Uppeldi og menntun - 01.07.2015, Page 107

UPPELDI OG MENNTUN/ICELANDIC JOURNAL OF EDUCATION 24(2) 2015 107
KRISTÍN BJÖRNSDÓTTIR & STEINDÓR JÓNSSON
One of the problems of working in sheltered workshops is not having access to
labor unions on an equal basis with others and not receiving the privileges which are
common to union members, such as access to vacation homes and continuous edu-
cation opportunities. Segregated workshops are not based on a widely shared social
experience and participation and therefore not inclusive. This is, in our opinion, one
of the factors that contribute to the social exclusion of disabled people, particularly
people with intellectual disabilities. The CRPD also recognizes the right of disabled
people to self-employment and entrepreneurship on an equal basis with others (Unit-
ed Nations, 2006). In the summer of 2013 a small group of people with intellectual
disabilities opened a café in the center of Reykjavík. The café was a developmental
project, based on an inclusive and participatory ideology. The café received grants
and support from the University of Iceland and the city of Reykjavík and was an
instant success (Gæs kaffihús, 2014). This concept is interesting in reference to Sen’s
(1992) capability approach and brings us to the question: What do people with intel-
lectual disabilities need to be able to run their own business? The café owners, who
were people with intellectual disabilities, demonstrated that with appropriate support
and assistance they were capable of running their own business, making a profit, and
the café was able to thrive in a competitive market. However, development projects
are temporary, and at the end of summer 2013, the city of Reykjavík discontinued
its financial support which drew significant attention from local newspapers. In an
interview, Anna Kristinsdóttir, the human rights officer of Reykjavík, said: ‘As a
municipality it is not appropriate that we participate in a competitive market this way.
We have told them that we want to help them developing their project and making
it sustainable’ (Braga, 2013). The café group tried to keep the project alive but after a
very successful summer it was permanently closed down in the fall of 2013.2
The discontinued support of the municipality is not a form of social exclusion in
itself since it is not in general its role to provide this type of support. However, discon-
tinuation of support can lead to other deprivations through causal consequences (Sen,
2000). The café owners have intellectual disabilities, and if they are supposed to func-
tion in the café business they need some kind of support. For example, their business
faced increased operating costs because of their need for assistance with matters such
as bookkeeping. Their need for assistance might however well be temporary; that is,
they would probably need less support as time goes by and their business could in the
future cover the cost of such extra support.
If neither the municipality nor the state – whose responsibility it is to support dis-
abled people to participate in the job-market – is able or willing to support this kind of
entrepreneurship, the individuals concerned need to have access to financial services,
including credit. Recent research in Iceland suggests that people with intellectual
disabilities have no access to financial services and often lack full control over their
financial affairs (Björnsdóttir, Stefánsdóttir, & Stefánsdóttir, 2015). It is, therefore,
not surprising that people who are not trusted by family members and support staff
to manage their own money are not eligible for credit or start up loans. Not having
access to the credit market is also not impoverishing in itself, but like the lack of
backing from the municipality, can lead to other deprivations such as the inability to