Inclusive design

visits4u (2016-2017)

Launched in July 2016, visits4u was an 18-month project on inclusive tourism, on behalf of  the Centre for Accessible Environments (CAE). It was co-funded by the COSME Programme of the European Union.

The pillar of ‘visits4u’ was to build capacity of the tourism sector across the partners’ regions in six European countries: Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Spain and the UK. This was achieved through training activities that increased awareness and skills in developing inclusive tourism provision.

Following on from these activities, a series of online tools and resources has been developed, which are available for free via the project’s website: Access Guides, Case Studies and Online Training Modules for tourism businesses.

The project also introduced the use of information in Easy Read and Sign Languages (national ones and International Signs) in the production and promotion of tourism packages. Click here to find out more.

Read more:

Published articles in the Access by Design journal, written by Foteini Galanopoulou, European Project Manager for CAE: Issue 146, in PDF and WORD (text only) – Issue 147, in PDF and WORD (text only).

Final project conference: Accessible Tourism for All, 7th December 2017, Latvia, Riga: visits4u presentation.

Universal Design – Barrier Free Environments (2011-2013)

A Grundtvig Partnership funded by the European Commission’s Lifelong Learning Programme that brought together disability and access organisations from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Spain and the UK to share expertise and universal design solutions.

The partnership looked at case studies in heritage, culture, tourism infrastructure, transport, urban environment, education, employment and disability rights campaigns. The UK was represented in this partnership by the Centre for Accessible Environments (CAE).

Published article in the Access by Design journal, Issue 135, in PDF and WORD (text only), written by Foteini Galanopoulou, Project Manager for CAE.

Read more: www.universaldesigneu.info

London 2012: All Inclusive Workshop (2012)

A Grundtvig workshop funded by the European Commission’s Lifelong Learning Programme, hosted by the Centre for Accessible Environments (CAE) in May 2012. Participation was open to disabled people interested in arts, culture and travelling.

A few months before the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, workshop participants put London’s accessibility to the test through a range of multi-sensory activities and site visits across the town. They eventually offered their own interpretation of a disability-friendly environment whilst learning key principles about inclusive design and access provisions.

Project video:

Watch the video on Vimeo

Published article in the Access by Design journal, Issue 133, pages 5-7, in PDF  and WORD (text only), written by Foteini Galanopoulou, Project Manager for CAE.

Read more: http://allinclusiveworkshop.edublogs.org

Myrtis: Face to Face with the Past (2011)

‘Myrtis: Face to Face with the Past’  is an interactive exhibition which presents to the public all stages from the archaeological excavation of a mass grave  in the ancient cemetery  of Kerameikos in Athens, through the study of the skeletal material it contained and the final reconstruction of Myrtis’ face, an 11 year-old girl who lived in 5th century B.C. in Athens and was amongst the victims of ‘the plague of Athens’, a disease that caused the death of one third of the city’s population, including the leader of the glorious Athenian Democracy, Pericles.

The exhibition presents both Myrtis’ story, as well as the interdisciplinary collaboration for the study of the skeletal material, in a welcoming to the general public approach, complemented with learning resources and activities for schools and young people.

The exhibition is bi-lingual, in Greek and English, and it incorporates key access features for a range of visitors (such as tactile items and videos in Greek and International Sign Languages).

Working with the exhibition designer, I advised on access for deaf people and initiated the process for Greek and International Sign Language to be an integral part of the exhibition.

Read more: www.myrtis.gr