People with disabilities have always advocated for self-determination, both today and in the past. Disability History Action Day on December 6th This event puts the story of people with disabilities in the spotlight. The program includes a tour of the exhibition and a reading at the House of Austrian History (hdgö).
Self-advocates share their stories: How do people with disabilities fight for their rights? How do they fight against discrimination and violence? Which Are there still problems? What has changed? What else do we need to change?
With new objects in the main exhibition, the museum shows that the history of people with disabilities is an important part of Austrian history.
Following the guided tour, there will be a reading on the topic of "Reading the past – making freedom tangible" with texts from the literary embassy Ohrenschmaus.
Saturday, December 6, 20252:00 pm Exhibition tour, 4:30 pm Reading
The event will take place in spoken German, with interpretation in Austrian Sign Language (ÖGS) and summaries in simple language.
Participation is free. Registration is required.
Further information and registration here
The event is part of the Disability History Projects, which is currently being carried out at the House of Austrian History (hdgö) in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection (BMASGPK).
As part of this project, the House of Austrian History (hdgö) is continuously collecting objects and stories about the experiences, political engagement, and activism of people with disabilities. These are stories that are underrepresented in museums and often ignored and marginalized. With this new focus on collecting, the hdgö aims to make these neglected aspects of Austrian history more visible.
The objects are intended to demonstrate how people work to change their own circumstances and those of society. They are meant to convey the possibilities that exist and the challenges that the individuals or groups involved encounter.
In-depth interviews (oral history) further document the perspectives of people who have contact with these objects. The aim is to record these stories, make them accessible, and preserve them for the long term. The focus is primarily on the last few decades up to the present day, in order to speak with contemporary witnesses and capture their experiences with the collected objects through these interviews.
The Disability History collection is continuously being expanded in the hdgö's digital museum. People are regularly invited to contribute their objects and stories online to the web exhibition "Self-Determined.".
Here's the link to project
Here is the link to Interactive exhibition