In 2012, Orange Romania Foundation launched “World through Color and Sound”, the largest financing program dedicated to people with visual / hearing impairments in Romania.
The program advocates for the” right to be ordinary” and the right to live a decent and fruitful life, beyond a disability. Since 2012, 46 projects were financed, in areas like education, health, mobility and culture projects. In total, almost 600,000 beneficiaries and over 2.2 million euro invested in accessibility programs for the blind, deaf and hard of hearing / seeing people in Romania.
This year, the 8th edition of the call for projects was launched in an unprecedented context. In the midst of the pandemic, Orange Foundation Romania decided to further support the organizations
that make possible the social inclusion of more than 120,000 people part of this vulnerable group.
"The COVID-19 pandemic will pass, but the social inequalities not. They will remain and even deepen, reason why we continue our mission of building a world of equal opportunities, in which people with this kind of disabilities are equal partners of the typical ones" said Dana Deac, President Orange Foundation Romania.
With a total value of almost 274.000 euro, the 5 new projects selected this year will offer free digital accessibility solutions in education, mobility, personal development, mental and emotional health, but also a better integration on the labor market and in the educational environment. The estimated number of beneficiaries is over 95.000 people.
Read all about the 5 projects
Collaborative projects, implemented during a period of 24 months and financed with a grant up to 100,000 euro.
BLINDHub - Association of the Blind in Romania, in partnership with the University of Bucharest
The project proposes a digital solution designed to facilitate the access of visually impaired people to the labor market and to the educational environment. Thus, with the support of a dedicated mobile application, the beneficiaries will be able to create their professional profile, including a video CV, while interested companies will have the opportunity to filter in the database and send interview requests directly to candidates.
The video CVs will be created with the support of the project team, in the two BLINDHub centers located in Bucharest, but also in the country, during events organized in 10 big cities for promoting the benefits of the application. On the medium and long term, the project will provide blind people with employment opportunities in various fields at national level, generating in this way a better qualified and vocationally oriented workforce.
Personal development for the deaf in Romanian Sign Language - ANIALMG in partnership with the National Association of Teachers for Hearing Impaired Students "Virgil Florea"
The project will provide deaf people with free access to online resources containing essential information translated in Romanian Sign Language (RSL) on topics such as personal development, mental and emotional health. Despite the legal provisions mentioned in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, but also in Law 27/2020 on RSL, deaf people in Romania do not have access to such a valuable content, that can facilitate an easier social inclusion. On the long term, the project aims to have a positive impact by increasing self-esteem and developing a better capacity for emotional self-management and relationships among both adults and children.
Projects implemented during a period of 12 months and financed with a grant up to 20,000 euro.
Sensi: online safety for children with deafblindness - Sense International Romania Foundation
The project will support the safety of children in the online environment. Through animated videos, the project will provide children with deafblindness with the tools, knowledge and confidence needed to reduce the risk of abuse in the online environment (emotional abuse, sexual abuse, financial exploitation). The long-term impact of the project will be the improvement of the quality of life for these children, allowing them to have be independent and enjoy social integration without taking the risk of being abused, neglected and / or exploited.
Case study: nature - Tandem Arena Association
Part of an inclusive digital education program, the project aims to expand the existing e-learning platform (www.idea-isa.ro) with texts, audio and tactile materials describing 15 important topics in the fields of physics and chemistry, adapted to the needs of visually impaired children. The materials will be available online (text files and audio files) and offline (tactile images) for all visually impaired children and their teachers, and can be used both as an educational support in the classroom and during laboratory experiments.
Urban nature: shapes and sounds - Vacaresti Natural Park Association
An initiative that will encourage people with visual and hearing impairments to visit and explore directly and independently, beyond disabilities, the wonderful area of Vacaresti Natural Park, the first urban natural park in Romania. By means of this project, one of the most beautiful trails in the park will be adapted and made accessible through audio guides, tactile map of the park, guided tours and thematic workshops, but also with the help of audio and video educational resources, available online