European Union Povides £1.86M Support For New ‘Sensory Engagement Programme’
29 September 2010
An innovative new cross-border project, which will improve the lives of hundreds of people with hearing and sight difficulties, has received £1.86 million worth of support through the EU’s INTERREG IVA Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).
Called the ‘Sensory Engagement Programme’ the project brings together four of the largest organisations providing support services for deaf and blind people across Northern Ireland and Ireland.
The project is being spearheaded by the Royal National Institute of Blind people Northern Ireland (RNIB NI) in partnership with the Royal National Institute of Deaf people (RNID), the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI) and ‘DeafHear’, a registered charity looking after the needs of deaf people and their families.
“The ‘Sensory Engagement Programme’ has been supported under the collaboration theme of the INTERREG IVA Programme, which has been designed to promote cross-border co-operation in the exchange of expertise, information and best practice,” said Brenda Hegarty, Programme Manager with the SEUPB.
“The project falls under that category as it will draw upon the experience of four organisations with an unparalleled knowledge of sight and hearing impediments to improve access to services that most people take for granted,” she continued.
Over the next three years the project will deliver a specially designed ‘active citizenship’ programme that will help hundreds of deaf, hard of hearing, blind and partially sighted people on a cross-border basis.
As part of this programme it will provide basic IT training and a confidence building course to over 300 people with sight and hearing difficulties. The programme will also develop ‘models of excellence’ in service delivery within further education colleges, libraries and a number of participating banks across Northern Ireland and the Border Region of Ireland.
Over 600 customer facing staff working within these sectors will receive sensory awareness training to improve front line services for people with sight and hearing impairment.
“The creation of these ‘models of excellence’ will encourage banks, libraries and further education institutions to become more responsive to the needs of customers with sight and hearing difficulties. Ultimately this will improve access to essential services for people with sensory impairments to ensure that their unique needs are met,” said Alice Lewis, Project Manager of the Sensory Engagement Programme, based in RNIB NI.
“The funding we have received from the EU’s INTERREG IVA Programme has enabled us to take this much needed project forward. It represents a truly collaborative approach and will have a significant and long-term impact on the lives of people on both sides of the border,” continued Alice Lewis.
Creating six full-time positions it is anticipated that, upon completion, the project will act as a catalyst for further work in this area and create mutually beneficial partnerships between both private and public sector service providers and the sensory disabled community.