From May 10 to 18 in Padua are scheduled for the Padua SensoriAbile Days with events, performances, sports activities and multisensory workshops dedicated to everyone, schools and citizens, to try to put themselves “in the shoes of the other,” to foster awareness of visual impairment and promote acceptance and inclusion, especially of people with visual impairment.
SensoriAbili Days will create engaging opportunities for everyone, young and old, to experience and rediscover the importance of their senses-even those often taken most for granted-and to deepen their knowledge and relationship with others, toward a greater awareness of the daily challenges that people with disabilities, especially those with visual impairment, face. Padua, therefore, champions a new perspective to foster inclusion, inspired by the United Nations 2030 Agenda, promoting the social well-being of people with visual impairment within urban contexts.
The event dedicated to inclusion will also be the setting for the 10th ICEVI-Europe International Conference to be held, in the halls of the University and City Hall, May 15-17. The theme of the meeting is school and social inclusion of children and young adults with visual impairment and will be addressed, in a multidisciplinary manner, by more than 300 professionals (educators, teachers, therapists, orthoptists, doctors…) from around the world.
PROMOTERS.
The idea of Padua SensoriAbile was born from the synergy between the Robert Hollman Foundation, the Italian Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired of Padua, the Municipality of Padua, the University of Padua and Aniomap (National Association of Personal Orientation, Mobility and Autonomy Instructors) and was generated from the experience of the experimental project they carried out and shared for more than two years, “SensoriAbile too.” During 2024, theoretical training and experiential simulations of visual deprivation were delivered by multidisciplinary teams to more than 100 operators and managers of twelve public and private services in the city of Padua. This placed emphasis on how, by recognizing barriers and overcoming prejudices, it is possible for everyone to create environmental and relational facilitation, improving the quality of inclusion, particularly through meeting and relating to each other. Hence the desire to offer such an opportunity for everyone.
SUPPORTERS.
The promoters thus found the support of Cariparo Foundation, Italian Federation of Pro Blind Institutions, Irsap Foundation, Lifield Venture Builder, Rotary Serenissima, Not Only Furniture and Sacred Heart Optics, and the willingness of Padua Tennis Club, Cantine Silvestri, Emiliano Fini Viticoltore, Apartments Padua, Eyes of the Children, and media partners Radio Padua and the Padua Morning Post.
The Days enjoy the patronage of thePadua Hospital Authority,Ulss 6 Euganea, the CIP Italian Paralympic Committee of the Veneto Region and the collaboration of a network of 25 organizations that have made themselves available to create a rich calendar with more than 50 initiatives over 9 days, spread in various locations throughout the city.
THE PROGRAM.
The calendar is doubled, one dedicated to schools and one designed for all citizenship, always in a multisensory and inclusive key. The activities, often already proposed by the organizations involved, tie together with the common thread of the important social message: inclusion is possible and passes through encounters and relationships, capable of breaking down barriers between people and generating more cohesive and empathetic communities.
For more information about the project and to see the full program: www.padovasensoriabile.it
