Background
Background Cam on Wheels
Cam on Wheels (CoW) is an initiative of the Com in Beeld Foundation, the Disabled Child Foundation and the Vriendenloterij.
The Cam on Wheels project commenced in 2017 as a social initiative to offer young people with 'normal' intelligence, who have a physical disability, mental problem, illness or communicative impairment, a chance to fully to participate in society.
Cam on Wheels offers film and editing training where these young people can learn to capture stories on film, and then edit them into beautiful (film) stories - films that make a valuable and meaningful contribution to those directly involved, and society.
Why Cam on Wheels?
According to CCE, there are an estimated 60,000 people in the Netherlands between the ages of 10 and 25 who have severe speech and/or language difficulties (ESM), with neurotypical intelligence (including cerebral palsy, metabolic disorders, NAH, autism or illness).
For those young people who have a speech/language development disorder due to illness or a motor disability, telling a story, communicating and making contact is very difficult. However, they want to share what interests them and participate in society just as much as anyone else. Supported means of communication (AC ), such a speech computers, do offer some solutions, but conducting conversations and sharing stories can remain very difficult. Communication is typically slow and costs the user a lot of energy, making interaction with others very limited. As a result, these young people often live in social isolation and cannot find a suitable education or workplace after completing secondary school, with all the negative consequences that this can entail.
Better communication and thus being able to participate in society with their own talent contributes to the self-esteem, self-confidence, self-reliance and empowerment of this target group. Cam On Wheels wants to break the social isolation of non-speaking young people by supporting them to communicate by utilizing film.
The objective of the Cam on Wheels project was to realize a sustainable initiative in which Cam on Wheels can continue to exist as a social enterprise after completion of the project.
Cam on Wheels is now a Rotterdam film production house where young people with and without disabilities make professional film productions. The Cam on Wheels crew consists of special education students from Stichting BOOR and students from Grafisch Lyceum Rotterdam.
Together they make AV media productions for all kinds of clients under the supervision of a team of professional filmmakers and a photographer.
The diversity of the filmmakers and the inclusive nature of Cam on Wheels creates a special dynamic that can be seen in the film productions we deliver; young, fresh and innovative. Cam on Wheels is unique due to its design, the involvement of young people with and without disabilities, and collaboration with various professional filmmakers. Because of the openness and spontaneity of a young professional crew, we notice that interviews are often spontaneous and easy.
