ETCAATS

ETCAATS - Accessible Tourism Online Training, 7 years on

Ivor Ambrose — Tue, 29 Sep 2020 10:02:30 GMT

ETCAATS was one of the first online training offers in the field of accessible tourism when it was launched in 2012. Today more than 1000 people from around the world have registered and taken the course. See ENAT's free online training courses at our website.

ETCAATS was one of the first online training offers in the field of accessible tourism when it was launched in 2012.

The course content has been updated several times since then to keep up with new developments.

Today more than 1000 people from around the world have registered and taken the course, gaining personal and professional skills and bringing new ideas and inspiration to the tourism sector.

See the full range of ENAT's free online training courses at the ENAT website.

Register for the ETCAATS online training course.

Europe for All Photo and Measurement Guide for Access Auditors

Ivor Ambrose — Sun, 28 Feb 2016 22:51:00 GMT

The Europe for All Photo and Measurement Guide was produced by the OSSATE Consortium (2005 - 2007) in order to facilitate accurate measurement of tourist infrastructure and as a guide for taking photographs to be used for information purposes.

The Europe for All Photo and Measurement Guide was produced by the OSSATE Consortium (2005 - 2007) in order to facilitate accurate measurements of tourist infrastructure and as a guide for taking photographs to be used for information purposes.

It is offered here as an open training resource for prospective access auditors, tourism business owners and others who may be preparing to carry out accessibility assessments of tourism venues and infrastructure.

The document may be copied and used "as is" for educational purposes, as long as the following reference is acknowledged: "Europe For All Photo and Measurement Guide" (EU eContent project, 2006) OSSATE Consortium and ENAT asbl. (2016). Any uses of this document other than strictly educational purposes must be approved in advance, in writing, by ENAT asbl.

Legal Notice: The "Europe For All Photo and Measurement Guide", when used by a supplier or auditor, is intended only as an advisory document. Using this document does not a guarantee the level of accessibility that is stated by the said supplier. Neither ENAT nor its partners can be held responsible for any loss or damages that may result from the use of information that is contained in the Europe For All Photo and Measurement Guide.

ETCAATS e-learning course opens for testing

Nick Vaslamatzis — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:04:00 GMT

The introductory on-line training course on Accessible Tourism is now open. Tourism business owners, Mangers and employees are invited to explore the first 4 modules and answer the User Survey.

The introductory on-line training course on Accessible Tourism is now open.

Tourism business owners, Mangers and employees are invited to explore the first 4 modules and answer the User Survey.

Visit the website.

About the course

Here you will find an on-line training course addressing ways of improving your business and serving customers who have specific access requirements.

The course is an "appetizer" which gives a general introduction to the subject of accessible tourism.

It includes short texts, videos with case studies of actual businesses, and references.

It is especially suitable both for owners of businesses and for employees in the tourism industry who wish to learn more about the advantages of this market and how to attract and serve new customers .

To start the Course, please register and log-in, then click on the "My Course" tab.

The course is free of charge. We ask that you answer the User Survey after you have taken the course, so that we can improve it before full release.

ETCAATS Partner meeting no.5

Ivor Ambrose — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 21:05:49 GMT

Partner meeting no. 5. Brussels, 29 November and 1 December 2011.

The final meeting was convened at the offices of Tourism Flanders in Brussels where the project partners reviewed progress to date and prepared the final activities of the project.

Review of eLearning platform and course content
Scheduling of final pilot testing and reporting
Planning of final deliverables
Review of Certification Road Map report
Final project IPR exploitation agreement
Project reporting.

The eLearning course will be published before the end of December 2011 on a new website at: www.accesstraining.eu

ETCAATS Project Workshop on Access Training for the Tourism Sector, Athens, Greece

Ivor Ambrose — Fri, 06 May 2011 08:49:00 GMT

The ETCAATS Conference will take place in Athens on 8 and 9 June 2011. The Conference will be open to invited persons and organisations that are participating in the development of accessible tourism training programmes.

The ETCAATS Project Workshop will take place in Athens in June 2011.

