Research on the possibilities for access to information by blind and visually impaired people, provided by: public, educational and labor market institutions

“Providing access to information for people with disabilities” is one of the measures of the 4th National Action Plan (2022 - 2024) of the Republic of Bulgaria within the Global Initiative "Open Government Partnership". The national plan is implemented by the Council for Coordination of the Initiative at the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Bulgaria. The right of access to information for people with disabilities is enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified by Bulgaria in 2012 and is foreseen in the provisions of the Law on Persons with Disabilities. However, people with various disabilities face this challenge in their contacts with public institutions, in their attempts to find work, in their interaction with educational institutions. Synergya Foundation is one of the organizations responsible for developing and implementation monitoring of the measure "Providing access to information for people with disabilities" within the National Action Plan under the above initiative. With the project fulfillment, a study will be made on how and to what extent public and educational institutions, as well as those related to access to the labor market, provide information to blind people. Based on the study’s findings, recommendations to the responsible institutions will be elaborated for (1) improving existing measures, (2) improving the environment, (3) introducing new measures. The project will include: - Information campaign, including information event (webinar) and thematic publications; - Thematic seminar with the participation of stakeholders, to present and discuss the study’s results and the recommendations made. Expected results: defined and substantiated recommendations for improved access to information for blind people. The specific actions arising from the recommendations will be included in the scope of the implementation of the measure "Providing access to information for people with disabilities".

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