The "we" wins” “

Over 500,000 surfers on the web, over 9,000 questions on bioethical issues: from euthanasia to stem-cell research, from pre-implant diagnosis to cloning and disability: this is 1000Fragen (“thousand questions”), one of the many projects being promoted by Aktion Mensch, a German organization involved in social issues over the last forty years. Founded in 1964 with the name of Aktion Sorgenkind on the initiative of Germany’s second public television channel, ZDF, as a fund-raising campaign with a lottery, the campaign grew into an organization re-baptized “Aktion Mensch” (“action for the person”) in 2000, to emphasise its dedication to the person, disabled or not, in difficult situations. Today, Aktion Mensch is supported not only by ZDF but by the six most important German humanitarian organizations, including Caritas, the Red Cross, the Diakonisches Werk der Evangelischen Kirche (Evangelic equivalent of Caritas) and the Central Office of Jews in Germany. The portal of the organization (www.aktion-mensch.de) presents all the fields of activity of Aktion Mensch, with the slogan: “the ‘we’ wins”. RETHINKING DISABILITY. “It’s normal to be different”. With this spirit, Aktion Mensch supports from 70 to 120 assistance and self-help projects for the disabled each month. In its 40 years of activity, roughly 2 billion euros have been allocated to a total of 40,000 projects: the funds have been collected thanks to a lottery in which it is now possible to participate also via Internet. Aktion Mensch further conducts a programme of awareness-raising in the media, with the objective of “changing the consciousness [of disability] in society”, says the website. “People are not, they become disabled”: for this reason, Aktion Mensch has progressively promoted a series of actions; for example, “Aktion Grundgesetz” (“action for the Constitution”, with reference to the article of the German Constitution that prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities). On 5 May 2003, the project organized a protest, which brought 600,000 demonstrators onto the streets to participate in a European day of protest against the discrimination of the disabled: it was the largest demonstration that had taken place in Germany since reunification. “EXPERIENCING THAT ONE IS NOT WANTED BECAUSE ONE IS DISABLED MEANS ATTACKING MY JOY IN LIFE”. Questions on bioethical issues are collected on the website of the 1000Fragen project (www.1000fragen.de). They are subdivided by argument (9,504 from 2002 to the present day) and accompanied by the comments of visitors to the site (over 35,000). Cloning for reproductive ends (703 questions), research for therapeutic ends (544), pre-implant diagnosis (521), euthanasia (543) and general themes such as suffering and quality of life (520) are the favourite questions. “With 1000Fragen”, says Heike Zirden, spokesman of Aktion Mensch and director of the project, “questions become a form of political action” and “show that the ethical problems raised by developments in the field of biomedical research are far from having been ‘resolved’ and in part have not even been properly understood”. The aim of the project is to promote “a wide-ranging process of forming public opinion”, especially by giving a voice “to the disabled, their families and associations”, ignored “in the discussions of ‘experts'”. The project wants to offer new scope for reflection to the discussion, because “it’s essential to reflect once again in depth, before giving hasty responses and taking decisions that are binding for society as a whole”. 1000Fragen is currently engaged in a new publicity campaign to raise awareness of bioethical issues and encouraging discussion on its website. Some personalities of the German political, social, economic and scientific world have become “godfathers” of one of the “thousand questions” and motivated their choice. “If these methods of selection had existed forty years ago, I would not be in the world”, says Christian Judith. An activist in the movement for the disabled, he chose this question because “it expresses the potential threat to and contempt for [the disabled] in the methods practised in prenatal diagnosis”. “Being forced to experience that one is not wanted because one is disabled is an attack on my joy of living”. OTHER PROJECTS. “5000xZukunft” is the name of a project dedicated to children and young people, disabled or not: 25 million euros have been made available to support 5,000 projects to be realized directly at the local level. Applications for the funding of projects can be presented on-line. “Re:spect” is the name of a project for young people, which diffuses the message of mutual respect, acceptance of self and of one’s own limits. “Einfach für alle” is a project aimed at “Internet without barriers” for the disabled. Events on the programme include Biene-Award”, a competition sponsored by Aktion Mensch and by the foundation Digital Chance that awards prizes to the best Internet sites without barriers.