Striving For Equal Entry To Data, One Guide At A Time
Argyro Spyridaki based the non-governmental group Studying to the Others (Diavazo Gia tous Allous) in 2015, when she realized that equal entry to data and training ought to be an inalienable proper for each human. For that reason, the mission of Studying to the Others is to make sure equal instructional alternatives by offering books to individuals who might lack entry to them. She has a level in Political Science, a Grasp’s Diploma in Transport Coverage, {and professional} expertise in each administrative analysis and journalism. For the previous few years, she has been the Normal Supervisor of Studying to the Others and can also be Chair of the group’s Board of Administrators.
How did all of it begin? Is there something that you just want extra individuals knew about Studying to the Others or the problems you are attempting to resolve?
Reading to the Others was born throughout a dialog I had with a pal of mine, who was born blind. We have been discussing literature once I urged that he learn The Home of Sleep by Jonathan Coe. He replied, “You realize, I would like to learn it, I’ve learn Coe earlier than, however this explicit ebook is not accessible within the audiobook library for the blind.” I used to be shocked as a result of I believed that each one printed books accessible for sighted people are additionally printed in Braille for these with visible impairments. After all, that isn’t the case.
My pal requested me to learn it with him. So, I returned house, grabbed the ebook from the bookcase to examine the variety of pages, and began occupied with how we may learn it. I used to be considering of various methods; then, I believed perhaps I may report it to additionally donate it to the audiobook library for the blind.
And identical to that, I spotted that if I used to be keen to do that, perhaps different individuals could be keen to do the identical. I created a Fb web page referred to as “Studying to the Others” and invited volunteer readers to report books to counterpoint the audiobook library for the blind. It took off, and the primary huge assembly of volunteers passed off in January 2015. That is how Studying to the Others was born, however now our objectives have expanded.
To eradicate social obstacles related to stereotypes and discrimination relating to blindness and variety typically, our aim is to tell, increase consciousness, and educate [the public] on equal entry to training for all and the acceptance of range. We wish to encourage particular person and collective motion to construct a tradition of inclusivity that is not imbued with worry, ignorance, or negativity towards range however equally accepting and supportive of people from socially susceptible teams.
What’s your most profitable program, and why? Give us your finest instance of the way in which you’ve got seen your group’s work make a distinction.
The most well-liked program amongst our volunteers is audiobook recording—a course of that permits them to contribute one thing worthwhile to individuals with visible and print disabilities. [1] The books we report have been requested by people with visible impairments. They embody college textbooks that our beneficiaries want to finish their research or take admission examinations, in addition to literary works.
But, our biggest social impression comes from our Therapeutic Readings program for senior people, the place we create significant connections between our volunteers and beneficiaries and supply companionship to individuals who usually really feel remoted and socially excluded. In spite of everything, it is considered one of our main applications; as of now, we maintain firm to 180 senior people in residential care houses, ten in Athens and one in Crete. Our educated volunteers pay weekly visits to the care houses’ residents, or these dwelling alone at house, to learn them a particular ebook passage and talk about it. The passage sparks dialog, permitting constructive moments from the previous to resurface.
An instance of our work making a distinction was when a few of our senior beneficiaries from a care house in Crete determined to alter the time they visited their church to attend the group readings from our volunteers. These readings convey pleasure to our beneficiaries and our volunteers, so the impression of our work has been extraordinarily encouraging.
For our group, our awareness-building initiatives in collaboration with faculties and companies are very particular, as we witness them domesticate social consciousness and solidarity and stimulate reflection amongst youthful generations and professionals.
Inform us a bit extra about how your NGO enriches audiobook libraries for the blind and promotes public consciousness.
In 2023, Studying to the Others recorded a complete of 36 books; proper now, we’re concurrently recording 14 books for people with print disabilities. Studying to the Others’ digital audiobook library “Athena” is underneath development and can quickly be accessible to the general public. That is the place we’ll add all of our recorded books; our beneficiaries will be capable to entry them with a small subscription payment.
