“Outstanding accessibility and inclusion” at the Zero Project Conference 2022
The Disability Thematic Network organised a session on “Outstanding accessibility and inclusion projects of European foundations” at the Zero Project Conference 2022 in Vienna. Moderated by Letizia Manzoni, coordinator of the network at Philea, the session looked into how philanthropic organisations support people with disabilities in different countries, highlighting their learning journeys and reflecting on the new opportunities presented by the pandemic.
Nevgül Bilsel Safkan, Sabancı Foundation, described how to organise an exhibition for visually-and-hearing impaired individuals thanks to the cooperation of Accessible Everything, one of the social initiatives selected for the Sabancı Foundation’s Changemakers Program. Sophia Mohammed, Light for the World, talked about mainstreaming disability in humanitarian responses and brought up the importance of education in emergencies, with case studies from both before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. Nino Khurtsidze, Europe Foundation, reflected upon the disproportionately negative impact of the public health measures taken in Georgia in response to the pandemic on people living with disabilities and their families. The Europe Foundation supported projects easing the impact of Covid-19 restrictions on children and adults with disabilities, which also led to the longer-term positive impact of improving the institutional capacities of the grantee organisations, and created a more normalised practice of remote service provision, which is often needed to reach beneficiaries even during normal times.
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