Exchange Ability

According to the data from the European Commission, during the academic year 2006/07 over 140 disabled students 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. 

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ESN, Youth Agora and EDF are currently working on a project that will allow students with disabilities to be fully involved in the activities of the local sections of ESN. Pilot sections will be encouraged to engage disabled students at their universities in the work for the exchange students. Sections of ESN participating in the project will offer disabled students a variety of activities that they could be involved in. The majority of ESN sections websites are standardised (ESN Satellite project) and are planned to be accessible for blind and sight-impaired people for the end of 2009, the tool itself will be provided by Youth Agora. 

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Through participation and involvement in the activities, disabled students will be given an opportunity to experience the international and intercultural atmosphere associated with the exchange programmes. The long term goal of the project is to encourage an increasing number of disabled students to go for an exchange and to provide them with the best possible conditions preparing the International Relations Offices as well as the local ESN sections to receive students that have special needs during the exchange. 

Objectives of the project 

The main aim of the project is to make ESN an association accessible for disabled students at all the levels of its activities. That means that ESN wants to provide the conditions and opportunities for the disabled students to actively participate in student life. 

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As ESN is active on the field of student mobility we would like to give disabled students the possibility to be involved in the work with international students and therefore to benefit from the exchange programmes at their home universities.

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

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Fostering Mobility for Students with Disabilities

From October 2010 to October 2011 a parallel project has been developed together with UNICA and a Consortium of 5 universities. For more information check exchangeability.eu

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