Press | T-Guide

European Associations FEG and ENAT In Partnership To Improve Tourist Guiding to Visitors with Disabilities

Ivor Ambrose — Fri, 11 Dec 2015 04:19:00 GMT

Photo. ENAT Managing Director and FEG President Efi Kalampoukidou sign the Partnership Agreement in Athens.

ENAT, the European Network for Accessible Tourism and FEG, the European Federation of Tourist Guide Associations, have signed a Partnership Agreement, aiming to improve the skills of professional tourist guides, who guide visitors with disabilities.

ENAT and FEG worked closely together as partners over the past three years with a number of European organisations, developing the “T-Guide” project, which aims to deliver continuous professional development for tourist guides across Europe for “Guiding people with intellectual disabilities and/or learning difficulties”. The project was co-financed by the EU Lifelong Learning Programme and completed in the summer of 2015.

Under their new partnership agreement, FEG and ENAT will work closely together on several areas of common interest. Their first initiative will be to establish a supplementary training course for professional qualified tourist guides, focusing on skills and techniques that are needed when guiding people with learning difficulties or intellectual disabilities.

Signing the new agreement at a meeting in Athens, Greece, FEG President Ms. Efi Kalampoukidou stated:

“FEG’s member associations, representing 70,000 qualified tourist guides in Europe, are continually striving to ensure the highest quality of tourist guiding for visitors from all countries and backgrounds. We need to develop Tourism for All in Europe and in our own countries as destinations”.

She went on to say: “In our profession, Continuous Professional Development is a must. We have to adapt to the changing demands of groups or individual visitors, as well as keeping up to date with the latest knowledge and refining our guiding skills. By partnering with ENAT we will be able to deliver a world class life-long training to tourist guides in disability awareness and tourist guiding”.

Welcoming the agreement, Mr. Ivor Ambrose, ENAT’s Managing Director, remarked: “Nowadays, tourists of all ages and abilities are looking for inclusive experiences. Tour groups are often mixed and are very likely to include visitors with various disabilities or access needs and tourist guides must know how to prepare and cope with the different needs they may encounter. We are pleased to support FEG in rolling out training courses that can help tourist guides meet the demands of visitors with disabilities. The qualified tourist guides who have these skills will be an asset to destinations and attractions of a country or city that are looking to offer a better, more inclusive welcome to their guests and this, in turn, will make European tourism more attractive and competitive”.

Working with ENAT, FEG plans to offer the first “T-Guide” training course for its London Blue Badge tourist guides in March 2016, in the Houses of Parliament in London, UK.

Further information

About ENAT

ENAT, the European Network for Accessible Tourism, is a Belgian non-profit association, founded in 2008, which promotes accessibility to tourism for all visitors. It is a multi-stakeholder network of member organisations, comprising public bodies, tourism suppliers and consumer organisations, with 100 members from over 30 countries worldwide. ENAT promotes Accessible Tourism around the world through its website and social media network. It provides research based advice, consultancy and training on accessible tourism development to destinations and businesses. ENAT has established cooperative agreements with leading players in the tourism sector, including the UNWTO, Lonely Planet, disability NGOs, National and Regional Tourist Boards and City Marketing departments.

About FEG

FEG is the Professional Tourist Guides’ voice in Europe. It provides expertise where needed to ensure that the qualified Tourist Guide’s role is understood and promoted. FEG is consulted by European institutions and speaks for Tourist Guides on issues, such as recognition of professional qualifications, standards in guiding and in tourist guide training, as well as promoting Europe as a whole destination. It is well placed to establish common criteria for high quality services in all areas of tourist guiding. It is able help to the industry and consumers greater understand what they can expect of a professional tourist guide in Europe. FEG brings together the Tourist Guide national associations for mutual benefit and provides an opportunity for networking between associations and individuals through its meetings, seminars and website.

Download this Press Release and the related photo from the right-hand panel.

Contact:

European Federation of Tourist Guide Associations
Efi Kalampoukidou
Tel. 0030 6974098805
Web: http://www.feg-touristguides.com
Email: president@feg-touristguides.org

Training: Email: training@FEGeurope.org

European Network for Accessible Tourism asbl.
Ivor Ambrose, Managing Director
Tel. 0030 210 614 8380
E-mail: enat@accessibletourism.org
Web: http://www.accessibletourism.org

T-GuIDE Presents Training System for Tourist Guiding of Visitors with Intellectual Disabilities

Ivor Ambrose — Thu, 02 Apr 2015 19:48:35 GMT

T-GuiDE Booklet - click image to download.
1 April 2015, Brussels, Belgium.

