Autistic Art

Sustainability is at out heart. We use our best efforts to make our world a better place from a social, economic and environmental view. Within the frame of our strategic partnership with the Autistic Art Foundation our main objective is the sensitization of the society and to take all opportunities to close social gaps. We would like to show our human side and to bridge communication gaps that pose the biggest challenge for people living with autism.

Strategic cooperation

With the Autistic Art Foundation (former name: Smiling Home Foundation) - the strategic partnership agreement was concluded in March 2016. In the course of our cooperation with the Foundation we focus on raising awareness on autism in the broadest possible circle with the use of the channels and tools available for us and simultaneously call the public's attention to the importance of the social acceptance of autism.

The task of bridging distances in our case means the bridging of communication problems that we, as an info-communication company, help with the provision of tools and software that are used for development purposes. However, besides the donation of tools and funds our cooperation also offers multiple opportunities to fulfill the jointly undertaken objective, i.e. the sensitization of the society towards people living with autism.

Autistic Art Public Benefit Foundation

The foundation's mission is to improve the living conditions of people living with autism in Hungary, to help their social integration and to raise resources that are necessary for the long-term sustenance of the NGO.

5 facts about autism

Autism is not rare, the rate of its prevalence is almost 1,5%.

Every 67th person lives with the symptoms of autism. Autism has been known for almost 70 years, however, it is proven that it already existed before, we just did not know about it. Our knowledge on autism is constantly expanding.

Autism is a congenital anomaly caused by the dysfunctionality of brain development.

The dysfunction is mainly attributable to genetic factors together with some environmental impact (e.g. problems at giving birth). Autism does not go away and cannot be cured therefore it influences the given person's life throughout adulthood and impacts the given person’s ability to adjust to family and the community.

The most common symptoms of autism are as follows:

dysfunctional communication skills
social behavior problems
inflexible thinking and behavior, struggle with change

Autism may occur at any level of intellectual abilities.

People living with autism often suffer from developmental impairment, too, but there are autists who have excellent intellectual skills. The notion of “autism spectrum disorder” properly expresses this diversity. Each and every person who lives with autism is different and their behavior can be very different, too.

Autism can be recognized at an early stage, around the age of two.

Early diagnosis helps to provide early and customized pedagogical and psychological development with which the quality of life and social integration can be significantly improved.

4 things with which you can help people with autism:

1. Be patient and open-minded. They often have problems to express themselves and sometimes it seems that they are locked up in their own world. However, if you approach them in an open and understanding manner you may find valuable and honest friends.

2. Express yourself as a simple and clear as possible. People with autism often have problems to find out other people's intentions and thoughts and it is hard for them to recognize facial expressions and emotions. They can hardly understand jokes or unwritten rules (e.g. it is hard for them to understand expressions like “to cry one’s eyes out” “you are sitting on your ears”).

3. Autism does not have visible features. If you see someone on the street or on the bus who behaves strangely, like someone covers his ears, moves his hand up and down in front of his eyes, spins, hums, screams (these are frequent characteristic features of autist behavior) do not judge them on the basis of what you see.

4. Accept them as they are. They are equally different, special and interesting as anybody else.

Our areas of cooperation:

Shops

DRAWINGS OF AUTIST ARTISTS ON TELEKOM’S NEW UNIFORM

Within the frame of the strategic partnership we find it very important to raise our customers’ awareness on autism and to call their attention on the importance of its social acceptance. The scarfs designed with the help of the Autistic Art Foundation convey the message of acceptance and help. The uniform of our customer service staff, working in Telekom shops, has been renewed. An important piece of the uniform is a floss scarf with the drawings of young autist artists, designed within the frame of the art program of the Autistic Art Foundation.

Charitable team building

It is guaranteed that the participants will be different people upon completion of a day’s charitable team building. This “different” can mean many things, but at the end of the day the balance is always positive. Within the frame of the strategic cooperation between Telekom and the Autistic Art Foundation the employees of the company, working in various fields of expertise, may help any of the 10 autist homes, supported by the foundation, with voluntary work. In the course of charitable team buildings Telekom’s volunteers help the autist homes based on their specific needs.

Vivicittá

At last year’s Telekom Vivicittá run the runners from Telekom offered their entry fee as a donation to the Autistic Art Foundation. Telekom tripled these donations and converted the 2 million kilometers completed in the course of the 20 runs organized with Telekom’s support in the last 20 years into 2 million HUF donation to the foundation thus the employees’ donation of 800 thousand HUF plus the donation of Telekom raised a total of 3,6 million HUF for the foundation.
This initiative was continued in 2017.

Festivals

We think together and try to find interfaces where we can present our cooperation in a relevant way in a given environment to a given audience. For example, in festivals we played a material inspired by drawings of young autist artists on Telekom’s screens.

It is good to give! Cookie Campaign

The 'It is good to give' cookie campaign was first held on December 5, 2011, on the International Volunteer Day, and was jointly organized together with the Sustainability Media Club. Since then, on the Monday closest to the International Volunteer Day, our colleagues are awaited at their workplace with tables laid with homemade cookies. The cookies can be consumed in return of donations. The charity campaign is organized by volunteers.
In the third year in a row – after 2015 and 2016 – in 2017 we again supported the Autistic Art Foundation – as a telecommunications service provider we helped those who have problems with communication as the donation was granted to finance art therapy workshops for young autists. In the past two years we raised approximately 3.5 million HUF for the foundation with the help of our colleagues. The cookies were each year photographed by a professional food stylist and the pictures were used for our public online postcard service available in the Christmas holidays. Magyar Telekom added some more donation to the foundation for each postcard sent.