ExchangeAbility

Summary of the project

According to the data from the European Commission, during the academic year 2006/07 over 140 students with disabilities participated in Erasmus (LLP/NA/ERA/19/08rev). This represents 0.09 % of all Erasmus students. Although an increase compared to the previous years has been observed, the number is still exceptionally low. 
 
ESN, Youth Agora and the European Disability Forum (EDF) are currently working on a project that will allow students with disabilities to be fully involved in the activities of the local societies (sections) of ESN. Pilot sections will be encouraged to engage students with disabilities at their universities in the work for the exchange students. Sections of ESN participating in the project will offer students with disabilities a variety of activities that they could be involved in. The majority of ESN sections websites are standardised since they are based on a common template (ESN Satellite) developed by Youth Agora, and they are planned to become accessible for blind and sight-impaired people in 2010, the tool itself will be provided by Youth Agora. 

Objectives of the Project

The main aim of the project is to make ESN an association accessible for students with disabilities on all the levels of its activities. That means that ESN wants to provide the conditions and opportunities for students with disabilities to actively participate in student life. As ESN is active on the field of student mobility we would like to give students with disabilities the possibility to be involved in the work with international students and therefore to benefit from the exchange programmes at their home universities.

The project also aims, in the long term vision, to encourage the increase of the number of exchange students with disabilities and to create the best conditions for them during their stay abroad. 

Through participation and involvement in the activities, students with disabilities will be given an opportunity to experience the international and intercultural atmosphere associated with the exchange programs.

The long term goal of the project is to encourage an increasing number of students with disabilities to go for an exchange and to provide them with the best possible conditions preparing the International Offices as well as the local ESN societies (sections) to receive students with specific needs during the exchange.

If you'd like to know more about the project contact the project coordinator - Magdalena Wawrzonkowska exchangeability@esn.org.