At a conference hosted by the Flemish Regional Government, the EU-funded T-GUIDE project presented its results to over 50 tourist guides, destination managers and policy makers from 10 European countries.

Visitors with intellectual disabilities and/or learning difficulties, their families and friends encounter many difficulties when travelling.

Their experience of attractions and cultural heritage can be very limited, since few tourist guides have the knowledge and skills to guide this clientele.

The T-GUIDE project was conceived to address this problem by identifying the required competences and developing a supplementary training course for professional tourist guides.

At the conference, Carlos Ortega, President of FEG, the European Federation of Tourist Guide Associations, underlined the importance of the project’s results for FEG members, stating “This training should result in more guided tours for visitors in European countries and, at the same time lead to new job opportunities for tourist guides and for the tourism industry”.

Project Officer, Antonella Correra, European Commission Tourism Unit, emphasized: “Skills development is a major concern for European tourism and we will use this example to show how different sectors are tackling their Continuing Professional Development needs".

Behind the T-Guide training course is a group of nine organisations, supported by the European Union’s Lifelong Learning Programme, ”Leonardo Da Vinci”.

Partners include the European Network for Accessible Tourism, ENAT and the Polish University Społeczna Akademia Nauk, Lodz as, well as Austrian, Spanish Latvian, Italian and British vocational training experts, cultural institutions and NGOs.

Further information is available from:

T-GuIDE Website: www.t-guide.eu

Contact: t-guide@feg-touristguides.org

T-Guide Press Release no. 1 in English

Ivor Ambrose — Thu, 30 May 2013 20:07:00 GMT

Enjoying travel and tourism is not always easy for people with intellectual and learning difficulties and their families. In response to this challenge, FEG - the European Federation of Tourist Guide Associations, and a group of partners from the tourism and disability sectors has started a training initiative, “T-Guide”, to train official qualified tourist guides in the skills that can help them give this group of tourists a better experience and understanding of Europe’s cultural and historical sites.

The internet-based training will be offered free of charge to tourist guides and will help them adjust their guiding to the needs of this target group. The course will be tested by creating a trial tourist itinerary for intellectually disabled visitors and the overall training will provide a framework for training and skills assessment at EU level. This should result in a wider range of guided tours for visitors in European countries and lead to new job opportunities for tourist guides and for the tourism industry.

Organisations of people with disabilities and their families will be involved in developing the learning programmes and tools for professionals, ensuring that the training will meet the needs of these visitors.

Behind the T-Guide training course is a group of nine organisations supported by the European Union’s Lifelong Learning Programme, ”Leonardo Da Vinci”. The lead partner is the Polish University Społeczna Akademia Nauk, Lodz.

Download the full Press Release in PDF format from the right-hand panel.

T-Guide Press Release no. 1 in Polish

Ivor Ambrose — Thu, 30 May 2013 20:04:00 GMT

Osoby z niepełnosprawnością intelektualną i trudnościami w uczeniu się oraz ich rodziny nie zawsze mogą czerpać pełną przyjemność z turystyki i zwiedzania. W odpowiedzi na ten problem FEG, Europejska Federacja Stowarzyszeń Przewodników Turystycznych, wraz z grupą partnerów zajmujących się turystyką i niepełnosprawnością, rozpoczęła szkolenia „T-Guide” dla oficjalnych, zawodowych przewodników turystycznych, obejmujące umiejętności, dzięki którym grupy turystów o specjalnych potrzebach lepiej zrozumieją kulturę Europy, jej zabytki i będą mogli w pełni poznać interesujące miejsca, które odwiedzają.

Szkolenie internetowe dla przewodników turystycznych będzie bezpłatnie i pomoże im dostosować sposób pracy do naszej grupy docelowej. Faza testowa kursu polegać będzie na utworzeniu próbnego programu zwiedzania dla turystów z niepełnosprawnością intelektualną, a całe szkolenie stworzy ogólne warunki do oceny szkoleń i umiejętności na poziomie UE. Dzięki temu powinniśmy uzyskać większą różnorodność wycieczek z przewodnikiem dla osób odwiedzających kraje Europy, powstaną również nowe miejsca pracy dla przewodników i w całej branży turystycznej.

