SensoriAbile anch’io’ project: visual impairment and accessibility of the urban environment
After more than a year and a half of conception, planning, implementation and verification, the experimental phase of ‘SensoriAbile anch’io’, the social awareness project on visual impairment for the inclusion and acceptance of blind and visually impaired people through an experience-based approach, has come to an end.
‘SensoriAbile anch’io’ was conceived, developed and promoted by the Robert Hollman Foundation, the University of Padua’s Centre for Museums, the Municipality of Padua, the Italian Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired, Padua section, and the National Association of Personal Autonomy Mobility Instructors.
The project aims to encourage greater accessibility and acceptance of people with visual impairments in the use of the various services within the city context, promoting the dissemination of a sensitive, inclusive culture that is attentive to the needs of people with visual impairments, also considering the environment as a facilitator of processes of integration and social change.
To this end, a questionnaire was administered to more than 200 people with visual impairment and their caregivers as of October 2023 to detect perceived or experienced criticalities in the use of public and private services in the city of Padua. From January until September 2024 the theoretical and experiential training in the services involved: by approaching the different perspective of the blind or visually impaired user, the aim was to provoke shared reflections in the operators on their service and work, in order to then put in place environmental and relational facilitations.
In May 2025, the objectives, contents, modalities and results of the project will be presented at Icevi Europe’s 10th international conference – ‘Supporting children and young adults with visual impairment: what can we do? What can be done?’ – which will take place in Padua from 15 to 17 May 2025.
Another appointment on the agenda will be the ‘Sensory Padua Days’, organised from 10 to 18 May 2025 to further involve the entire civic community: a programme of events, meetings, workshops and other initiatives curated by numerous non-profit organisations, with the aim of bringing citizens, with or without disabilities, closer to the theme of inclusion through multisensory experiences.
Watch the project presentation trailer here: