Our past inspires us
The Foundation’s origins are in Cannero Riviera, a magnificent small town overlooking Lake Maggiore, where Dutch industrialist Robert Hollman (Maastricht 1890 – Cannero Riviera 1972) decided to move in the latter part of his life.
Love for Italy, sensitivity and concern for the frail were the motivations that led the Dutch merchant to leave much of his estate to establish a private, nonprofit foundation to care for the visually impaired.
After his death on Dec. 28, 1972, his testamentary wishes were carried out and made possible the opening in 1979, in Cannero Riviera, of the “Pilot Center for Blind and Multidisabled Children,” one of the first of its kind in Italy.
In 1986, due to an accidental fire, the Center was temporarily relocated to Padua to a wing made available by the Institute for the Blind “Luigi Configliachi.”
At the conclusion of reconstruction work in 1988, at the behest of the Foundation’s Board of Directors, the Padua Center nevertheless remained in operation in order to expand the Foundation’s services in collaboration with social-health institutions in the area with which fruitful synergies had already been established.
In 2004, the Padua Center was moved to a new, modern and larger facility that could accommodate more children and families through the provision of more services and care pathways.
In his will , Robert Hollman decided to leave most of his assets to a foundation that would take care of blind and deaf-mute people in Italy.
In Cannero Riviera on Lake Maggiore, Robert Hollman died on Dec. 28 at the age of 82.
With the establishment of the Robert Hollman Stichting in Amsterdam, Netherlands, the project to establish the Robert Hollman Foundation headquarters in Italy is initiated.
The first FRH Pilot Center is opened in Cannero Riviera.
The highly specialized facility is one of the first in Italy for taking care of children from zero to six years old with visual impairment and other disabilities.
In the first year of operation, 8 children are taken in.
A fire destroys part of the Pilot Center, which is temporarily relocated to Padua, thanks to the hospitality of the Institute for the Blind “Luigi Configliachi.”
Once the reconstruction work in Cannero Riviera was completed, the Board of Directors of Robert Hollman Stichting decided to keep the Center in Padua at Configliachi in operation as well.
With the reopening of the Piedmont facility, there is a shift to an “early intervention” model with multidisciplinary teams and periodic stays of the child with his or her family.
The two Centers also begin to welcome children only with visual impairment.
TheFriends of the Hollman Center of Padua Association is born.
The Foundation is organizing the International Conference “Early Intervention in Children with Visual Impairment” in Padua, Italy.
The Padua Center becomes for all intents and purposes part of the Robert Hollman Foundation, and plans are underway for a new independent headquarters.
The Foundation organizes in Cannero Riviera the International Conference “Eurosight” on visual impairment and multidisability.
The Foundation’s new headquarters at 1 Via Siena in Padua is inaugurated .
The management of the two centers is unified, while maintaining their own characteristics: outpatient services in Padua and residential services in Cannero Riviera.
The Foundation is organizing the Conference “Pediatric Neurology and Severe Visual Impairment in Padua. Diagnostic and rehabilitation current events.”
TheBlue Flowers Association was founded by a group of parents who attend FRH with the aim of supporting it in carrying out its clinical, educational, cultural and scientific outreach activities.
The Foundation is organizing in Padua the Conference “Beyond Looking: the Friendly Brain. Visual Disability and Brain Plasticity” and the International Illustrated Tactile Book Competition “Typhlo&Tactus” at the Cannero Riviera venue with playful-educational workshops for local schoolchildren.
The shared project between the Municipality of Padua and the Robert Hollman Foundation to build the inclusive Municipal Park “Treasure Tree” gets underway .
The urban space, designed and built without architectural barriers, fosters social inclusion and relationships.
The co-design is entrusted to 17 organizations and social entities, with FRH as the lead partner.
FRH publishes its first multicode book “The Treasure of the Enchanted Labyrinth.”
With the collaboration of the City of Padua, the Foundation trains about 80 teachers and involves more than 2,500 children with experiential workshops as part of the project “Let’s Think, Build, Play… Together. Everyone’s Park.”
A collaboration with the municipality to make the existing public park inclusive is also launched in Cannero Riviera.
The Foundation provides free training to 50 primary and kindergarten teachers in the municipalities of Bieno, Cannero Riviera, Cannobio, Carciago, Ghiffa, Oggebbio, Traffiume and Vignone and donates to 458 kindergarten and primary school students the inclusive book “The Treasure of the Enchanted Labyrinth” to reflect in the classroom and then in the family on the topic of inclusion.
With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic , the Foundation is shutting down in-person activities at its two Centers.
