Passing Through Darkness – World Children’s Research Institute

Passing Through Darkness
(A Shared Experience with Blind Children and Adolescents)

A large group of children requires special attention to meet their needs. These children, referred to as children with special needs, must be considered by society and its institutions. Only through this can we speak of justice in a society. One of these groups is blind children. This group of children faces many issues, some of which stem from society’s lack of understanding of their characteristics, needs, and problems. According to official statistics, nearly 40,000 blind and visually impaired children live in our country. Attention to the needs of this large group of children is essential from human, ethical, social, scientific, economic, and child rights perspectives.

The concept of Dialogue in the Dark was founded by Dr. Andreas Heinecke in 1988. Andreas, a philosophy graduate, began his career at a radio station in his hometown of Baden, Germany. One day, he was asked to teach journalism to a young man who had lost his sight in a car accident. Andreas had no idea about disability and could not imagine what life without sight would be like.

Andreas saw that blind people were deprived of equal access to education and the job market. He decided to continue his work in the field of disability and to create an event around this theme: Why not turn off the lights and invite blind and sighted people to meet in a dark room? Andreas began experimenting with ropes and sounds in the dark and opened the first “Dialogue in the Dark” exhibition in 1989.

Working for the Frankfurt Blind Association, he arranged an exhibition in total darkness using elements like smell, sound, and different textures. His goal was to create a space similar to everyday life but without light so visitors could experience the world of the blind for a few hours and enhance their other senses besides sight.

He allowed visitors to be in spaces such as parks, streets, and restaurants. With this interesting idea, people in small groups entered the dark world and tried to discover their surroundings with imagination. Since then, this idea has been continuously expanding, with new themes like Dinner in the Dark and Job Workshops in the Dark added.

Today, these museums operate as an international network. To date, 21 museums have been permanently established in countries like Japan, Australia, Egypt, Mexico, Brazil, and more. Some have been temporary exhibitions for a few days. More than 9 million visitors have experienced “Dialogue in the Dark,” and thousands of blind guides have found employment through these exhibitions and workshops.

The Special Needs Children Working Group has focused on blind children since the second half of 2022. During this period, the group has tried to address various aspects of this topic through discussion sessions, meetings with experts, educational lectures, content production, and more.

In the “Passing Through Darkness” event, organized and in collaboration with the Iranian Sculptors Association, inspired by global experiences in this field, we will strive to create conditions for blind individuals to participate in a social event by inviting all societal groups and listening to their voices to foster a better environment for interaction.

Additionally, after assessing needs and conversing with blind children and adolescents, we will conduct suitable workshops to help uncover the hidden talents of this group of children. We also hope, with the support and cooperation of the event attendees, to think collectively about how to continue this path.

Event Details:
Date: May 9 to May 17, 2024
Time: 4 PM to 8 PM
Address: Iranian Artists Forum, Mousavi Street, Taleghani Street, Tehran, Iran