GoodLunch with Discovering Hands

A short recap of the second GoodLunch @ betahaus Köln with Frank Hoffmann, founder of Discovering Hands.

The GoodLunch is a regular lunch-get-together for “change-makers” – people active on or interested in sustainability. Today, it took proudly place the second time today at the betahaus Köln, with Ashoka-fellow Frank Hoffmann as  a guest, the founder of Discovering Hands.

Discovering Hands

For all those who didn’t make it: Frank Hoffmann is a gynecologist, who was annoyed by the lack of in-depth, careful screening offer for younger woman in Germany (older get mammography paid by the medical system). He started education blind women in the art of discovering breast cancer – and founded Discovering Hands. This social enterprise promotes the approach, in Germany and beyond, and has set up a full nine-month course with a basic medical education, communication training and, the core, an introduction into his special methodology to discover breast cancer at an early stage.

How does that look in practice? See yourself:

The discussions during lunch touched a broad range of issues.

How does having such a jobs affect the self-esteem of the blind women? Positively, as Katrin Kasten, one of the (almost) blind women already trained, was ready to testify at the GoodLunch.

Can the effects be quantified? Yes, but some numbers are from abroad, where more detailed studies have been conducted.

How can the concept be spread further? Participants brainstormed new features for the online platform of Discovering Hands, and how they could use social networks to promote their concept.

A nice, cheerful and superbly informative lunch!

To be repeated – the next lunch is on 24 Feb – with Maya Wiseman from Bottled City.

And as the GoodLunch is slowly coming out of it’s ‘beta’ phase, it will be officially launched on the betahaus blog soon! Stay tuned.