The ETCAATS Workshop will take place in Athens on 8 and 9 June 2011. The Workshop will be open to invited persons and organisations that are participating in the development of accessible tourism training programmes.

The ETCAATS partners will present examples of training materials and a Roadmap for Certification of Accessible Tourism Training.

The programme will include contributions from experts, interactive sessions with the audience.

An excursion will be arranged for participants to some of the accessible sites and attractions in Athens.

ETCAATS Workshop - in association with:

Consumer Survey Report: Paving the Way to Accessible Tourism

Nick Vaslamatzis — Wed, 04 May 2011 09:11:04 GMT

This report, by Carlos Buj of the International Centre for Responsible Tourism, Leeds Metropolitan University, aims to generate useful knowledge about the travel needs of people with limited mobility (PwLM) as well as to identify ongoing trends in the unexplored field of accessible tourism as an economic sector. The research carried out for this report is based on literature review, a questionnaire, case studies and interviews with experts. The findings are discussed and used to shape the final recommendations and conclusion.

The specific needs of people with communication disabilities, those with cognitive/intellectual or psychiatric disabilities and those with sensorial disabilities have not been specifically considered for the primary research, as they imply considerations too complex to be comprised in this report. In other words, only those with a physical mobility concern have been addressed in the questionnaire.

For more details and downloading, visit the ENAT website

Prospelasis: Exemplary methodology for the improvement of accessibility of archaeological monuments and sites of Thessaloniki, Greece

Strati Eleni — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 09:39:13 GMT

Main of the project is the development and application of an "exemplary methodology" for the improvement of accessibility of archaeological monuments and sites of Thessaloniki, by people with mobility impairments. PROSPELASIS OBJECTIVES: To apply a systematic approach in facing the accessibility problem of monuments in its totality. To develop a methodology for the evaluation of accessibility of archaeological sites and monuments and to apply it in selected areas. To evaluate the existing situation by applying appropriate tools. To examine existing solutions offered in the market and in the Literature. To conclude interventions of accessibility improvement in selected important for the world history archaeological sites under the responsibility of the Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities of Thessaloniki such as Rot nda, ia Sofia, Eptapyrgion (seven towers castle) etc. The "exemplary methodology" which will be developed together with the handbooks-tools and the exemplary interventions examples may function as catalysts for shaping a new strategy of interventions for the improvement of monuments accessibility. To identify roles and responsibilities of all the involved actors and support them via appropriate actions. To train involved people and bodies in behavioral issues in relation to people with disabilities. For more information on results of the project, visit http://prospelasis.com

European Passenger Rights

Ivor Ambrose — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 21:30:00 GMT

Although the European Union has made great strides in recent years in establishing common passenger rights for those travelling by air or rail, not every European is yet aware of what he or she is entitled to. This campaign sets out to make all air and rail passengers aware of what rights they enjoy under European legislation and how to make use of them.

This campaign sets out to make all air and rail passengers aware of what rights they enjoy under European legislation and how to make use of them.

Videos and other sources of information are available through the ENAT website

Background Document on "Design for All"

Ivor Ambrose — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 21:11:00 GMT

On 3rd December 2001, the European Commission, together with the European Disability Forum, took "Discrimination By Design" as the theme of the Conference to celebrate the European Day of Disabled People. This background document in 11 languages was prepared to explain the concept of Design for All and its importance as an approach for making the world accessible to people with disabilities.

This background document was prepared to explain the concept of Design for All and its importance as an approach for making the world accessible to people with disabilities.

Note that some of the References from 2001 may no longer be up-to-date.

The document is available in 11 languages.

To download the documents, visit the ENAT webpage

Project publications

Ivor Ambrose — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 08:34:32 GMT

ETCAATS Flyer

Download the ETCAATS flyer in PDF format. (A4 format, 2 pages, English)

ETCAATS AccessTraining Brochure

Download the ETCAATS AccessTraining brochure (A5 format, 4 pages, English)

Article: Creating a framework for social learning in your enterprise

Ivor Ambrose — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 17:41:00 GMT

The social learning revolution has only just begun. Corporations that understand the value of knowledge sharing, teamwork, informal learning and joint problem solving are investing heavily in collaboration technology and are reaping the early rewards. - Jay Cross There is a growing demand for the ability to connect to others. It is with each other that we can make sense, and this is social.

