Raúl Aguayo-Krauthausen (born July 15, 1980, in

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

) is a German

disability rights The disability rights movement is a global social movement that seeks to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for all disabled people. It is made up of organizations of disability activists, also known as disability advocates, around ...

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

. He was awarded the Order of Merit of Germany and is an

Ashoka Fellow Ashoka (formerly branded Ashoka: Innovators for the Public) is an American-based nonprofit organization that promotes social entrepreneurship by connecting and supporting individual social entrepreneurs. Ashoka invests in over 3,800 social entre ...

Early life and education

Krauthausen grew up in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and attended one of the first inclusive schools as a child. He claims that going to this school is what laid the foundation stone for his career. After he finished school, Krauthausen decided to study social and business communication, which he says gave him a new perspective on life as a person with a disability. Krauthausen has said that throughout his life, he never wanted to think much about his disability. His parents always tried to make him play with other kids who were disabled, but he thought this was weird. However, when he entered college and was the only person with a disability, he changed his view. He missed the contact he had with other disabled persons. This is when he decided to start his nonprofit organisation. He studied Social and Economic

Communication Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

at the

Berlin University of the Arts The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the second largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research uni ...

and

Design Thinking Design thinking refers to the set of Cognition, cognitive, strategic and practical procedures used by designers in the process of designing, and to the body of knowledge that has been developed about how people reason when engaging with design prob ...

at the HPI School of Design Thinking.

Career

Together with his cousin, Jan, he founded the nonprofit organisation Sozialhelden, which translates to social heroes, in 2004. He works alongside his colleague, Svenja Heinecke, on projects to make Germany and the rest of the world accessible. The organisation develops projects which address social issues and offer practical solutions in a spirit of

diversity Diversity, diversify, or diverse may refer to: Business *Diversity (business), the inclusion of people of different identities (ethnicity, gender, age) in the workforce *Diversity marketing, marketing communication targeting diverse customers * ...

and

inclusion Inclusion or Include may refer to: Sociology * Social inclusion, action taken to support people of different backgrounds sharing life together. ** Inclusion (disability rights), promotion of people with disabilities sharing various aspects of lif ...

. Their

fundraising Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

project , which raises funds for other nonprofit organisations through donated bottle recycling receipts, received the prize from Chancellor

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...

in 2008. In 2010, Wheelmap.org, a

crowdsourced Crowdsourcing involves a large group of dispersed participants contributing or producing goods or services—including ideas, votes, micro-tasks, and finances—for payment or as volunteers. Contemporary crowdsourcing often involves digit ...

online map Web mapping or an online mapping is the process of using, creating, and distributing maps on the World Wide Web (the Web), usually through the use of Web GIS, Web geographic information systems (Web GIS). A web map or an online map is both served ...

for finding and marking

wheelchair accessible A wheelchair is a mobilized form of chair using two or more wheels, a footrest, and an armrest usually cushioned. It is used when walking is difficult or impossible to do due to Disease, illnesses, injury, disabilities, or age-related health co ...

places was launched by Sozialhelden. The map, which is available in 22 languages, is based on

OpenStreetMap OpenStreetMap (abbreviated OSM) is a free, Open Database License, open geographic database, map database updated and maintained by a community of volunteers via open collaboration. Contributors collect data from surveying, surveys, trace from Ae ...

and operates under a Creative-Commons license. Wheelmap has worked with German phonebook provider, "Gelbe Seiten" to offer accessibility information about places that were already in the book. Krauthausen and his colleagues also invented Accessibility Cloud, a cloud that allows data on accessibility to be easily transferred to international organizations with the same goal. The overall goal of Krauthausen's nonprofit is "Disability Mainstreaming". In addition to his work for Sozialhelden Raúl Krauthausen co-founded ''Selfpedia.de'' in 2013, an online

self-help Self-help or self-improvement is "a focus on self-guided, in contrast to professionally guided, efforts to cope with life problems" —economically, physically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a substantial psychological basis. When ...

community for questions and advice pertaining to life with a

disability Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be Cognitive disability, cognitive, Developmental disability, d ...

. Raúl Krauthausen is a frequent guest on

talk shows A talk show is a television programming, radio programming or podcast genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show', pp.3-4Erler, Robert (20 ...

and a popular interview partner for journalists regarding topics related to disability rights, accessibility and inclusion. In October 2016 Krauthausen went undercover in a German home for people with disabilities. He shaved his beard, cut his hair and even got rid of his signature hat. For five days he lived in the home and uncovered some harsh truths about the complete loss of independence that comes with being a disabled person in a care home. Krauthausen's undercover investigation was discussed by German politicians and decision-makers but did not lead to a change in legislation. One of the newest Sozialhelden projects is ''Leidmedien.de'', an online platform for

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

s and others whose work involves the portrayal of

people with disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...

. Through

advocacy Advocacy is an Action (philosophy), activity by an individual or advocacy group, group that aims to influence decision making, decisions within political, economic, and social institutions. Advocacy includes activities and publications to infl ...

, articles,

workshops Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the only ...

and informational materials Leidmedien.de offers perspectives on life with a disability which steer away from

stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalization, generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can ...

s and

cliché A cliché ( or ; ) is a saying, idea, or element of an artistic work that has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning, novelty, or literal and figurative language, figurative or artistic power, even to the point of now being b ...

s. In 2014 Raúl Krauthausen developed a printable 3D mini ramp which can be used to overcome sidewalk curbs in a wheelchair. Raúl Krauthausen has

osteogenesis imperfecta Osteogenesis imperfecta (; OI), colloquially known as brittle bone disease, is a group of genetic disorders that all result in bones that bone fracture, break easily. The range of symptoms—on the skeleton as well as on the body's other Or ...

, also known as brittle bone disease, and uses a wheelchair. Krauthausen sees the Americans with Disability Act as a role model that he thinks Germany should follow. He believes that Germany doesn't score high in terms of accessibility in relation to other European countries.

Personal life

Krauthausen's partner is also disabled. Krauthausen says that he is fine with children being curious and asking him questions about his disability, but he is much stricter when it comes to adults and parents.

Awards

* 2009: Deutscher Engagementpreis (German Prize for Engagement) * 2010: Deutscher Bürgerpreis (German citizen Price) * 2010: Appointment as ''Ashoka Fellow'' * 2010: ''Inca-Award'' (Sozialhelden) * 2011: ''Vodafone Smart Accessibility Award''Vodafone Foundation Smart Accessibility Awards 2011 winners announced
Retrieved 2 September 2014 * 2013: Order of Merit of Germany (Bundesverdienstkreuz am Bande) for his Engagement of ''Sozialhelden''. * 2018:

Grimme Online Award The Grimme-Preis (Grimme Award), formerly known as the Adolf-Grimme-Preis, is one of the most prestigious German television awards. It is named after the first general director of Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk, Adolf Grimme. The Grimme Institute ...

References

External links