Anja Winkler – That's how she rolls

05.08.2020

Inclusion begins in the mind! That is certain for Anja Winkler. One topic that is particularly close to her heart in this context is work assistance. Which questions the coronavirus pandemic currently raises for her, which travel plans the certified pedagogue had to throw over for this reason and how she otherwise rolls, she tells us on REHACARE.com.

Photo: Anja Winkler smiles into the camera; Copyright: TU Dresden

Name: Anja Winkler
Age: 37
City: Dresden, Germany
Occupation: Certified pedagogue
Impairment: I am blind myself and work in the Working Group Services Disability and Studies at the TU Dresden. I am a counsellor for students/prospective students/employees with disabilities/chronic/psychological diseases at the TUD. I coordinate the processing of accessible study materials for visually and reading impaired students, conduct workshops and trainings on accessible documents and websites, especially on image and video descriptions. I advise colleagues in the orientation and guidance system of the TUD, check tactile overview plans, Braille prints and audio descriptions for TUD films and documents and websites for accessibility.

What makes you laugh?

Anka Winkler: Good, also political, comedy and satire, partly also own misadventures. :)

What have you always been wanting to do and why have you never done this so far?

Anka Winkler: A trip without a travel group, just for me with an assistant. I dared, but unfortunately my first nice trip with rental car, hotel and flight to Sicily fell victim to the coronavirus pandemic.

Which person has influenced you most? And why?

Anka Winkler: None, because I attach great importance to my own character, to my life. I let myself be influenced very little – I admit that – and I like to form my own opinion.

You have the chance to become the Commissioner for the Disabled. What would you do first?

Anka Winkler: This is difficult because there are so many things I want to tackle first. In principle, I would like to make it much easier for people with disabilities to claim work assistance, even if they have secondary occupations. The authorities still find it difficult when working less than 15 hours a week.

Gif animation: REHACARE 2026 from 23 to 26 September 2026 in Düsseldorf/Germany, linked to "More information about the Trade Fair"

Photo: Anja Winkler reads a building plan in Braille; Copyright: TU Dresden

Anja Winkler also advises colleagues at the TU Dresden on the design of so-called tactile overview plans.

What is especially near and dear to you?

Anka Winkler: The rethinking in our society; that we think for each other and not against each other; that we keep an eye on everyone and no one is excluded; that finally the meaning of "normality" is put to the test.

I would like to be ...

Anka Winkler: a social policy-maker who can make far-reaching decisions and implement them.

Which question would you like to be answered the most?

Anka Winkler: At the moment to what the coronavirus pandemic will do to our society in the medium and long term – with the children (buzzword education), with the elderly who feel isolated and with the others who partly think selfishly.

What I still wanted to say...

Anka Winkler: If we want inclusion and participation in our society, we must all rethink. We must act differently. We must make sure that everyone has a place, because everyone has potential. It is not about thinking for oneself, but about doing something for others. This is the only way a society functions at all. Inclusion begins in the mind!

Grafik: So tickt; Copyright: beta-web/Schmitz

What makes other people actually happy in life? If you ever wondered, you have come to the right place. In regular intervals REHACARE.com asks a varity of people always the same questions. What results from that? Read for yourself!

Anja Winkler – That's how she rolls

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