Organisations, in order to function, need to encourage social exchanges and social learning due to faster rates of business and technological changes.

Social experience is adaptive by nature and a social learning mindset enables better feedback on environmental changes back to the organisation. - George Siemens

Together with our increased awareness of the need to adopt new approaches to supporting workers in doing their jobs, evidence is also telling us that a focus on knowledge transfer and acquisition, an approach rooted in Plato's academy, is not the best one available to us.

We need move to more discursive approaches to learning and development: We are moving to the world of the sons of Socrates, where dialogue and guidance are key competencies. It is a world where the capability to find information and turn it into knowledge at the point-of-need provides the key competitive advantage, where knowing the right people to ask the right questions of is more likely to lead to success than any amount of internally-held knowledge and skill. - Charles Jennings

Read the whole article: http://www.knowledgeboard.com/item/3099/23/5/3

Article: Social Media Heralds Step Change in Enterprise Learning

Ivor Ambrose — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 17:33:00 GMT

A meteoric rise in popularity for social media in recent years has companies scrambling to understand its impact on how they operate. For training and learning within large organisations, social media makes existing practices appear outdated and antiquated. Clearly, equipping colleagues with the skills and insights to compete in a fast changing global marketplace requires a step change in approach.

Moving to social learning

This step change to Social Learning has been cleverly described as moving from ‘e-Learning’ to ‘We-Learning’. The objective is to extend the value of learning by unlocking the power of social and collaborative learning, and bringing it into the real-time business environment to keep pace with dynamic market conditions & busy working lives.

Read the full article. http://www.knowledgeboard.com/item/3098/23/5/3

Special Needs Accesible Hotel (Video)

Ivor Ambrose — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 14:52:00 GMT

Axess TV and CNN on Scandic Hotel's accessibility ambassador, Magnus Berglund

Visit: http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2009/10/10/wv.grant.special.hotel.axesstv

Sim-dis. Simulations of disabilities website

Ivor Ambrose — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 14:38:00 GMT

This site contains a collection of computer based artifacts that simulate aspects of disability. It is intended that the simulations will be used for training and awareness raising activities with staff and for teaching students in areas where an understanding of disability is required.

No simulation can give the true feelings of what it is like to have a disability. It is hoped the simulations will provide 'food' for thought and promote enlightened discussion, which will lead to a better understanding.

They have been designed from anecdotal comments made by people with a disability and staff involved in teaching and supporting students with disabilities.

Covers Autism, Dyslexia, Hearing Impairments and Visual Impairments

Visit: http://www.techdis.ac.uk/resources/sites/2/simdis/index.htm

Disability Rights Commission Video parts 1 and 2

Ivor Ambrose — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 14:04:00 GMT

The award-winning 'Talk' portrays a society in which non-disabled people are a pitied minority and disabled people lead full and active lives. Jonathan Kerrigan, of BBC's 'Casualty' fame, plays a business executive whose negative preconceptions of disability are dramatically shattered.

Video Part 1. http://youtu.be/FZfOVNwjFU0

Video Part 2. http://youtu.be/A9a2ZqLhuAw

User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG) 2010

Ivor Ambrose — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:15:00 GMT

This document provides guidelines for designing user agents that lower barriers to Web accessibility for people with disabilities. User agents include browsers and other types of software that retrieve and render Web content.

This document provides guidelines for designing user agents that lower barriers to Web accessibility for people with disabilities.

User agents include browsers and other types of software that retrieve and render Web content.

A user agent that conforms to these guidelines will promote accessibility through its own user interface and through other internal facilities, including its ability to communicate with other technologies (especially assistive technologies). Furthermore, all users, not just users with disabilities, should find conforming user agents to be more usable.

In addition to helping developers of browsers and media players, this document will also benefit developers of assistive technologies because it explains what types of information and control an assistive technology may expect from a conforming user agent.

