afford it. With that time constraint, we emphasized mostly the intercultural aspect of the meeting.
Eight visually impaired people from six different nationalities, accompanied by three sighted guides discovered Paris as they would never have thought possible. From their sleeping quarters at the Hénaff Centre, a young foreign workers hostel which also provided them with an evening meal and picnics for lunch, they departed around nine. They usually spent some time to talk about the day's activities in French (the main communication language) with some conversations and translations to English. The language training mostly served to refresh some prior knowledge or to give the proper vocabulary for the cultural activities. The handouts were printed either in Braille or in large print.
In Paris, thanks to our partner, we benefited from the wonderful infrastructure of the "Cité des Sciences" in la Villette. This science museum provides exhibitions and material that is adapted for people with all kinds of disabilities : Sections such as "Communication" and "Sound" have been adapted for visually impaired people, and we were allowed to visit and experience all their attractions. The responsible for those adaptations also showed and explained a tactile map of Paris to the youngsters, so that they could elaborate a mental picture of where each of the site they visited was situated in the city. Close to the "Cité des Sciences" is the "Cité de la Musique", where we participated in very interesting percussion workshops.
One could not go to Paris without seeing the Louvre, Notre-Dame, and Versailles, without breathing the atmosphere aboard a small cruising ship on the Seine river, without wandering around the city... So we did all this and much more : a visit of the Bourget (aerospace museum), Rodin, and natural History museum. All these activities were, of course, prepared and guided by professionals. Recalling all this, we wonder how we still found the time to sing a Karaoke in a Chinese restaurant, to drink a typical mint tea at the Mosque, to shop, to discuss, or... to sleep ! Likewise, since we used public transportation for all our activities, the Parisian metro doesn't withhold secrets from any of us any more!
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If you wish to participate in one of our upcoming session, as a young trainee or as a partner, please follow the link :"Interested in participating in one of VIEWS next activities ?