In short
The Awareness Weeks (Semaines de sensibilisation), which are organised each year together with a wide range of partners and associations, provide the general public with opportunities to gain a better understanding of the needs and daily lives of people with special needs.
Having proven extremely popular in past years, a number of events have become a staple of the annual programme:
- Sports and Disability in Action Day
- Roll & Run
- Dinner in the Dark
- Inclusion Gala
- Day Of Reflection On Disability (held every year since 2007)
- Museum Day
- Guided tours through Ville-Haute, accessible to people living with disabilities and the general public
New events, presentations, lectures, exhibits and guided tours are added to the programme each year. Read on for more information about previous years.
2023 edition
The 10th edition was held from 29 April to 22 September 2023.
Events
Topic: Preventing and raising awareness about signs of stroke.
Conference organised by Blëtz ASBL to raise stroke awareness.
Exhibitions
Exhibition by disability-related associations
The various associations working in the field of disability-related issues presented their activities and objectives. Visitors were presented with the wealth of associations working in this field, as well as their activities and the services they offer throughout the year.
Workshop on the 4 senses
These educational workshops, held for the first time at Luxembourg City schools in 2023, were organised together with the Service Enseignement (Education Department) and the Luxembourg Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, which was represented by Colette Pleimling with the help of Chantal Achten and her guide dog Jenga.
The aim was to promote disability awareness among young people by giving workshops where they can explore their four senses as part of a classroom activity.
Programme
- Sight and hearing
- Smell
- Taste.
- Touch.
2022 edition
The 9th edition was held from 23 April to 4 June 2022
Events
Roundtable discussion: How inclusive are our sports and leisure activities?
Stocktaking, presentation of inclusive activities currently on offer, and review of difficulties experienced by the organisers of inclusive activities. Call on political leaders to offer more inclusive activities. Call on youth, sports and leisure clubs to do more to include people with special needs.
Round-table discussion organised by ZEFI ASBL.
Shows
Multiple Sclerosis Day
"Chanter le gospel ensemble" (Let's sing gospel together!)
Singing is beneficial to health: it promotes deep breathing, stabilises the heartbeat and boosts the immune system. It also helps to improve your mood and reduces stress. So there's a lot to look forward to for those who are taking part in the cross-border project organised by "Multiple sclérose Lëtzebuerg" (MSL), "Deutsche Multiple Sklerose Gesellschaft" (DMSG), and the "Fondation EME": "SEP-sans frontières: Chanter le gospel ensemble".
2019 edition
The 8th edition was held from 27 April to 12 June 2019.
Events
Every day, four people in Luxembourg have a stroke ("Chaque jour, 4 personnes deviennent victime d’un accident vasculaire cérébral au Luxembourg")
Conference organised by Blëtz ASBL to raise stroke awareness.
Round-table discussion and workshop: "We are family"
For Diversity Day on 15 May 2019, the City of Luxembourg and the Familljen-Center invited the public to a round-table discussion and workshop on the topic "We are family"
- Workshop: Parents from different types of families who – much like an open book – came together in small groups to share their experiences and discuss the challenges and stereotypes they face in their daily lives, as well as the positive experiences they have had.
- Roundtable discussion: Representatives from different types of families take a broad view of the diversity of "non-traditional" families.
Evening with Hugo Horiot: "L'autisme, une chance pour la société" (Autism: a boon to society)
Conference organised by ZEFI ASBL (Zesumme fir Inklusioun), discussion with comedian and writer Hugo Horiot on the subject of autism.
Big events
TransArdenne Biking Heroes 2019
A sporting event for people with and without disabilities – organised by Back To Sport and Cap2Sports.
TransArdenne Biking Heroes was a team-based cycling road race that started in Esneux on 30 May 2019 and ended on 1 June 2019 in Luxembourg at the Rehazenter.
Film screenings
- Pre-feature by APEMH:: #MyInclusionStory – we want to hear from you!
