Norwegian Network for Down Syndrome +
Just as equal
Attention campaign to shed light on and alter attitudes towards individuals with Down syndrome.
On the 10th of March 2021 the Norwegian government voted against legislation to incorporate UNs Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) under Norwegian law.
Aren‘t people with disabilities supposed to have equal rights as the rest of us?
To set focus on this matter, we created an awareness campaign that was launched before the international World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD), 21st of March.
The date for WDSD, being the 21st day of the 3rd month, was selected to signify the uniqueness of the triplication (trisomy) of the 21st chromosome which causes Down syndrome.
The focus for the Norwegian celebration of WDSD was hashtagged #likeunike («#justasequal» in English)
We found messages and words with double consonants and added an extra letter with a slightly different look, as a metaphor to the extra chromosome in the 21st chromosome pair. The message together with images of kids with Downs in daily/ordinary settings underlined the absurdity that they should not grow up with equal rights as the rest of us. The chromosome alphabet gave us a typographic opportunity to show that in spite of an extra chromosome, people with Down Syndrome are equal to others and deserve equal rights.
The campaign was published on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and medium.com.
The campaign resulted in a wide national media coverage, appearing in the largest newspapers and broadcasting in Norway, such as TV2/God Morgen Norge, Aftenposten, Adressa and more.
Now the Norwegian government has decided to incorporate CRPD under Norwegian law.
