December 3rd is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. All over the world, several actions are taken to open minds on this topic, and in Europe, since 2019, a new initiative was born named DuoDay.
In November 2019, everywhere in France, the DuoDay operation matched duos between people with disabilities and volunteer professionals in companies, communities or associations.
At AB Tasty, we welcome that kind of initiative with enthusiasm! Since AB Tasty has diversity and inclusion at its heart, we knew this would be a win-win experience for all participants.
The 2020 crisis wasn’t a restraint to this program as we decided to organize it through visio (it was even easier as it allowed employees from each French office to take part in the experience).
Three employees were able to match with candidates and for each duo created, the agenda went as following:
- Step 1: e-coffee with all duos so everyone can introduce themselves and get to know each other.
- Step 2: visio meeting for each duo to discuss the AB Tasty employee’s role, the missions, tools used, strengths needed and challenges.
- Step 3: depending on the duo’s possibilities, work on a short project together
- Step 4: was really unusual for us, as DuoDay happened the exact same way than our Global Mental Health Break. We therefore decided to welcome our apprentices to have them live the same experience as AB Tasty employees.Â
After that day, we sent a form to all participants to gather feedback and understand what went well, and what can be improved in the future.
The experience being virtual, each employee who took part in the experience felt a bit disappointed to not be able to enjoy a real face to face discussion especially to make it easier to show the tools we use, the work environment and everything which makes AB Tasty such a nice place to work. However, all of them enjoyed the day and found interest in sharing that moment.
The greatest achievement we noticed from participating in DuoDay is all apprentices told us this experience confirmed their career choice. Â
We look forward to the next edition!Â
Disability inclusion is an essential condition to upholding human rights, sustainable development, and peace and security. It is also central to the promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to leave no one behind. The commitment to realizing the rights of persons with disabilities is not only a matter of justice; it is an investment in a common future.