The discourse about Café GÆS

• Main Authors: Björnsdóttir, Ágústa, Kjaran, Jón Ingvar
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Icelandic
• Published: Menntavísindasvið Háskóla Íslands 2019
• Subjects: People with intellectual disabilities; employment participation; human rights; discourse; disability studies; Fólk með þroskahömlun; atvinnuþátttaka; mannréttindi; orðræða; fötlunarfræði; Iceland
• Online Access: https://ojs.hi.is/index.php/netla/article/view/2954

Employment opportunities in the open labour market for people with intellectual disabilities have long been of a limited nature and often the only jobs on offer have been low-paid, with little opportunity for pay rise or promotion. It was, therefore, a watershed in labour market participation by people with intellectual disabilities when Café GÆS was opened in the premises of Tjarnarbíó in June 2013. For the first time in Iceland, people with intellectual disabilities established a company and took charge of all management as well as the front-of-the-house positions. Five graduates from a vocational diploma program for people with intellectual disabilities at the University of Iceland launched Café GÆS. One of the students came up with the idea to open a café run by disabled people. She wanted to see some drastic changes in job opportunities for disabled people and create a more accepting community in the labor market. The name GÆS means “goose” in Icelandic but is also acronym for “get, ætla, skal” (I can, I will, and I shall). The ideology of the project is derived from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. According to the convention, disabled people have the right to participate in society on an equal basis with others and are entitled to live in a community without discrimination. They also have equal rights to be employed and earn a living and to work in a disability friendly environment, as well as starting their own business with relevant support and backing.This research reports on findings from an ethnographic study carried out in 2012 - 2014. The research falls within the field of disability studies whose academic approach critiques medical definitions of disability, emphasising, instead, the interplay of impairments and environment and the importance of human rights for disabled people. The aim of the research was to identify and analyse the discourse on Café GÆS, which received significant coverage in news and online media. A particular emphasis was placed on the ...