Technologies not addressed directly by this document (e.g., technologies for braille rendering) will be essential to ensuring Web access for some users with disabilities. The "User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 2.0" (UAAG 2.0) is part of a series of accessibility guidelines published by the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI).

Visit: http://www.w3.org/TR/UAAG20/

Search by Keywords

Ivor Ambrose — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 11:55:00 GMT

Research Database

Ivor Ambrose — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:51:00 GMT

This page gives access to a range of documents, videos, pedagogical materials and other relevant information for accessible tourism training.

Sitemap

Ivor Ambrose — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:45:06 GMT

Search

Ivor Ambrose — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:44:42 GMT

Terms of Use

Ivor Ambrose — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:38:06 GMT

Disclaimer

This website is maintained to enhance access to information about the ETCAATS project. Our goal is to keep this information timely and accurate. If errors are brought to our attention, we will try to correct them.

The Εuropean Commission accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to the information on this site.

This website is not responsible for the content or functionality of external websites.

Copyright Notice

Reproduction is authorised, provided the source is acknowledged, save where otherwise stated.

Where prior permission must be obtained for the reproduction or use of textual and multimedia information (sound, images, software, etc.), such permission shall cancel the above-mentioned general permission and shall clearly indicate any restrictions on use.

Project description

Ivor Ambrose — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 11:06:44 GMT

Background
Aims and Objectives
Approach
Outcomes
Lifelong Learning Programme

Background

The European tourism sector faces challenges of increasing global competition and demands for sustainable and higher quality products and services, with greater value for customers.

One of the key areas where the tourism sector can improve its competitiveness and increase market share is in "accessible tourism", catering especially for disabled persons, senior travellers and their families. EU studies have shown that the market size for accessible tourism in Europe is at least 127 million persons (OSSATE, 2006). Yet the demand far outweighs the present market supply. In addition to the economic incentive for tourism providers to make their tourism products and services accessible for all visitors, the EU has signed up to the 'UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled People 2006', which points to the requirement of 'access to tourism and leisure' (art. 30). This signals the political imperative of enabling disabled citizens in the EU to participate fully in tourism. Tourism training programmes will play a vital role in preparing managers and employees to deliver their services in appropriate ways, respecting not only the diversity of customers' access needs but also specific requirements related to disabilities or long-term health conditions.

Aims and Objectives

ETCAATS is a two-year, transnational project, running from 1st October 2009 to 31 December 2011.

The project has two main aims:

To develop an on-line training course in accessible tourism from existing innovative content selected from previous Swedish work and supplemented with other international training materials; and
To develop a ‘Road map’ for an EU certification system for the area of accessible tourism vocational training, in line with the European Qualifications Framework.

These aims are pursued in parallel so as to enhance the validity and quality of both streams of activity. The on-line training course will serve as one example of the type of courseware which should be offered to tourism providers. Further modules created by ETCAATS and partner organisations will be offered later.

The requirements of EU Certification of professional training in Accessible Tourism will be defined and developed with ETCAATS partners and stakeholders, leading to a Europe-wide certificate, authorised by the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT).

The ETCAATS project aims to have a direct impact on the tourism sector by enabling tourism providers, who have taken the course, to make their offers accessible for visitors who are looking for such facilities and services. The project will make a direct contribution to national vocational training for the tourism sector by providing an online resource which can be directly used in teaching and learning by training institutions. The certification of accessible tourism training will enhance the importance and relevance of catering for disabled and older persons in the tourism sector, which in turn will help Europe meet its obligations as a signatory to the UN Convention of Equal Opportunities of Persons with Disabilities, 2006.

Approach

The project will investigate training requirements and develop e-Learning content, leading to an on-line training programme and a common European certification framework for staff training in accessible tourism services.

The ETCAATS partners will adapt innovative pilot training schemes and materials developed by project partners themselves and by others in previous Leonardo, National and Regional projects. A modular system for training and certification will be developed, taking into account:

The access needs of customers,
Knowledge, skills and competences needed by trainees,
The current state of the art in hospitality and tourism service training, and
The European Qualifications Framework.