Furthermore, we’re collaborating with Panteion College and AMELib (Accessible Multi-modal Digital Library), the place we add all of our recorded college textbooks so that each scholar has quick access all through their attendance.
An especially worthwhile instrument for elevating public consciousness relating to the usage of audiobooks is our social media channels, the place we promote the books we report and the educated volunteers who voice them, sharing their experiences of the recording course of.
Do you will have a strategic plan, and what key issues are you attempting to perform? What are the areas of alternative in your group? What may you do higher?
We’ve got already established our strategic plan for the following three years. Our strategic priorities are divided into three axes. The primary axis entails the creation of equal studying alternatives by aiming to report 150 literary works and 60 college textbooks, in addition to the creation of a digital audiobook repository that might be accessible to each particular person with visible or print disabilities from wherever in Greece. As well as, we intention to maintain 330 seniors and sufferers firm via particular person or group studying periods.
The second strategic axis considerations the creation of an inclusive tradition by constructing consciousness throughout the neighborhood. Therefore, we wish to proceed our awareness-raising initiatives in faculties and firms. We additionally wish to create a information on the proper use of inclusive language relating to incapacity and variety to eradicate phobic social perceptions of individuals with disabilities and break down discriminatory and destructive stereotypes related to [disabilities].
Our third and closing axis focuses on inside organizational restructuring. Within the subsequent few years, we’ll consider rising our community of volunteers, increasing our Board of Administrators—the best governing physique of an NGO—and, lastly, refining our strategies of measuring the impression of our work.
As you possibly can perceive, our strategic plan is essential to us. It’ll information us in our subsequent steps, serving to us keep true to our imaginative and prescient and mission; we hope to encourage the individuals near us in order that, collectively, we construct a society with equal entry to data and training for all.
What are your most pressing wants? What about funding and personal donations? What sort of sources show you how to do what your different sources of funding do not cowl?
For us, this can be very vital that we proceed to assist customers with blindness and print incapacity, senior people, and sufferers and to pursue change in social tradition with out letting the group’s funding get in the way in which of our initiatives and the social objectives we want to obtain.
As you possibly can perceive, donations from foundations are additionally essential since they cowl the best portion of our applications’s implementation. Nevertheless, it is the person and firm donations, the funds that may be allotted to check new pilot applications or to cowl the quick and pressing wants of our beneficiaries, that enable us to develop into extra inventive and efficient. Subsequently, we ask individuals to go to our website, get to know us, and, offered that we earn their belief, assist us in any approach they will.
In any case, as an NGO, our wants are usually not simply financial. Many firms assist by offering us with the sources we want, corresponding to laptops infrequently. The workspace that we use was additionally donated, in addition to our bookcases. Lately, a legislation agency donated 4 printers, which we actually wanted. After all, individuals can assist us by donating used books that they now not want, which we’ll use throughout our studying initiatives or resell to create a small revenue.
Past monetary assist, voluntary companies from varied professionals, like legal professionals, IT specialists, and graphic designers, are very useful. Equally vital is the donation of stationery, vegetation, and different gadgets that streamline our day-to-day work and make the environment extra nice.
What would make the best distinction in serving to your group get higher at what it does? How can extra individuals become involved?
To enhance our group, upgrading our technological infrastructure would make the largest distinction. By buying new, extra fashionable tools and software program for our recording studio, we’d be capable to supply higher audiobook recording companies.
There are numerous ways in which people can become involved and assist our work. To begin with, via volunteering, you possibly can supply your time and expertise to recordings, readings, administrative assist, graphic design, and the rest you possibly can consider. Furthermore, donations, via the annual membership subscription or a bigger contribution, support considerably in guaranteeing the sustainability of our initiatives.
Moreover, you possibly can share our work with your mates and acquaintances throughout your get-togethers or in your social media channels and assist our viewers develop. Lastly, as a part of their company social duty applications, firms can work with us to co-organize an awareness-raising exercise for his or her workers or a fundraising occasion for our group. And, as talked about above, specialised companies based mostly on every particular person’s experience, corresponding to authorized recommendation, graphic design, or IT, are essential for the continuation of our work.