Organizacje osób niepełnosprawnych oraz ich rodzin zostaną zaangażowane w opracowanie programów kształcenia i narzędzi dla profesjonalistów, dzięki czemu szkolenie spełni oczekiwania turystów z niepełnosprawnością intelektualną i problemami z uczeniem się.

Projekt szkoleniowy T-Guide realizuje grupa dziewięciu instytucji, przy wsparciu programu Unii Europejskiej Uczenie się Przez Całe Życie „Leonardo Da Vinci”. Kontraktorem projektu jest polska uczelnia: Społeczna Akademia Nauk z Łodzi.

Download the full Press Release in PDF format from the right-hand panel.

T-Guide Press Release no. 1 in Italian

Ivor Ambrose — Thu, 30 May 2013 20:03:00 GMT

Godersi un viaggio o fare del turismo non è sempre facile per le persone con difficoltà intellettuali e di apprendimento nonché per le loro famiglie. In risposta a questo tema, la FEG - Federazione Europea delle Guide Turistiche ed un gruppo di partner provenienti dai settori del turismo e della disabilità hanno ritenuto di impostare un nuovo percorso formativo di nome "T-Guide: Tourist Guides for persons with intellectual/learning disabilities", con lo scopo di formare guide turistiche con competenze riconosciute in grado di aiutare il gruppo target ad innalzare la qualità dell'esperienza di fruizione dei siti storici e culturali d'Europa.

La formazione – che sarà online – verrà messa a disposizione delle guide turistiche gratuitamente e aiuterà queste ultime a tarare il loro approccio di guida rispetto alle esigenze del target di progetto. Il corso sarà testato mediante una prova di itinerario turistico per i visitatori con disabilità intellettive. L'intero percorso formativo offrirà un quadro di riferimento per la formazione ed il bilancio delle competenze a livello europeo.

L'obiettivo parallelo è quello di incrementare i tour guidati per i turisti dei paesi europei ed offrire alle guide turistiche nuove opportunità di lavoro. Il coinvolgimento delle organizzazioni di persone con disabilità e delle loro famiglie nello sviluppo del programma d'apprendimento e degli strumenti per le guide turistiche assicurerà un'elevata qualità del percorso formativo tale da soddisfare al meglio le esigenze del target di progetto.

Dietro il progetto T-Guide c'è un gruppo di nove organizzazioni sostenute dal Programma per l'Apprendimento Permanente dell'Unione Europea, sottoprogramma "Leonardo Da Vinci". Capofila è l'Università polacca Społeczna Akademia Nauk, con sede a Lodz. Il coordinamento delle attività del progetto è affidato ad ASIS - un Consorzio di cooperative sociali italiano.

Download the full Press Release in PDF format from the right-hand panel.

T-Guide Press Release no. 1 in Latvian

Ivor Ambrose — Thu, 30 May 2013 20:03:00 GMT

Doties ceļojumos un apmeklēt dažādas jaukas vietas ne vienmēr ir vienkārši cilvēkiem ar intelektuālās attīstības traucējumiem vai mācīšanās grūtībām. Lai uzlabotu šo situāciju, Eiropas tūristu gidu asociācija un partneru grupa – tūrisma un invaliditātes jomas organizācijas uzsāka jaunu apmācības iniciatīvu „T-gids”. Šīs apmācības mērķis ir nodrošināt nepieciešamās prasmes un zināšanas oficiālajiem tūrisma gidiem, lai sniegtu iespēju cilvēkiem ar intelektuālās attīstības traucējumiem vai mācīšanās grūtībām gūt labāku sapratni un izjust Eiropas kultūras un vēsturiskās vietas.

Tūrisma gidiem tiks piedāvāta iespēja apgūt bezmaksas mācību kursu internetā, kas palīdzēs viņiem pielāgot un pārveidot savu darbu atbilstoši šīs specifiskās grupas vajadzībām. Apmācības kurss sākotnēji tiks testēts, veidojot izmēģinājuma ceļojuma maršrutu cilvēkiem ar intelektuālās attīstības traucējumiem. Tiks nodrošinātas arī apmācības un tā novērtējums Eiropas Savienības līmenī. Tas dos iespēju veidot vairāk cilvēkiem ar intelektūlās attīstības traucējumiem pielāgotus braucienus un attiecīgi sekmēs jaunu darba vietu izveidi dažādās Eiropas Savienības valstīs.

