Funka Foundation provides expert support to EU project
With increased accessibility requirements and EU legislation, demand for skilled professionals is also on the rise. However, only a handful of higher education institutions in each EU member state offers accessibility as a fundamental part of their STEM courses.
This lack of training is a significant factor contributing to the slow progress in breaking down mainstream barriers. As a result, innovation is hindered, and the vast potential of digital inclusion for people with disabilities remains untapped.
We keep seeing generations of designers, developers and content creators leaving university without basic accessibility knowledge, says Sara Kjellstrand, Research Strategist at Funka Foundation. This leads to unnecessary resources spent on testing and remediating afterwards, instead of getting it right from the start.
Accessibility needs to be included in all relevant curricula. That is why the European Disability Forum has joined forces with leading universities and EURASHE, with AAATE and IAAP EU as associated partners, in a EU-funded project called ATHENA. Funka Foundation is supporting the project with accessibility expertise.
The ATHENA project aims to bring accessibility and design for all into higher education curricula across Europe by developing and testing guidelines and recommendations which will stimulate innovative learning and teaching practices to tackle social inclusion of persons with disabilities. It is funded by the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) as part of the Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnership action.
More information about the ATHENA project, opens in new window