Information regarding the project BaGMIVI

The proposed project BaGMIVI (Bridging the Gap Between Museums and Individuals with Visual Impairments) was approved by the Erasmus+ Programme in relation to Key Action 2. Specifically, 12 formal and 4 silent partners constitute the consortium of this project. Four of the 12 formal partners are universities (University of Thessaly-UTH, Sofia University-SU, University Babes Bolyai-UBB, and Eotvos Lorand University-ELTE), three are non-profit non-governmental organisations (i.e the International Council for Education and Rehabilitation of people with Visual Impairment-ICEVI-Europe, the Bulgarian Association for Education of Visually Impaired Children- BAOZZD, and the European Blind Union-EBU), four are museums [one archaeological (Greece), two galleries (Hungary & Bulgaria) and one ethnographic-(Romania)], and one is an IT Company. The silent partners are special schools for the blind and the contact persons of the Universities are all experts in the education and rehabilitation of the blind and visually impaired.

The need for collaboration and interagency partnerships is the basis of the present project, which aims to bridge the gap between museums and individuals with visual impairments. Hence, the proposed project aims to address the following objectives:

• To enable museum members to become aware and update their knowledge regarding the disabling barriers that impede the access of visitors with visual impairments to museums and the techniques that can enhance the access and inclusion of individuals with visual impairments to the museums.
• To create learning, cultural and social opportunities for individuals with visual impairments and enable them to acquire self-advocacy skills regarding their rights as museum visitors and the requirements of an inclusive museum.
• To promote the collaboration between museums, schools and associations of individuals with visual impairments.
• To point out the best practices and guidelines for the development of an accessible and inclusive museum for visitors with visual impairments.

The main activities included in BaGMIVI concern the management, assurance and evaluation activities, the development of a needs assessment study, of a syllabus and of the BaGMVI portal, the holding of Joint Staff Training Events for museum members and the development of accessible museum content/programmes, the organization of the museums visits and vice versa and the development of a best practice guide and policy guidelines and recommendations and the dissemination activities.

The expected tangible results of the BaGMIVI include the needs assessment study, the syllabus, the videos from the training and videos from the development of differentiated museum content, the best practice guide and policy guidelines and recommendations.

Vassilis Argyropoulos, Ph.D.
Department of Special Education
University of Thessaly
Volos, Greece