The Tolerance Center opens a new module on communication with blind people on the online platform "Culture.Inc"

The Tolerance Center, with the support of the Absolut-Help Charitable Foundation, is opening a new module on communicating with blind people on the Culture. Inc."

Culture is one of the most powerful tools of socialization for people with disabilities, but often they are deprived of this opportunity. The reason for this is not so much the lack of physical accessibility of cultural spaces, but the lack of “human” accessibility: the lack of special knowledge among employees and volunteers of cultural institutions in the field of special needs and the specifics of interaction with people with special needs.

To solve this problem, an online platform www.kulturainc.ru was created in 2020, designed to increase the competence of volunteers and employees of cultural institutions in the field of correct communication with people with disabilities and the level of general openness of cultural and educational platforms to work with people with special needs. Education on the platform “Culture. Inc" is implemented according to the methodology created and tested by the Tolerance Center in the preparation of personnel for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. The methodology is based on illustrated cases that reflect typical situations of interaction between an employee/volunteer and a representative of the group under study. Each case involves four options for the behavior of the main character in the proposed situation. Three options illustrate incorrect actions, and one illustrates correct behavior.

In November 2020, with the support of the Presidential Grants Fund and PJSC Severstal, a basic course was launched - ten cases on the basic rules for communicating with people with disabilities of five nosologies. More than 18,000 people from 81 regions of Russia have studied at the basic course. In February 2021, with the support of the Absolut-Help Charitable Foundation, an in-depth module "Mental Disability" was created (more than 9,600 people were trained).

On March 1, 2022, the Tolerance Center, also with the support of the Absolute Help Charitable Foundation, opened a new module dedicated to communicating with the blind and visually impaired people. In June, the fourth module will be launched - on how to interact with people with movement disorders.

At the end of the project, a press conference will be held dedicated to the opening of all modules of the platform and the prospects for the development of educational technologies in the field of inclusion. Trained specialists and volunteers will increase their competence in the field of interaction with people with disabilities and will be able to provide services tailored to their special needs. Cultural venues will become more accessible, and people with disabilities will have the opportunity to socialize in a communicatively friendly inclusive environment. The delayed effect of the project will be to strengthen the values of inclusion in cultural institutions and expand the opportunities for people with various forms of disability to visit cultural institutions.