«We turn children's supposed weaknesses into their strengths»

Mr Fornasier, you are regularly on the road as a superhero and are committed to diversity and inclusion as Bionicman. What exactly are the aims of your Give Children a Hand foundation?

Give Children a Hand is a charitable foundation that was established in 2019. We provide children with physical disabilities with prosthetic hands that they can help design themselves. We also want to sensitise all children to interacting with people with disabilities and strengthen the self-esteem of children with special needs.

I myself was born without a right hand and now wear a state-of-the-art bionic hand prosthesis. When I go to schools to raise awareness and prevent bullying, I do so as a bionic man. My right hand then becomes my superpower.

You also pass this superpower on to children - with the Confidence Shield. Tell us about it.

The Confidence Shield is an accessory in the shape of a spaceship that children can wear on their arms. It is a protective shield and lucky charm for children with and without disabilities. The shield is designed to boost their self-confidence and thus help promote inclusion.

If a child is bullied or ostracised, the Confidence Shield gives them strength and courage. We try to make the child stronger than the bullying and turn supposed weaknesses such as a gap in their teeth, a big nose or similar into strengths. The aim is to develop self-confidence in such a way that children can successfully ward off bullying.

Why did you choose the spaceship symbol of all things?

That was a very conscious decision. With a space shuttle, children know no boundaries and can use it to fly to another galaxy. We depict this in our Bionicmania comics, of which four volumes have already been published. In these stories, children can immerse themselves in their own world.

Further information: www.bionicmania.com and www.givechildrenahand.org