https://www.positive.news/society/neurodivergent-picnic-lima-peru/
"On a bright summer afternoon in Lima, the capital of Peru, Carolina Díaz
Pimentel takes some red and green tape out of her backpack. She’s in a park
waiting for people to arrive at a picnic she and her friends are hosting.
Guests know that they don’t have to be on time, don’t have to make eye contact,
and can leave at any time if they feel overwhelmed. No one will question them.
“We want everyone to feel comfortable. At least this afternoon we want to take
a break from the rules that are imposed on neurodivergent people every day to
fit in,” says Díaz Pimentel, a journalist and a co-founder of the Peruvian
Neurodivergent Coalition (CNP), who is herself autistic and has been diagnosed
with bipolar disorder.
Hence the coloured tapes. Each attendee will choose one to express their
“social battery”. If they choose the green tape, it’s because they want to
participate in the activities. Red signals they prefer not to be approached.
Everyone wants company, that’s why they are here, but in different ways. And
that’s OK. People start to arrive. Several choose red.
CNP is a social initiative that first kicked off in March 2023. It is the
alliance of five neurodivergent women who were already making waves by posting
openly about their conditions on social media, but who longed to make
real-world change. “I used to see this kind of gathering in countries like
Mexico and Argentina and was sad to be so far away, until I saw the
announcement of a picnic in Peru. Before joining the coalition, I didn’t really
relate to anyone. I had good friends, people that care about me, but I knew I
wasn’t like them,” says Mayra Orellano, another of the directors, an interior
designer with borderline personality disorder (BPD).
Today is the coalition’s fifth gathering. A picnic may not sound like fertile
ground for a burgeoning social movement, but behind the bags of cookies and
crisps, that is what CNP is doing – campaigning for the rights of
neurodivergent Peruvians to be understood and accepted, and to live free from
stigma and abuse."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
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mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
