The Power of Inclusion

My name is Sophia and I am a media student from Germany. I was sorted into the wrong group by accident and just switched to the Reporting Team on Tuesday to be able to work with all the cameras and the TV studio equipment. Even though I came late, the team included me as their newest addition and treated me equally to everyone else. They have all been very supportive and nice to me, thus I am enjoying my time here a lot.

Morning exercise on Tuesday

The participants of the Inclusion TV project are very interesting and different people. We all have our own opinions and ideas to contribute towards the Inclusion TV News and videos we are creating. Of course, we have discovered some similarities such as hobbies we have in common with each other. Still we are all extremely individual people with various strengths and obstacles we wish to overcome. I am certain we can say that each and every one of us has made a big step forward and developed as a confident human being on the way into a great future. Perhaps we will not even realise everything we have learnt this week, until later in life – and I am confident we will.

The people involved with this project are from 13 different nations, in total. Most of us are from Austria and Germany, so naturally we have a casual conversation in German every once in a while. Yet when we are working on our video projects, we speak English to make sure everyone is included and nobody feels left out. All the team members are very dedicated to making sure everybody is an important part of this program, so that we all feel essential and necessary for the group.

Alisa, Kathi and Gregor

We don’t just work though. There are breaks, during which we sit down and talk or have a meal together. Some of us will hang out at the end of the day or go out for a drink. Whatever it is that we are doing, nobody ever has to be alone, and that is what inclusion is really all about.