EASIT is a strategic partnership of stakeholders from different fields addressing innovation in higher education, with a focus on one of the European priorities in the national context: social inclusion. EASIT originates from existing learning assets aiming to generate a comprehensive training ecology for the many accessibility professionals required in Europe to fulfill legal requirements and societal needs. EASIT builds on previous project results in easy reading (ER) (Pathways I, Pathways II) and media accessibility (ADLAB, ADLAB PRO, ACT, ILSA) and gives a step forward in the recognition of a new professional profile in ER that will join existing accessibility experts such as the audio describer (ADLAB PRO), the live subtitler (ILSA) or the accessibility manager for the scenic arts (ACT). EASIT aims to define the skills of the professional (or professionals) involved in creating ER content, with an emphasis on how already existing professionals such as audio describers or subtitlers could expand their skills to cater for innovative hybrid contexts in audiovisual media. In order to do so, EASIT aims to define a methodological framework for implementation, putting forward shared practices in ER in different European countries. EASIT will also produce recommendations on how ER could be integrated with existing access services in audiovisual media, going beyond the traditional ER emphasis on the written printed word. EASIT will propose a modular curriculum design to train ER experts, also considering the cross-fertilization with existing curricula developed as part of other strategic partnerships (ACT, ILSA, ADLAB PRO). It will develop flexible multilingual open educational resources, freely available, that will allow to train ER experts and expand the skills of other accessibility professionals. These materials may be integrated in different learning environments catering for the needs of various student profiles. A cross-cultural and multilingual approach will be favored, considering not only major languages such as German, English, Italian or Spanish but also less spoken languages such as Galician, Catalan, Swedish or Slovene. The project will also consider what certification procedures could be implemented beyond the life of the project. All outputs in the project follow a well-planned methodology that establishes key steps in the process but which is also flexible enough to adapt to suggested improvements. The proposed methodology will put the user at the center of the design, following the slogan “nothing for us without us” and involving end user representatives as full partners, as associate partners or as project participants. Six multiplier events in different countries are planned, to guarantee a wider impact of the project outputs and gather feed-back from relevant stakeholders. EASIT is expected to impact on various target groups: HEIs wanting to offer training in ER will have a ready-made modular curriculum that can be implemented, as well as training materials to be re-purposed in different training situations. SMEs or associations wanting to offer training will have a clear definition of skills and flexible contents to be re-used in vocational training. Freelancers will be able to access to training materials and expand their skills and competences. All citizens, especially persons with disabilities or reading difficulties, will benefit indirectly from EASIT, because professionals trained using EASIT open educational resources will be able to produce accessible content. EASIT will produce tangible outputs that can contribute to fill in a market need, propose innovative solutions and work towards a wider inclusion. This short-term expected impact will be complemented with long-term benefits such as an increased awareness about the importance of producing ER content as a tool for social inclusion. EASIT will be possible thanks to a balanced combination of partners experienced in Erasmus + projects and newcomers to the actions. Partners come from different backgrounds and countries, and have complementary expertise: academia (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, University of Vigo, SUH, SDI, University of Trieste), industry (RTV Slovenja) and end-user NGOs (Zavod RISA, Dyslexiforbundet).
EASIT is a strategic partnership of stakeholders from different fields addressing innovation in higher education, with a focus on one of the European priorities: social inclusion. It originated from existing learning assets aiming to generate a comprehensive training ecosystem for the many accessibility professionals required in Europe to fulfill legal requirements and societal needs. EASIT has built on previous project results in Easy-to-Read (ER) and media accessibility and has given a step forward in the recognition of new professional profiles in easy-to-understand (E2U) language that will join existing accessibility experts such as the audio describer (ADLAB PRO), the live subtitler (ILSA, LTA) or the accessibility manager for the scenic arts (ACT). EASIT has defined the skills of the professionals involved in creating E2U content, with an emphasis on how already existing professionals (audio describers, subtitlers, journalists) could expand their skills to cater for innovative hybrid contexts in audiovisual media (IO3). EASIT has defined a methodological framework for implementation, putting forward shared practices in E2U across Europe (IO1). EASIT has also produced recommendations on how E2U language could be integrated with existing access services in audiovisual media, going beyond the traditional emphasis on the written printed word (IO2). In this regard, EASIT has made an innovative terminological proposal and talks about "easy-to-understand" as an umbrella term ranging from Easy-to-Read (or Easy Language) to Plain Language. EASIT has proposed a modular curriculum design to train experts, both at academic and vocational learning (IO4), considering cross-fertilization with existing curricula developed as part of other strategic partnerships (ACT, ILSA, ADLAB PRO). It has developed flexible multilingual educational resources, freely available and easily integrable in different learning environments catering for the needs of diverse student profiles (IO5). The project has also considered what certification procedures could be implemented beyond the life of the project, giving suggestions for both academic and vocational environments (IO6). All project objectives and expected tangible results have been met: 1. Common framework obtained through a survey: IO1. 2. Recommendations on hybrid services: IO2. 3. Skills card: IO3. In fact, three skills cards, instead of one, have been produced. 4. Modular curriculum design: IO4. In fact, two curriculum proposals have been produced, beyond what was included in the application. 5. Open educational resources: IO5. All content is in open access. 6. Proposed certification strategy: IO6. Apart from the proposed certification strategy, different options for vocational and academic training have been suggested. A multilingual approach has been favoured, considering major languages such as German, English, Italian or Spanish and less spoken languages such as Galician, Catalan, Swedish or Slovene. A wide selection of subtitled content is available. The methodology has put the user at the center of the design. Six events have taken place, with almost 500 participants, guaranteeing a wider impact of the outputs. EASIT has impacted on various target groups: higher education institutions wanting to offer training in E2U have a ready-made modular curriculum that can be easily implemented, as well as training materials to be re-purposed. SMEs or associations wanting to offer training have a definition of skills and flexible contents to be used, as well as a MOOC proposal. Freelancers are able to access materials and expand their skills. All citizens, especially persons with disabilities or reading difficulties, can benefit indirectly because professionals trained with EASIT resources will be able to produce accessible content. EASIT has been possible thanks to a balanced combination of partners experienced in Erasmus+ projects and newcomers. Partners come from different backgrounds and have complementary expertise: academia (UAB, UVIGO, SUH, SDI, UNITS), industry (RTV Slovenija) and end-user NGOs (Zavod RISA, Dyslexiförbundet). The expected intangible results have also been achieved: 1. Raised awareness about E2U. The project has been disseminated widely and is recognised as a key project in E2U, as shown by the invited keynotes given and the accepted project presentations. 2. Further professionalisation of the experts: 3 specialisation courses have been approved by UAB, which will allow professionals to be recognised through certification. 3. EASIT partners have been involved in a network of E2U language experts at European level, which has produced the first book on the topic at European level. 4. The educational resources can contribute to train professionals, which will involve new audiences and provide quality E2U content. The content can also be used to enhance acceptance of diversity in society, as it contains dedicated educational content on this topic.