How can a volunteer use their distinctive expertise, expertise, or perspective to additional your trigger? What extra expertise and expertise would one like to amass on this position?
Our volunteers are our energy. Studying to the Others started as a voluntary community—with out the assist and contribution of our volunteers, we would not be the place we’re as we speak.
Yearly, we challenge an open name for brand new volunteers. These all for readings bear a voice evaluation with a committee of companions with visible disabilities. If their voice is deemed appropriate, they transfer on to the coaching stage after which to the studio for the recording of the ebook upon which we’ve agreed. The recording course of requires preparation and diligence from the volunteer lending their voice. In the long run, the result’s rewarding for all of us. The books we report are primarily books which have been requested by our beneficiaries.
As for our dwell Therapeutic Readings, we challenge an open name two to 3 occasions per 12 months, relying on the wants. Our volunteers all for these readings are educated on Bibliotherapy methods and easy methods to correctly handle their voice in order that they do not get drained whereas studying aloud.
Afterward, we convey our volunteers along with our beneficiaries and schedule weekly conferences, which happen underneath our fixed supervision and steerage. We learn both in teams, in residential care houses, or individually in houses, to individuals who can not learn by themselves as a result of age, sickness, or incapacity. We maintain them firm, talk about what we’ve learn, and recall experiences and moments from the previous. After all, the passages we select to learn correspond to the cognitive, psycho-emotional degree, and the pursuits of every beneficiary or group.
Past the above, our volunteers are additionally instrumental in our workplace’s administrative issues. We’re a small group, and each little bit of assistance is invaluable. Throughout their visits, our volunteers assist us with ebook scanning, telephone correspondence, and our “Library” mission. It’s a large-scale mission that goals to reconstruct and set up our library, classify our books in a approach that serves us, and create a lending library the place our volunteers can borrow books and passages to learn to our senior beneficiaries. Volunteers are concerned in organizational and administrative issues all year long as our wants proceed to develop.
What we search for in a volunteer is a shared perception in our imaginative and prescient of equal entry to studying. Subsequent, diligence and group spirit are vital, as we all the time work collaboratively and as a group. In relation to particular expertise, we’re all the time open to individuals who wish to contribute to our graphic design wants, social media channels, in addition to our fundraising efforts; we wish to talk about with them methods we will work collectively and listen to their contemporary concepts.
What are your subsequent steps or future plans? Is the group at Studying to the Others occupied with increasing? (Both by way of different sorts of voluntary actions or in one other location/area, and so forth.)
After making use of the Principle of Change, we collectively understood that what we would like for the long run is to do our half in altering the tradition round range and acceptance. Within the coming years, we would like there to be extra social consciousness round incapacity, blindness, and the acceptance of others typically. We wish to begin speaking about social stereotypes, we wish to begin speaking about disabilities extra overtly as a company, we wish to develop nearer to the social teams we serve. We wish our beneficiaries to inform us what else they want.
That is why we’ve additionally created a digital accessibility seminar, coaching firms and workers on easy methods to create accessible digital communication flows for his or her web sites and their company or private social media channels. We, as a company, are additionally receiving coaching on these subjects. All of our group’s workers and, one after the other, our members are beginning to develop into conversant in accessibility points.
Wrapping Up
Thanks a lot to Argyro Spyridaki for sharing the imaginative and prescient behind Studying to the Others and the way our readers can contribute. If you would like to make your organization’s surroundings extra inclusive and your social media content material accessible to individuals with visible disabilities, you possibly can contact the group to participate within the digital accessibility seminars that their group organizes.
[1] Print disabilities: Issue or incapacity to learn printed materials successfully, as a result of complete/partial imaginative and prescient loss, extreme dyslexia, higher limb disabilities, and so forth.
Editor’s Notice: This Q&A was initially performed in Greek and translated to English for publication functions.