Cilvēku ar invaliditāti organizācijas tiks iesaistītas mācību programmas un atbilstošu metožu izstrādē, kas nozīmē, ka sasniegtais rezultāts pilnībā atbildīs lietotāju vajadzībām.

Pavisam T-Guide mācību kursa izveidē piedalās 9 organizācijas no visas Eiropas Savienības, kas saņēmušas atbalstu no ES mūžizglītības programmas ”Leonardo Da Vinci”. Projekta vadošais partneris ir Polijas universitāte no Lodzas „Społeczna Akademia Nauk”.

Download the full Press Release in PDF format from the right-hand panel.

T-Guide Press Release no. 1 in Greek

Ivor Ambrose — Thu, 30 May 2013 20:02:00 GMT

Η απόλαυση ενός ταξιδιού και του τουρισμού γενικότερα δεν είναι πάντοτε εύκολη για άτομα με μαθησιακές δυσκολίες και για τις οικογένειές τους. Απαντώντας σ’ αυτή την πρόκληση, η FEG, η Ευρωπαϊκή Ομοσπονδία Σωματείων Ξεναγών, και μία ομάδα εταίρων της στους τομείς του τουρισμού και των ΑΜΕΑ ξεκινάει μια εκπαιδευτική πρωτοβουλία, το πρόγραμμα «Τ-GuIDE”, για να μετεκπαιδεύσει τους επίσημους πιστοποιημένους ξεναγούς σε δεξιότητες, οι οποίες θα τους βοηθήσουν να προσφέρουν σ’ αυτές τις ομάδες των τουριστών μια καλύτερη εμπειρία και κατανόηση των πολιτιστικών και ιστορικών χώρων της Ευρώπης.

Η ηλεκτρονική μετεκπαίδευση θα προσφερθεί δωρεάν σε ξεναγούς και θα τους βοηθήσει να προσαρμόσουν την ξενάγησή τους στις ανάγκες των ομάδων αυτών. Το σχέδιο θα δοκιμαστεί με τη δημιουργία ενός πιλοτικού τουριστικού προγράμματος για επισκέπτες με μαθησιακές δυσκολίες και η συνολική εκπαίδευση θα προσφέρει ένα πλαίσιο για εξέταση της εκπαίδευσης και των δεξιοτήτων σε επίπεδο Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης. Το αποτέλεσμα θα είναι η δημιουργία ενός ευρέως φάσματος ξεναγήσεων για επισκέπτες σε ευρωπαϊκές χώρες και θα οδηγήσει σε νέες ευκαιρίες απασχόλησης για τους ξεναγούς και για την τουριστική αγορά.

Οργανισμοί ατόμων με μαθησιακές δυσκολίες και οι οικογένειές τους θα συμβάλουν στην ανάπτυξη των προγραμμάτων και των εργαλείων για επαγγελματίες, διασφαλίζοντας ότι η εν λόγω μετεκπαίδευση θα καλύπτει τις ανάγκες αυτών των ομάδων επισκεπτών.

Πίσω από το πρόγραμμα «T-GuIDE» βρίσκεται μια ομάδα από εννέα οργανισμούς, που υποστηρίζονται από το πρόγραμμα δια βίου μάθησης της Ε.Ε. ”Leonardo Da Vinci”. Ο επικεφαλής εταίρος είναι το πολωνικό πανεπιστήμιο Społeczna Akademia Nauk, στο Lodz.

Download the full Press Release in PDF format from the right-hand panel.

T-Guide Press Release no. 1 in Spanish

Ivor Ambrose — Thu, 30 May 2013 20:01:00 GMT

Disfrutar del viaje y hacer turismo no es siempre fácil para personas con dificultades intelectuales y de aprendizaje, ni tampoco para sus familias. En respuesta a este reto, la FEG –Federación Europea de Asociaciones de Guías de Turismo– y una agrupación de socios del sector de turismo y discapacidad han dado comienzo a esta iniciativa de formación denominada “T-Guide” dirigida a guías turísticos oficiales, para que puedan ofrecer a este grupo de turistas una mejor experiencia y comprensión de los enclaves históricos y culturales de Europa.

