Capito! Compris! Understood! Verstanden!

<< Background >>More than half of the adult population is facing texts that are too complex for them to understand on a regular basis. They need information to be provided in an easier, more accessible way. The reasons for this need range from intellectual disabilities to not being a native speaker.Information is key to fully participating in society, to know our rights and duties, to make our own decisions. That is why we need to make information more accessible and easier to understand, for instance by using easy-to-read language. With this project, we want to contribute to a more inclusive society by improving easy-to-read and accessibility trainings for adults, raising awareness and creating networks. This way, we contribute to a more inclusive communication culture. We applied for this transnational cooperation project so that important information will be understood by more of our fellow European citizens.<< Objectives >>Our goal with this project was and still is to help people communicate in a more accessible way. This can be by promoting and improving easy-to-read trainings for adults, raising awareness for the topic or spreading the idea further.We wanted to exchange our perspectives and best practices, learn from each other, combine our expertise, create new training material, foster networking opportunities and establish long-lasting partnerships beyond the project. This way, we keep doing our part for a more inclusive society across Europe.<< Implementation >>In this project, we linguistically transferred extensive, well-researched and well-tested criteria for easy-to-read language from German to English, French and Italian. We took into account the respective languages' specifics and characteristics. The scientific part was done by specialised linguists at different universities, then the criteria was tested by professionals in the field of accessible information. They produced texts according to the criteria and had the texts checked by people representing possible target groups, such as people with intellectual disabilities or non-native speakers. This step was essential, as they are the only ones to judge whether a piece of information is really accessible. The criteria were then reviewed according to the feedback and consolidated into useful accessibility guidelines in English, French and Italian. They are openly accessible and can be used in trainings for adults on accessible information, but also in various other settings to implement accessible communication.Furthermore, we developped training modules that are easily adaptable to different settings and suitable for different needs. They help trainers design their communication trainings in an even more effective way and therefore make it easier for them to spread the idea of accessible information. But they can also be used (partly or in their entirety) and adapted to situations outside of training settings. We first gathered ideas on which topics are important when it comes to accessible information. We then conceived modules for 5 of these ideas, translated them to English, French, Italian and German, and adapted them according to feedback that we received from easy-to-read professionals.We also conceived a curriculum. With this curriculum, you can design instructional courses for co-trainers. Co-trainers are people with easy-to-read needs who co-instruct easy-to-read trainings. They can add a valuable dimension by sharing their experiences, talking about the difficulties they face and showing people why accessible information is so crucial. We first agreed on important modules for this curriculum before developing them separately. We then combined them to one curriculum, adding a comprehensive introduction. After we had translated the curriculum to English, German, French and Italian, we gathered feedback from easy-language professionals and adapted the document accordingly.We carried out numerous dissemination activities throughout the project, such as project presentations and social media postings. At the end of the project, we organised 4 virtual multiplier events. We shared our project results, created exchange and networking opportunities and enabled people to use our project results.All along the way, it was crucial to us to work in a diverse, inclusive project team and to involve participants of different backgrounds.<< Results >>Our project results include guidelines on accessible information in English, French and Italian. They are designed in a clear, well structured way for trainers to use them in their easy-to-read training sessions and for their participants to use them on a daily basis. They can also be used in and adapted to many other settings.We furthermore produced a set of training modules related to accessible communication. The set comprises 5 modules for trainers to design their workshops, lessons and trainings in a more effective, engaging way - hence making the dissemination of accessible information easier and more sustainable. Thanks to the module's adaptability, you can use them partly or in their entirety in different situations. Our last project result is a curriculum for an instructional course. You can use it to design courses for people with easy-to-read needs. This can be, among others, people with intellectual disabilities, learning difficulties, non-native speakers, or people with dementia. The course is a starting point for them to be involved in easy-to-read trainings as co-instructors. Them sharing their experiences and challenges is a real added value to those trainings. It furthermore creates a meaningful job opportunity and helps the labour market become more inclusive.Apart from these concrete outputs, our project provided the opportunity to exchange best practices inside and outside of the project partnership, to build new networks and to find potential partners for future cooperation. The project also resulted in a raised awareness for the importance of accessible information on a regional, national and European level.With our project, we did our part to improve the quality of easy-to-read trainings, to create networking opportunities and to promote accessible communication - briefly, to make society in Europe more inclusive.