Inclusive Horizons launches Work Package 2
Asociatia Babilon Travel (ABT), coordinator of the Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnership project Inclusive Horizons – InHo (2025-1-RO01-KA220-YOU-000363597), officially announces the start of Work Package 2 (WP2), an important stage of the project focused on exploring and responding to the digital learning and employability needs of physically and sensorially impaired youth (PSIY). This phase of the project will be implemented in Belgium, Greece, Poland, Spain, and Romania.
WP2 has a central role in building a strong evidence base for the next project results. Its main purpose is to better understand the barriers, needs, and existing opportunities related to digital learning and access to employment for young people with impairments. At the same time, it also looks at the perspectives of youth workers, educators, and employers, in order to ensure that the results developed within the project reflect real needs and practical realities in all partner countries.
One of the main outputs of WP2 will be a research study focused on mapping the digital learning and employment needs of PSIY. Led by ABT, this activity will last six months and will include a shared methodology for all partners, surveys, interviews, focus groups, desk research, national reports, and a comparative research study report in English. The final report will later be translated into the partner languages. The study will also examine relevant policies, accessibility barriers, and the digital tools currently available in education and employment contexts.
The research phase will involve three key target groups through survey and consultation activities: physically and sensorially impaired youth, youth workers or educators, and employers. The planned data collection foresees a minimum of 40 PSIY respondents, 20 youth workers or educators, and 10 employers, alongside interviews and focus groups carried out in each country. This process will help the partnership gather both quantitative and qualitative data and develop a clearer comparative picture of the situation across the five participating countries.
A second major result of WP2 will be the development of a multilingual accessibility toolkit and guide, led by FDO. Based on the research findings, this output will include at least ten selected digital tools and resources, with priority given to freeware or open-source solutions. The toolkit will include AI-powered applications, Braille-compatible tools, screen-reader-friendly resources, audio guides, and video tutorials with subtitles and sign language interpretation. To ensure accessibility and practical value, the materials will be prepared in user-friendly formats, including large-font, screen-reader-friendly, and Braille versions, and translated into the languages of the partner countries.
WP2 also includes a participatory co-design dimension through local workshops organised by each partner. These one-day workshops will involve PSIY, as well as youth workers and educators, and will focus on assessing the usability and accessibility of the toolkit. This step is important for making sure that the final result is not only informative, but also relevant, understandable, and useful for the people it is meant to support.
The progress and impact of WP2 will be followed through several quantitative indicators, including the number of surveys and interviews conducted, the completion of the comparative report, the number of tools included in the toolkit, the preparation of resources in accessible formats, website downloads and interactions, social media engagement, and the active involvement of project team members in implementing and validating the outputs. Participation in the co-design workshops will also contribute to measuring the practical relevance of the work package.
With the launch of WP2, the Inclusive Horizons partnership begins an important stage of research, cooperation, and development that will support the creation of practical and accessible resources for young people with impairments and the professionals working with them.
This project is co-funded by the European Union.