In early May, the Norwegian ESIRA project group hosted an information night focused on the inclusion of people with disabilities in the Kongsvinger region of Inland county, located in eastern Norway.
At this informational meeting, attendees included participants from academia, public administration, politics, cultural life, voluntary associations, and other organizations. Everyone showed great enthusiasm for the theme and interest in the ESIRA project. The discussion was informal, and the project group noted several inputs from the participants, including:
- There are few social, well-facilitated venues where adults can simply meet.
- When new people with disabilities move to the region, they don’t know where to turn. There should be someone they can contact to provide relevant information.
- Economic limitations restrict participation, posing a significant barrier, especially for vulnerable groups.
- A recent tour of downtown Kongsvinger revealed that there are still many obstacles, particularly for the visually and hearing impaired.
Multi-Actor Platform
Five participants volunteered for the MAP-group, which is to be established to address the challenges. The group’s goal is, among other things, to find good solutions to social challenges through collaboration and provide advice for policymaking based on various experiences, expert interviews, and research. During the project, the group will initiate pilot projects that aims to improve the inclusion of people with disabilities.
Webinar
Feedback has been received by the project group from several people who were unable to attend physically in Kongsvinger. Interest has been expressed in the topic, the project, and possible participation in the MAP group.
Therefore, we are scheduling an additional information webinar about ESIRA for May 24th from 9:30 to 10:15.
Attend the webinar via Teams here (in Norwegian)
Science Park
The pleasant and informal theme night was held at the Innlandet Science Park Kongsvinger, which opened in April this year. Several innovative companies are located in these premises, including Klosser Innovation, Center for research on digitalization and sustainability, Telenor, Mapei.
Download ESIRA’s Norwegian information flyer here (PDF in Norwegian)