Mary Gelman began working on her project, Svetlana, 2016. In this lecture on Feb. 14 at 10:00 EST, she describes how she covered this special community as a long-term project, what challenges she faced, and addresses questions about ethics and communication.
In Russia, people with special needs are often stigmatized. They are not considered fully human with the ability to learn and socialize, and they are often unemployed. But there is a place where life is different—and better—for some of them. Svetlana is a unique social village in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. This community allows intellectually disabled people to live freely and fully, supported by tutors and volunteers.
For the residents these roles mean nothing. This place is not a boarding school or a clinic. No one is controlled and the doors are always opened. Residents don’t draw a line between healthy and unhealthy, normal and abnormal. Everyone is valued as an individual. Capabilities and abilities are the only things that matter. The residents of Svetlana believe in the person you can become despite your past.
Svetlana is a community of about 40 residents. They live in four large houses and have a garden, a farm, a bakery, a carpenter’s workshop, and more. The residents survive through subsistence farming and work despite their different abilities. Villagers are served five meals a day, visit the sauna on weekends, and perform plays on holidays. People with special needs are free to go out, work, have friends, and fall in love. They can engage in any employment or creative activities. For example, at first, some residents could not even hold a spoon, but now some bake bread for all the inhabitants of the village or have become fine actors in the community performances.
This event was recorded and you can watch the video here
