KA153 - INCLUSIVE HORIZONS: Youth Workers Building Accessible Public Spaces

Location: Antalya, Turkey
Duration: 7 nights, 8 days
Target Group: Youth workers, social service professionals, architects, urban designers, professionals working in disability fields, and youth organizations working with disadvantaged groups
Applicant Organization: International Health Tourism Institute

Project Aim and Objectives:
The Inclusive Horizons project aims to increase the awareness of youth workers on disability, accessibility, and inclusion, enabling them to develop more accessible and inclusive approaches in youth projects and public spaces. The project seeks to improve accessibility standards and enhance the participation of individuals with disabilities in social life and youth projects.

Youth workers will:
Learn about accessibility standards and analyze public spaces,
Experience challenges faced by individuals with disabilities through experiential learning and empathy workshops,
Develop innovative solutions for accessible tourism and public spaces using design thinking methodologies,
Collaborate with the tourism sector, hotels, local governments, and disability NGOs to create tangible policy recommendations.

Throughout this process, training sessions, field observations, simulations, and experiential trips will be conducted to enhance the capacities of youth workers who wish to work in the field of inclusive tourism.

Planned Activities:
Inclusion and accessibility workshops: Raising awareness about barriers faced by individuals with disabilities in daily life,
Simulation and empathy exercises: Participants will experience physical, visual, and hearing impairments and analyze accessibility issues,
Accessibility audits: Local hotels, restaurants, and healthcare facilities will be assessed for their accessibility,
Experiential trips with individuals with disabilities: Fieldwork based on real user feedback,
Design thinking workshops: Co-creating solutions for accessible public spaces with individuals with disabilities,
Collaboration with the tourism sector: Organizing "Dialogue in the Dark" and empathy exercises with hotel managers,
Creating an accessibility guide for youth projects: Participants will develop a guide to improve accessibility in their own projects.

Who Are We Looking For?
Youth organizations and NGOs – working in accessibility, inclusion, or tourism,
Universities and training centers – specializing in social services, disability studies, or urban planning,
Tourism and hospitality sector representatives – aiming to improve accessibility standards,
Local governments and municipalities – interested in making public spaces more inclusive.

The project is designed to align with the Erasmus+ Program’s priorities on inclusion, diversity, digitalization, and environmental awareness.

Future Plans for KA2 Cooperation:
This project also serves as the foundation for long-term collaboration under KA2 Cooperation Partnerships. Our goal is to develop an international accessibility model and guide in youth work and inclusive tourism, create innovative educational methodologies to raise awareness on disability, and collaborate with policymakers to implement systemic changes.