TICa – Accessible information and communication technologies

The TICa project takes place under the auspices of the MAC 2007-2013 transnational cooperation programme.

The project involves ITER and the social development institute of the regional department for solidarity and social security (Instituto de Acçao Social Direcçao Regional da Solidariedade e Segurança Social), together with a series of partners headed by Tenerife’s Sinpromi group.

The main aims of the project are:

  • To develop and manage programmes in the areas of training, professional guidance and employment integration.
  • To encourage the removal of physical barriers and the creation of accessible environments, providing related information and technical support to individuals and both public and private organisations.
  • To promote the use of new technologies and the development of remote professional training and homeworking programmes.
  • To promote the fullest participation of reduced mobility people in society, encouraging better access to cultural resources and to the enjoyment of sport, tourism and leisure.
  • To raise public awareness regarding disability and the promotion of the ‘Design for All’ concept.
  • To promote the marketing of products made in occupational centres and in special employment centres by reduced mobility individuals.
  • To boost the society’s commercial and services area, by developing the activities assigned to the special employment centres.

Technological development and the convergence of new information technology platforms are fostering the creation of a new scenario – the knowledge-based society – which is characterised by a huge expansion in information technology, telematics and audiovisual media, resulting in the creation of new communication channels and sources of vast amounts of information. For this reason, such technologies can be powerful tools for reducing inequalities while providing new opportunities for education, employment, leisure and communication to people of different degrees of physical capacity, thereby contributing to their social integration and a better quality of life.

However, there is an overarching precondition to fulfilling the potential of these activities, namely that ICTs be introduced under basic accessibility guarantees, to ensure that diverse physical abilities do not translate into the impossibility of accessing these technologies, thereby bridging the digital divide.