THESE young Coventrians provided a warm welcome for a truly frosty photo shoot. Trainers were swapped for ice skates as young people from across Coventry took part in a festive photo shoot to promote positive images of people with learning disabilities.
Fifteen people from five Coventry schools – Alice Stevens, Baginton Fields, Barrs Hill, Ernesford Grange and President Kennedy – took to the ice at the E-on Ice Rink, Millennium Place for the shoot organised in conjunction with Coventry city council. The young people have formed a group called We Are All The Same (WATS) to break down barriers between learning disabled young people and others in a bid to challenge negative attitudes. WATS is a project being developed by Grapevine.
Misunderstandings and prejudices towards people with learning disabilities have developed over many years due to efforts to exclude them from ordinary life but the WATS project will aim to address those harmful attitudes and enable people to find out about each other on their own terms. WATS members range from 13-18 years of age and are drawn from a variety of Coventry schools and colleges.
WATS members are thrilled at taking part in a photo shoot and look forward to seeing their images used for council publicity.
They are also putting the final touches to some myth busting training designed around popular TV shows like Family Fortunes and I’m Celebrity and they intend to tour the city’s schools to do workshops in the new year.
Darren O'Shaughnessy, senior communications officer at the Council, said: "We've been working with Grapevine and colleagues from the media to help promote positive images of people with learning difficulties. It's a fantastic project and a great way to change public perceptions.
For more information about WATS, contact Rachel Perrin on 02476 634114 or email rperrin@grapevinecoventryandwarwickshire.co.uk