Last week was very intense for TRIPS project. Laura Alčiauskaitė, who represented ENIL on TRIPS project attended several events in Lecco, Italy which were part of ICCHP-AAATE conference Moving faster forward towards Accessible and Inclusive Public Transport for All.
First, on July 11, 2022, Laura attended the TRIPS consortium meeting together with the rest of the project team. During the consortium meeting, the team discussed the progress of the project, identified the existing challenges and opportunities and planned the next steps for the upcoming months.
On July 12, we had the High-Level Meeting where representatives of different European Associations and Authorities discussed how to speed up the process leading to smart, green and accessible public transportation for everyone. It was a great opportunity to learn more about the current barriers and how they have been addressed in different parts of Europe, to listen to experts and a high-level panel representing different stakeholders.
This meeting was be preceded in the morning by a TRIPS Project workshop where the Local User Leads presented the results of designing and developing the mobility solutions and the implementation of the co-design methodology in the project cities.
The milestone of that day was signing the Lecco Declaration by ENIL, AAATE, and UITP – representing end-users with disabilities, assistive technology experts and public transport providers across Europe. The Lecco Declaration outlines key principles that organizations can build on to implement accessibility and foster an understanding of how to shape future public transport models to become increasingly inclusive and accessible. It highlights the opportunities provided by new technologies in speeding up the process to achieve these goals, and was developed in the framework of TRIPS, an EU project aiming to remove barriers and make public transport more accessible for persons with disabilities, elderly voyagers and really everyone. You can read more about the Lecco Declaration here.
And finally, on July 14 Laura Alčiauskaitė (ENIL) and Evert-Jan Hoogerwerf (AAATE) co-chaired „The WHO-UNICEF Global Report on Assistive Technology: Moving forward together“. In May 2022 the first Global Report on Assistive Technology was launched by the WHO and UNICEF. The report signs a landmark in the efforts of the global community of stakeholders to present the global situation and challenges on access to assistive technology. But what are the next steps, and how can the different stakeholders contribute in advancing access to AT worldwide? During this policy session, the nine panelists representing different stakeholders discussed the report and its recommendations and explored the priorities for action.
It was a very intense week but it was very productive, full of valuable insights, strengthened partnerships, networking and moving forward towards more inclusive society.