The ETCAATS partners will work with ENAT and tourism sector stakeholders to propose a feasible certification programme for European, national, regional and local vocational training systems.

Pilot testing will take place with trainees from social partners and companies, including at least 3 small and medium-sized tourism enterprises (SMEs) in each participating country.

Outcomes

A tested model of the ETCAATS Training Course, offered via an online training environment, will provide a standard for a transferable qualification for the tourism sector, based on modular and extendable courseware.

The training framework and tools will provide a Europe-wide reference for management and staff training courses in accessible tourism.

The project will lay the foundation for a European Training Certificate of access training in the tourism sector.

Lifelong Learning Programme

The ETCAATS project is supported through the European Commission's Lifelong Learning Programme, "Leonardo da Vinci", Transfer of Innovation. Agreement number : LLP-LDV/TOI/SE/09/1194.

ETCAATS is conducted under the supervision of
the Swedish Lifelong Learning Programme Management Office.

Partners

Ivor Ambrose — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 11:06:44 GMT

Coordinator


	Vellinge Kommun, Sweden http://www.vellinge.se/

Partners


	Access Sweden, Sweden http://www.access-sweden.se/
	EWORX S.A., Greece http://www.eworx.gr/
	Disability Now, Greece http://www.disabled.gr
	Toegankelijkheidsbureau, Belgium http://www.toegankelijkheidsbureau.be/
	Association National pour le Logement des Personnes Handicapées, Belgium http://www.anlh.be/
	Work Research Centre, Ireland http://www.wrc-research.ie/

Non-funded Partner

European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT) asbl.
http://www.accessibletourism.org

Workplan

Ivor Ambrose — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 11:06:37 GMT

The project is structured in seven work packages running from October 2009 to December 2011.

The table below shows the project phases, lead partners and timings.

W.P.	Title	WP leader	Period
WP 1	Project Management	Vellinge/Access Sweden	1.10.2009 - 31.12.2011
WP 2	Needs Assessment for Tourism Training in Access for All	Access Sweden	1.10.2009 - 30.04.2010
WP 3	Model Curriculum Structure and Training Tools	Toegankelijkheidsbureu	01.01.2010 - 31.07.2011
WP 4	Pilot Training Course Testing and Evaluation	Work Research Centre	01.09.2010 - 20.12.2011
WP 5	e-Learning Environment	Eworx	01.10.2009 - 01.10.2011
WP 6	Certification System Requirements	ANLH	01.01.2010 - 31.12.2011
WP 7	Networking and Dissemination of Results	Access Sweden	01.10.2009 - 31.12.2011

E-Learning

Ivor Ambrose — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 11:06:31 GMT

The ETCAATS e-Learning course is available at www.accesstraining.eu

Take the first Modules 1 to 4 on-line now and send your comments to the development team.

New course modules will be added in the future.

The course is free of charge.

The only requirement is to register your email address, so we can contact you and deliver your certificate.

View the Course Introduction below

Read the Course Introduction text in PDF format

News

Ivor Ambrose — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 11:06:17 GMT

ETCAATS Team Members and LEONARDO Authority, please login to view and download Project Deliverables.

Events

Ivor Ambrose — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 11:06:08 GMT

Contact

Ivor Ambrose — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 11:06:01 GMT

For enquiries regarding this website, please select "General requests" in the drop-down menu of the form, below.

If you would like more information about the ETCAATS Project, please select "ETCAATS requests" to contact the Project Manager at ENAT - the European Network for Accessible Tourism.

Learning resources

Ivor Ambrose — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 11:06:00 GMT

E-Learning resources for the ETCAATS project are collected here.

Browse the database by clicking the link below.

If you would like to contact us with relevant material, please use the contact form.

Welcome

Ivor Ambrose — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 11:39:46 GMT

ETCAATS - European Training Certificate Accessible for All in the Tourism Sector - aims to supply tourism providers with a range of on-line training tools and a professional training certificate, enabling them to welcome, with confidence, guests with disabilities and others with particular access needs.

To go directly to the ETCAATS e-learning Introductory Course, use the following link: www.accesstraining.eu