On October 26, 27, 28 and 29, 2023, the Istituto dei Ciechi Francesco Cavazza of Bologna, the Federazione Nazionale tra le Istituzioni Pro-Ciechi, and the Robert Hollman Foundation organized the seventh edition of the Illustrated Tactile Books Tocca A Te (It’s your turn) competition in Bologna. These tactile handicrafts have proved to be valuable tools for integration and sharing for blind and visually impaired children and youth, and for people with additional disabilities. In fact, these products have proved to be effective tools both for inclusion and for promoting access to reading by children and youth living with vision loss, also facilitating sharing and playing with sighted peers, who are attracted by the colours and the possibility of touching various materials, making together, a highly innovative experience for all, thanks to the involvement of several senses in the knowledge and perception of the stories told and done in different forms that contribute to a meaningful tactile experience for all. On the morning of Saturday, October 28th, prizes and mentions were awarded to the texts deemed winners by the two juries that evaluated all the entries submitted to the competition Tocca a Te. Other significant events also took place in Bologna on the same days: The Lego Foundation, in collaboration with the Unione Italiana Ciechi e Ipovedenti (Italian Union of the Blind and Partially Sighted) and the Federazione Nazionale tra le Istituzioni Pro-Ciechi (National Federation of Institutions for the Blind), which ensured the first free distribution of the product in Italy, organized two workshops to experiment and play with Lego blocks, an edition of the Legos with the Braille alphabet. The Federazione Nazionale tra le Istituzioni Pro Ciechi (National Federation of Institutions for the Blind), the Robert Hollman Foundation, and the Istituto dei Ciechi Francesco Cavazza of Bologna organized a round table on the afternoon of Saturday, October 28th entitled: Illustrated Tactile Books, Pages for All! State of the Art.
The meeting was moderated by Professor Valeria Friso, Associate Lecturer in Didactics and Special Pedagogy at the G. M. Bertin Department of Education Sciences, University of Bologna. On the morning of October 29, 2023, the Federazione Nazionale tra le Istituzioni Pro-Ciechi and the Francesco Cavazza Institute in Bologna held a round table on the comparison of experiences of tactile adaptations for the blind and visually impaired in the Italian and Japanese realities. On the occasion of the organization of the seventh edition of the Tocca a Te competition, the National Federation held the second annual assembly of member institutions at the Istituto dei Ciechi Francesco Cavazza in Bologna. This general meeting analyzed and evaluated the projects and proposals that the Board of Directors has developed to meet the demands of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, which has made a special contribution for the years 2023 and 2024. Finally, the institutions gave indications on the long-standing issue of the construction of the new multifunctional centre in Rome for research and experimentation for complex disabilities. The assembly’s reflections became necessary in view of the considerable cost increases for carrying out the project, due to the increases in essential materials required for the construction and operation of the important new Service and Research Centre, provided for by law, as well as the disproportionate increases in all types of construction work.
Italiano
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