La formación on-line será gratuita para los guías turísticos y les ayudará a adaptar su servicio como guías a las necesidades del grupo al que van dirigido. El curso contará con unas pruebas que se realizarán en un itinerario turístico de prueba para visitantes con discapacidad intelectual, y la formación global incluirá la infraestructura necesaria para la facilitar la formación y la evaluación de las habilidades a nivel de la Unión Europea. Esto daría como resultado una mayor oferta de tours guiados para visitantes a los países europeos, y generarías nuevas oportunidades profesionales para los guías de Turismo y para la industria turística.

En el desarrollo y aprendizaje de estos programas intervendrán las organizaciones de personas discapacitadas y sus familias, lo que, junto con las herramientas que se facilitarán a los profesionales, asegurará que la formación coincida con las necesidades de esta clientela.

Detrás del curso de formación T-Guide hay un grupo de nueve organizaciones que cuentan con el apoyo del programa de enseñanza de la Unión Europea con vocación de permanencia “Leonardo da Vinci”. El socio líder es la Universidad polaca Społeczna Akademia Nauk, de la ciudad de Lodz.

Download the full Press Release in PDF format from the right-hand panel.

T-Guide Press Release no. 1 in German

Ivor Ambrose — Thu, 30 May 2013 20:00:00 GMT

Für Menschen mit intellektueller Beeinträchtigung oder Lernschwierigkeiten und ihren Familien ist es nicht immer einfach Ausflüge oder Städtereisen mit passenden Fremdenführungen zu finden und so Kulturvermittlung zu genießen.

Um Fremdenführungen für Menschen mit intellektueller Beeinträchtigung zugänglich zu machen, hat die FEG- European Federation of Tourist Guide Associations zusammen mit Partnern aus den Bereichen Tourismus, Soziales und Behinderung eine Ausbildungsinitiative mit dem Namen „T- Guide“ gestartet. Ziel ist es offizielle FremdenführerInnen im Hinblick auf die Bedürfnisse und im Umgang mit Menschen mit intellektueller Beeinträchtigung oder Lernschwierigkeiten zu sensibilisieren.

Die FremdenführerInnen sollen sich Fähigkeiten und Kompetenzen aneignen, um die neue Zielgruppe besser begleiten zu können, das Interesse für kulturelle und historische Orte und Besonderheiten Europas wecken zu können, sowie Kultur gut vermitteln zu können.
Das auf Internet basierende Training wird für FremdenführerInnen kostenlos angeboten und soll dabei unterstützen, passende Methoden für das Führen der neuen Zielgruppe zu entwickeln.

Ziel des Internetkurses ist unter anderem die Gestaltung einer Stadttour, welche durch Menschen mit intellektueller Beeinträchtigung oder Lernschwierigkeiten in der Praxis erprobt wird. Die gesamte Ausbildung wird auf Fachkenntnissen und Trainings- Beispielen auf EU-Level beruhen und einen Rahmen zur Entwicklung von Kompetenzen und Beurteilungskriterien bilden.

Das Projekt soll eine Grundlage für ein breites Spektrum an Fremdenführungen für Menschen mit intellektueller Beeinträchtigung sein. Ziel ist es, in den europäischen Ländern Tourismusangebote für die Zielgruppe zu entwickeln und neue Aufgabengebiete für FremdenführerInnen zu schaffen.

Organisationen aus dem Behindertenbereich, Menschen mit intellektuellen Beeinträchtigungen oder Lernschwierigkeiten selbst und deren Familien beteiligen sich an der Entwicklung der Lernprogramme, um sicherzustellen, dass die Ausbildung den Bedürfnissen der Zielgruppe gerecht wird.

Hinter T-Guide steht eine Projektpartnerschaft von insgesamt neun Organisationen aus acht europäischen Ländern, die durch das Programm Lebenslanges Lernen „Leonardo Da Vinci“ der Europäischen Union unterstützt werden. Die Projektleitung und Koordination wird von der polnischen Universität Społeczna Akademia Nauk, Lodz durchgeführt.

Download the full Press Release in PDF format from the right-hand panel.