- Pre-feature by ALAN to celebrate its 20th anniversary
- Feature film: The Theory of Everything
Shows
Benefit concert organised by Mir-Hëllefen
Mier Hëllefen provides support to people suffering from rare conditions, as well as people living with disabilities. The funds raised at events organised by this association are directly redistributed to people and institutions in the form of outings, trips and much-needed equipment.
This benefit concert was put on by the Urspelt music association.
"Sangen ALS Challenge" benefit concert
The third edition of the "Sangen ALS Challenge" benefit concert took place in the grand auditorium of the Luxembourg City Conservatoire. At this concert, a number of singing groups, choirs, musicians and vocal soloists performed a stirring repertoire to show solidarity with patients suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
"Birdwatching"
Show produced by the English Touring Opera, for people with special needs. The performances was interactive and multi-sensory; the experience was designed to stimulate and engage young people with many different and complex needs.
Over three days, more than 300 children and adults living with disabilities had the opportunity to participate in these fantastic, interactive performances.
2018 edition
The 7th edition was held from 2 May to 6 June 2018
Events
Social long-term care insurance
Two presentations on the benefits available to people requiring long-term care. They were organised by the City of Luxembourg's Service Seniors (Department of Senior Services) in partnership with RBS and the Administration for the assessment and oversight of long-term care insurance (Administration d'évaluation et de contrôle de l'assurance dépendance).
Diabetes
Presentation on diabetes. Organised by the Service Seniors of the City of Luxembourg, the Konviktsgaart and the Maison du Diabète (Diabetes Centre).
Mainstreaming children with autism
Presentation on mainstreaming children with autism (ASD) organised by Luciano Lazzarotto, an educational consultant who specialises in ASD.
In addition:
- Interested parties were also given the opportunity to take part in individual consultations and discuss the schooling of children with autism at the Institut de l'Education Nationale Française (French National Education Institute).
- "Inklusioun - JO x NEE", a film produced by ZEFI ASBL in cooperation with the National Audiovisual Centre (Centre national de l'audiovisuel) shows two examples of mainstreaming children with autism in Luxembourg.
United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
This evening took stock of the events of 2017, while looking towards the future.
Exhibitions and guided tours
Various associations working in the field of disability-related issues presented their activities and objectives. Several associations unveiled a diverse array of engaging exhibitions they created:
- Trisomie21: Born to be
- Mental Health Organization Luxembourg
- Fondation Autisme Luxembourg
Photo exhibition by APEMH
APEMH celebrated its 50th anniversary under the slogan: "Zesummen fir eng inklusiv Gesellschaft" (together for an inclusive society)! In that vein, a photo exhibition was organised to raise awareness among the general public by showing these people in everyday situations and enjoying life – just like the rest of us!
Contrasts: a museum for all
The exhibition displayed pieces from the Villa Vauban collection in an entirely new way meant to spark visitors' curiosity: these works were shown in comparable or contrasting pairs or groups. All of these were centred around the concept of accessibility and inclusion ("Design for All"): visitors were free to discover the exhibited works in their own way, according to their motor or cognitive capabilities.
Film screenings
- JOMI's Sphere of Action
- 24 Weeks
Shows
Marx avec Harmonica (Marx with Harmonica)
In honour of Karl Marx's 200th birthday, the Théâtre des Casemates presented a reading of his analytical, militant but also slightly absurd texts.
À part être (Existing Apart)
With great compassion and artistic ingenuity, the Luxembourg choreographers Annick Pütz and Thierry Raymond created a performance for dancers with reduced mobility and able-bodied dancers alike. The result was both touching and astonishing; the energy that was transmitted was intimate and engaging at the same time. It was a thrilling performance.
This Is My Bed
Fondation Ecouter pour Mieux s'Entendre (Listen to Enhance Communication) was delighted to share a project created and performed by people with autism, or multiple physical and/or intellectual disabilities: "This Is My Bed". This performance was created by the English Touring Opera for people with special needs in partnership with the Perseid School and the Polka Theatre in Wimbledon.
