Empower Educators for Inclusiveness

<< Background >>This project has been applied for in order to contribute to overcome inclusion issues in the field of event organisations, not always accessible enough, especially for people with visual impairments at different extents. This project has been undertaken by the partnership (with organisations from France, Poland, Netherlands), coordinated by IABE (Italy), with the aim of giving a significant contribution towards putting the work with blind people to the centre stage in the Esperanto community, similarly to what a strategic partnership in the field of youth did about sex and gender equality.The main idea at the centre of the project was that not just information, knowledge and better practices would be shared, but also concrete tools would be developed and would have a concrete impact in the participating organisations and in the network of organisations reached by them. << Objectives >>This project objectives, set at application stage, were: raising awareness on the challenges related to inclusion of blind people in educational activities; engaging adult people in active initiatives about inclusion; stimulating exchange of better educational practice; developing tools for organisers of educational activities; raising the quality and inclusiveness of educational activities; raising awareness about disabilities to the general public and to participants of educational activities; promoting the Erasmus+ programme.<< Implementation >>The partnership, in order to achieve thr project goals, has implemented different types of activities, in order to reach the project goals: three transnational meetings (France, Poland, Italy, one in virtual format and another short session linked to the training activity), aimed at exchanging better practice on inclusion and accessibility; one training activity; a brochure and a multilingial quiz unit for organisers of events; an info-page with tips on how to support blind and partially sighted people during events; a large dissemination event, in order to maximise the visibility of the projects and its achievements to a wider public. The partnership has also worked to realise an additional brochure, more focused on the relationship between art experience and blindness, with a special focus on tactile approach to art.<< Results >>This project has contributed to the exchange of better educational practice between the participating organisations (transnational meetings); to empower the educators' skills (training activity); to create tools and materials for organisers of educational activities (brochure on accessible events; brochure on accessible art; multilingual online quiz unit); to raise awareness about inclusion to the general public (info-page with tips; dissemination event). More in general, this project has given a significant contribution on strengthening a dimension of civic engagement and social inclusion, making active people and educators, and the general public, about issues related to inclusion in events and educational activities. This will allow, in a longer-term perspective, to enlarge the participation of more and more people with different special needs.