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Description
The Museum of Madness has established itself as a talking point on mental health and madness, topics that are otherwise typically marginalised from mainstream settings. Talking about people with long-term mental health problems is still taboo, people are marginalised, socially excluded, invisible and unheard. And there is a strong belief in society that they are still well cared for behind institutional walls and that deinstitutionalisation is a utopia. Unfortunately, this is also echoed by politicians and decision-makers at the highest levels in the country. The problem is the ingrained perceptions, ignorance and lack of knowledge of the fact that Slovenia has ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and that Article 19 of the Convention defines the right to live independently in the community. In the project From Institutions to People (ACF, 2020-2023), we have developed new educational tools that illustrate the importance of Article 19 of the CRPD and the necessity of de-institutionalisation, i.e. the relocation of people and services to the community, through a historical example and in a historical context. As this is an example of the closure of an institution in Slovenia, it has additional testimonial power. Therefore, in the continuation of the project, which we have called From Institutions to People 2, we will work intensively on expanding the network of visitors: 1. young people (students of different disciplines, school students), 2. lecturers and educators, 3. professionals (social work centres, different forms of institutional care, NGOs and other support services in long-term care). The key activity will be to provide young people with knowledge and a critical view of LTC institutions and to raise awareness among professionals and the general public about the content and meaning of Article 19 of the CRPD and on the elimination of human rights violations related to institutional settings.