NGO Makes YouTube Hit
At the age of eight years old, the young man featured in this clip suffered a severe brain-trauma in a car accident. The YouTube Clip by Pro Infirmis wants to raise the public awareness towards handicapped people and tear down prejudices.
Together with Jung von Matt/Limmat the NGO Pro Infirmis, Switzerland’s largest association for handicapped people tried an experiment: A young man with a severe brain condition was placed in a bear costume in the middle of Zurich with his arms stretched out. Several passers-by spontaneously hugged him. Would these people have done the same thing if they would have know that they were hugging a person with a disability?
The German version of the YouTube clip has reached nearly 300’000 views. Pro Infirmis Director Mark Zumbühl was fascinated by the numbers and states that this clip has changed the way people see disablements. The clip reached viewers all over the world, spreading virally and forming awareness.
Has this clip changed your point of view?
Free Hugs are a popular theme though. See this video with nearly 70 million views
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