We look with joy at all the wheels we have turned in 2023, at the successful projects and the lessons learned. But most of all, thank you for joining in and supporting us to become an AMAISing community in the fight for an equitable society.
We hope that 2024 will bring you more passion, energy and courage – we’ve heard that these are the secret ingredients that turn all dreams and big plans into reality 😀
Here’s how we continued the AMAIS mission in 2023.
Because we cannot talk about inclusion without education, part of our approach is to offer complementary solutions to the current university or special education system and to contribute to developing the theoretical base about accessibility and inclusion in Romania. This year’s projects include:
The CMU Club
We concluded CMU 6 which meant 58 events and workshops organised for more than 450 people with disabilities (motory, visual, intellectual, associated etc.) and without, children and adults, who socialised, empathised and worked together in an accessible, friendly and safe space.
The Urban Mobility Club changed its name to CMU Club and continues to be a community playground and one of the few physical and social spaces in Bucharest that overcomes social and environmental barriers by bringing together people from various social and professional categories.
We organised the first inclusive party with over 150 participants that marked both the launch of the CMU Club and the International Day of People with Disabilities. We would love to see you all on the dance floor next time and create a tradition of inclusive parties and activities at the CMU Club for which we need support and partners: https://amais.ro/doneaza/
The CMU School
We completed the third generation of the CMU School: 21 people with visual impairments participated in 26 workshops through which they took visible steps towards an independent life. The participants formed an online support group, and our workshops inspired organisations in other cities to start similar efforts.
We started the fourth generation with the support of Societe Generale Global Solution Center Romania: 42 visually impaired people, 20 Societe Generale GSC employees, 10 parents of visually impaired people and 20 volunteers will go through 60 workshops and activities until July, 2024.
We doubled the number of activities and introduced new ones: including 24 one-on-one individual sessions where participants have the opportunity to learn mobility and technology skills at their own pace, collaborations with other institutions, workshops for volunteers and parents and a trip at the end of the year with the group of adults. Here is just an example of the techniques learned at the CMU School: https://amais.ro/2023/12/18/traversarea-pe-nevazute-in-bucuresti/
TECH
Programming courses for people with visual disabilities
With the support of Google, we are just about to finish the 5th generation of the programming course, which has had students with visual disabilities, as well as the first student with motory disabilities. Stay tuned! We will start a new recruitment session in February-March.
Technology courses for people with visual disabilities
With the support of the Orange Foundation, 12 blind people learned, together with AMAIS’ trainers, how to use the computer and the Office suite programs to become independent in their personal and professional lives.
ARCHITECTURE
The Inclusive Design Guide Launch
We launched the first inclusive design guide in Romania as part of the Architecture Annual 2023. The book is called “Inclusive Design: Empathy Exercises in Design” and was printed through the Architectural Stamp Tax, funded by the Romanian Order of Architects.
For more information you can access: www.include.amais.ro
The Annual of Architecture
We were curators at the 2023 Architecture Annual organised by OAR Bucharest, having the topic of Inclusive Bucharest. We further developed The UNINVITED installation as part of the Annual. This included 6 different perspectives on the city of Bucharest and the role of architects in solving situations of exclusion. More information here: https://amais.ro/2023/11/13/the-uninvited-anuala-de-arhitectura-2023/
Help Autism – The First Inclusive Camp
At the invitation of OAR Bucharest, in 2022 we have drafted the design brief of the first local architecture competition that addressed inclusion as the main principle. Congratulations to the winning team and we are glad that the topic is finally being discussed in the architecture community.
The Inclusive Table
We continued the project with McCann and Mastercard Slovenia and made the information about the production of the installation accessible so that it could be replicated.
SeeYou app
The project won the “World through color and sound” funding, 2023 edition. With the support of the Orange Foundation, we will implement a mobile version of the already existing application, which we will also extend to Cluj.
Swimathon
We participated for the first time in Swimathon Bucharest 2023 organised by the Bucharest Community Foundation and managed to raise 20,500 lei for another 24 individual mobility and technology sessions for people with disabilities.
We offered 35 hours of free consultancy (accessibility and inclusion on architecture, tech or inclusive events) to public, private institutions or for those who contacted us.
We were invited as speakers at 16 conferences and public events such as: Romanian Accessibility Awareness Day, Festival of Architecture Schools of Tomorrow, Bucharest Disability Summit, Inclusion & Diversity Forum, YACademy – Architecture for Inclusion, 20 Architectural Experiences and others
We ended the year with a fundraising party organised by our friends from The Selfless Selfish. This year, the funds raised from the ticket sales go to AMAIS and support us to organise a summer camp for a group of young people with various disabilities.
Thank you for being here with us and see you with even more energy in 2024.
Being inclusive is amaising!
The AMAIS team
