Beauty contest for young women in wheelchairs
The idea for and organisation
of the contest is by regional NGO Katyusha — support for parents with disabilities
and their families. Its aim is to show the public images of attractive and
successful women with disabilities, so as to overcome stereotypes of vulnerability
and hopelessness. Many of the contestants are students, have jobs, raise their
children, and by their example show that their lives are full and multifaceted.
The ten finalists will compete for the crown of “Miss Independence”.
The contest is supported by
the Moscow administration and its Department for Social Protection. The main
partner is Eurocitybank. Information support has been given by ASI, the portal
Inva.TV, the newspaper “Hope”, the Laboratory for Social Publicity, and
Association Pro. Special guests include the Minister of Health for Moscow, the
Head of the Department for Social Protection of Moscow Vladimir Petrosyan, the
Head of the Duma Committee for Information Policy, Technology and
Communications, Vladimir Krupennikov, and the writer Maria Arbatova.
The contest was to be held in
support of the Russian Paralympic team for the Sochi Winter Olympics 2014. The
jury consists of representatives of civil society, the arts and business. It
will be headed, by tradition, by Deputy Head of the Department for Social
Protection of Moscow City, Tatiana Potyaeva.
