Equal opportunities for social integration and employment of visually impaired people

The proposed project is based on the understanding that the visually impaired (v.i.) people are in need of adequate support, which does not aim at providing a social minimum, but at creating opportunities for a full and satisfactory social, professional and cultural life. The fragile self-esteem and the lack of trust in one's own skills and capacities, often lead the v.i. people into isolation, in which they are protected from the necessity to undertake risks, responsibilities and obligations, but also robbed from the possibility to achieve personal growth and development and full and satisfying life. On the other side, the low expectations of parents and relatives, places the latter in the role of constant assistants, who often lose the opportunity for self-realization and professional growth. The third party in these complex relations, is society in general, in the face of potential friends, partners, collaborators, employers, who often uphold entirely wrong concepts as far as v.i. people are concerned. By means of the envisaged activities, the project will support limiting poverty and encourage social inclusion of v.i. people. It will encompass both v.i. adults and v.i. children and youngsters, in order to give them a chance for change of their concepts and views concerning their lives and to prepare them for a confident and independent development path. Besides this, the project will give opportunities to parents and relatives of children and people with impaired vision to focus their attention towards the possibilities for personal professional realization. The project will ultimately work with the general audience in order to change attitudes and concepts, which are wrong and unhealthy for the v.i. people. The project responds directly to investment priority 2, because it not only offers services and support to the v.i. people and their families, but also clarifications and proposals for collaborative activities together with the general community.

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