BACKGROUND AND CURRENT SETTING One billion people live with some form of disability (WHO), at EU level, about 24% of persons aged 16 and over declared a disability, furthermore the aging EU population is growing intensely. The number of people with access needs is therefore significant and growing. Equal integration into society, including travelling and experiencing cultural heritage is a real challenge. Cultural heritage (museums, galleries, monuments etc) provide significant opportunity for social inclusion, sense of community, informal education and lifelong learning; as such accessibility should not be a barrier! Better inclusion through CH interpretation is not just about social responsibility but is a business imperative representing market potential for tourism. This project tackles this need through education of students, future experts, but also current CH staff to improve access for all. PARTICIPANTS The project involves 5 countries, 9 project partners and 20 associated partners incorporating experienced Project Managers, academics, researchers, and the AccessCULT target groups. Main target groups are STUDENTS (at least 60 directly involved) and CULTURAL WORKERS (at least 50 directly involved). And the final beneficiaries are PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES (at least 20 directly involved) from partner countries. Wider stakeholder groups, such as media, decision makers and certification bodies will be addressed with the expected number of stakeholders reached to be >5000 EU wide. PROJECT AIMS, OBJECTIVES, ACTIVITIES AND METHODOLOGY UNDERTAKEN AccessCULT aims to IMPROVE ACCESSIBILITY OF CULTURAL HERITAGE across Europe through exchange of good practice and by developing, implementing, testing, improving and promoting an innovative multidisciplinary HE module for students, future experts, and an adult training for existing cultural workers. Through education and training it is aimed to develop knowledge, skills and competencies to enable cultural workers in museums and galleries to respond to the needs of visitors with wide ranging capabilities to ensure they are able to access, enjoy and benefit fully from our rich cultural heritage. AccessCULT will implement project activities through 8 Work Packages (WP). The main results will be 6 Intellectual outputs (O1-6), 4 Multiplier events (O1-4) and 2 Teaching/Training activities (C1-C2) as follows: >O1: In-depth Analysis of needs >O2: Specification of learning outcomes >O3: Higher Educational Module “Accessible Cultural Heritage for All” >O4: OER - Online adult training “Accessible Cultural Heritage for All” >O5: Implementation and testing of a 6-month study programme (n= 60; 15 students in 4 partner countries); 1-month blended (online and on-site) adult training for current CH workers (n= 50 across 5 partner countries); 10 Pilot guided tours carried out by students and trainees as “Accessible Museum Coordinators”. >O6: Business plan and Catalogue with Recommendations for System and Policy Makers for optimal exploitation and sustainability of results >E1-4: Round tables for stakeholders in 4 partner countries >C1: 5-day Train-the-trainer event (Slovenia) >C2: 5-day Train-the-trainer event (Lithuania) >E4: Final International Conferences with at least 60 participants >Management, Promotion & Dissemination Campaign and an Evaluation Plan will also be implemented. IMPACT: AccessCULT will have impact on participants, participating organisations, target groups and other relevant stakeholders. PWD will benefit through improved access and learning from cult. heritage. This will be achieved through enhanced knowledge and skills for current and future CH workers. A multi-disciplinary holistic approach will be undertaken combining subject disciplines and a new understanding of visitor and staff requirements to inform the novel educational material. AccessCULT will exchange and build upon EU good practice, accessibility guidelines, and apply applicable ethical and VET guidelines to ensure EU added value and widespread impact. ECTS certification and ECVET certification possibilities will be assessed. The educational material will be maintained and accessible beyond the project. Close cooperation with the end beneficiaries (people living with disabilities, students and CH workers), will ensure they gain learning benefits from participating, ensure the validity and acceptability of the outcomes and encourage promotion to a wide range of cultural institutions and stakeholders. Besides end users, they will act as advisors, co-creators and evaluators. An extensive EU network of stakeholders alongside a newly established network of Accessibility Museum Ambassadors (at least 20) will contribute to the promotion of accessibility itself and to the dissemination and sustainability of project results. Key to the longevity of the project impact will be a detailed Business plan and Recommendations for S&P makers that will ensure the outcomes are exploited beyond the project.
General objective: AccessCULT aims to IMPROVE ACCESSIBILITY OF CULTURAL HERITAGE across Europe through exchange of good practice and by developing, implementing, testing, improving and promoting an innovative multidisciplinary Higher Education (HE) module for students, future experts, and an adult training for existing cultural workers in order to develop knowledge, skills and competencies to enable cultural workers in museums and galleries to respond to the needs of visitors with wide ranging capabilities to ensure they are able to access, enjoy and benefit fully from our rich cultural heritage. Specific objectives: - Create an on-line EU POINT - Higher Education MODULE - (ON-LINE) ADULT TRAINING - Organise 10 pilot museum tours for disabled visitors - Organise 5-day Train-The-Trainer (TTT) for HEI - Organise 5-day Train-The-Trainer (TTT) for adult staff - Organise 1-month mobility for students - Create an Accessible Museum Ambassadors network - Validate learning outcomes - Business plan and Recommendations for System & Policy makers
One billion people in the world live with disability (24% of persons >16 in EU), the aging population is growing intensely, so the number of people with access needs is significant. Equal integration into society, including cultural heritage (CH) is a challenge. CH provides opportunity for social inclusion, sense of community, informal education and learning. This project tackles this need through education of students, future experts, but also current CH staff to improve access for all. Project mission is to increase the accessibility of CH for People with Disabilities (PWD), to enable their participation in the activities carried out by museums and also to strengthen connections between museums and associations of PWD, in order to create a basis for good cooperation in the future and to enrich regional policies with culture and heritage as added value for socio-cultural sustainability, by exchange experience amongst the partnership through synergy between higher education sector, cultural sector and disabled people with help of communication and collaboration, keeping in mind the effects of innovation and creating a base of knowledge that can span well beyond the project’s end.