At NuroHero, we believe that building confidence for both young people with disabilities and businesses is key increasing the employment opportunities for young people with disabilities. This is precisely what we aimed to do with our recent project in partnership with The University of Adelaide, ThinkDigital, Farm VR, and MoreSpaceForLight.
The project was a workshop that took place at the University of Adelaide’s Waite campus, where young people with disabilities had the opportunity to collaborate with experts in virtual reality technology and community gardening to design a virtual community garden. The goal was to provide a fun and engaging way for young people with disabilities to learn about the importance of community gardens and their impact on the environment and wellbeing, while also building confidence in their abilities.
The workshop began with an interactive virtual 360-degree tour of the Waite campus and community garden, created in partnership with Think Digital and Farm VR. The tour provided participants with interesting facts about different plants and animals found on the campus, and it also highlighted the benefits of community gardening for both the environment and personal wellbeing.
Next, with the help of MoreSpaceForLight, we conducted a design sprint where participants were able to think about what produce they would like to see in the garden and how they could best represent themselves in the garden, thereby building their confidence in their own abilities and ideas.
Finally, using Minecraft, participants were able to develop their own virtual garden designs. Despite some initial challenges, the participants created some truly amazing projects. This not only showed them their own abilities but also helped to break down negative attitudes and stereotypes about people with disabilities for the businesses involved.
We are grateful to The University of Adelaide, ThinkDigital, Farm VR, and MoreSpaceForLight for making this project possible, and we look forward to continuing to explore virtual reality and community gardening as a tool for building confidence and increasing employment opportunities for young people with disabilities.
By building a shared confidence between young people with disabilities and businesses, NuroHero aims to break down negative attitudes and stereotypes, and increase employment opportunities for young people with disabilities.