Inclusive training can overbridge the digital divide

Funka is part of a new ambitious EU-funded research project led by the European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities, EASPD. The aim of the project called ENTELIS+ is to strengthen digital skills and competences of digitally excluded groups, with a special focus on accessibility for persons with disabilities and elderly.

The project brings together support service providers from Italy, Austria, Ireland & Greece; universities from Austria and Cyprus; Funka as leading accessibility experts on accessibility and three European networks representing service providers for persons with disabilities, assistive technologies experts and regional authorities. A strong and far-reaching consortium.

ENTELIS+ will pave the way for a more accessible and inclusive education sector. We will work close together with local decision makers to reduce the digital divide in education, says Magdalena Verseckas, project officer at EASPD.

The project will among other things produce a set of guidelines, a training manual and piloting activities. The participating networks will seek comittments to develop local plans for embeding accessibility and assistive technologies in inclusive education settings.

The key tasks in the project is to:

  • Raise awareness about the importance of accessibility as an enabler for inclusive learning and teaching,
  • Develop digital skills of persons with disabilities and elderly to participate in the digital society,
  • Build capacity of key actors in charge of designing and implementing facilitating frameworks (public authorities and service providers).
By training the trainers among service providers in ICT skills and digital accessibility, the knowledge has an opportunity to reach a broad audience across Europe, says Susanna Laurin, Chief Research & Innovation Officer at Funka.

Accessibility is an enabler for overall inclusion, employability and active citizenship. One of the overall objectives of the project is to promote accessibility as a common European value and generating impact not only on the partner organisations but also at the systemic level, through strategic public-private partnerships, innovative methods and practices to foster inclusive education and promote common values.

Funding: Erasmus+
Period: January 2020 – January 2023
Consortium: European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities (project manager, head quarters in Belgium), Associazione Italiana per Lassistenza agli spastici provincia de Bologna (Italien), University of Linz (Austria), European University Cyprus (Cyprus), Verein zur Förderung Assistierender Technologie in Europa (Austria), Atempo Betriebsgesellschaft MBH (Austria), SJOG Community Services Limited (Ireland), Ergastiri Eidikis Agogis Margarita (Greece), Arbeitsgemenschaft Europäischer Grenzregionen (Germany) and Funka.
Budget: 468 256 EURO