Professionals at the two facilities are devising new online and asynchronous modes of operation so that they will not be left alone and will continue to accompany children and families during lockdown and various periods of social isolation.
In-person activities resume at the two Centers.
The renovation plan for the Cannero Riviera office, involving the ground floor and the second floor where there is housing for families, is started.
The Foundation organizes the international competition “Typhlo&Tactus” and the tactile book exhibition “Pages without Borders” in Padua.
In Cannero, the renovation of the ground floor and the total renovation of the one dedicated to families are completed. The opening takes place in September on the 50th anniversary of Robert Hollman’s death.
FRH joins the European “See my life” project involving seven countries on the quality of life of children and young people with visual impairment.
Together with 5 other social partners from 4 different countries, FRH is launching the pilot of the accessible epub “Leo Wants a Bat” through the “Flex Picture Ebook” project within the Erasmus+ program.
November will see the start of training proposals aimed at outside professionals with the first course dedicated to the comprehensive approach to the child with visual impairment according to the multidisciplinary perspective of FRH.
The Foundation reaches the number of 400 children cared for in one year of operation.
The pilot project “SensoriAbile anche io” is devised to raise awareness of the inclusion of people with visual impairments.
The initiative, implemented with the University of Padua, the Municipality of Padua, Uici Padua and Aniomap, enters its operational phase in August with the involvement of the 12 services of the 6 areas identified in the urban context of the city of Padua.
Organizing begins for the 10th ICEVI-Europe International Conference to be held in 2025.
With the invaluable contribution of the Blue Flowers Association, theaccessible play area in the park of the Padua Center is built, dedicated to all children under care and their siblings.
In cooperation with the National Federation of Pro-Blind Institutions, FRH is promoting and organizing the seventh National Tactile Publishing Competition “It’s Your Turn!” in Bologna at the end of October.
A tactile picture book “Una casa per Fiammetta” (A home for Fiammetta), reissued by a group of professional experts in inclusive publishing, is produced in 200 copies, thanks to Fiori Blu. The book is donated free of charge to organizations and entities dealing with childhood visual impairment, pediatric departments of hospital institutions, and major Italian libraries.
From January to September, the training phase of the“SensoriAbile too” project takes place. More than 100 managers and operators from public and private entities are involved in the theoretical and experiential training.
Two VI training courses are organized for professionals from all over Italy. The classes involve all the professionals in the two Hollman Centers.
Building on the Foundation’s multidisciplinary clinical approach, in collaboration with ICEVI-Europe, the foundation is laid for the drafting of Key Principles. The goal is a shared document of 10 key principles to support work with children and young adults with visual impairment.
A number of video tutorials, born out of clinical experience, are posted on the Foundation’s website to reach more children, families and professionals.
In July, FRH celebrates 45 years of operation of the Cannero Riviera Center.
In September, the Padua Center turns 20 years old.
The“I Feel” project kicks off, in collaboration with the University of Bologna, to reissue the tactile and inclusive book of the same name on the theme of emotions. Children and young people followed by the Padua Center are also involved.
From May 15 to 17, the 10th ICEVI-Europe International Conference with the participation of more than 300 professionals from all over the world will be held in Padua, Italy, in a widespread mode in the historical and institutional halls of the University and the City of Padua. “Children and young adults with visual impairment: What we can do? What can be done?” is the theme addressed from a multidisciplinary perspective.
Concurrently, the SensoriAbile Padua Days, coordinated by FRH and 25 other entities that offer more than 50 inclusive events spread throughout the city to promote, through multisensory integration, more welcoming communities, including those who are blind and visually impaired, are held from May 10 to 18.
As of August, at the conclusion of its 2024-2025 year of operation, FRH records that it has offered counseling and support to 441 children and youth and their families from all over Italy.
In September, the inclusive municipal park “Treasure Tree” is inaugurated in Padua . The project ended after nine years of work, was co-designed by 16 entities led by FRH and more than 1,300 pupils and their teachers from kindergartens and primary schools in Padua. With fundraisers, dozens of companies and entities and hundreds of citizens have been involved over the years.
The ERN-EYE scientific workshop “The person with visual impairment in the lifespan: evaluation and care pathway in Europe” is being held in the Padua Center on October 6 and 7, with the participation of dozens of clinicians from across the European Union.
In Luxembourg, the European project “Road to Braille” kicks off in December and will end in 2027. The Robert Hollman Foundation is a partner for Italy along with Fondazione Officina dei sensi; the other countries represented are Luxembourg, France and Croatia.
