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Project consortium

The EUAIN consortium brought complementary expertise from technology, system development and European end-users together in order to achieve the project’s objectives. The core EUAIN project partners are:

Please contact Sabine Schotel in the first instance who can put you in touch with individual partner organisations.

Dedicon Netherlands, co-ordinator (Netherlands)

Dedicon is the largest library for the blind in the Netherlands. Dedicon is one of the leading organisations in implementing digital audio and internet services for general literature, study literature, talking magazines, newspapers and music. Dedicon serves 26,000 clients for general audio materials, and has 15,000 clients for spoken newspapers and 3,500 clients for study materials. The services are demand-based and when a particular book is not to be found in Braille or Spoken format, arrangements are immediately made to add it to the collection. Every year just under 1 million pages are produced in Braille, and some 2.3 million pages are reproduced. The collection of spoken books contains about 67,000 titles, with 3,500 new titles being produced every year. There is a collection of about 4,000 Braille Music scores and 500 Spoken Music scores. Each year just under 10,000 tactile drawings are produced and 50,000 are reproduced. Strategies for enhancing access to information for the print disabled have increasingly focused on web-based information delivery and the Dedicon webportal increasingly provides the main point of access to information.

Association BrailleNet (France)

The BrailleNet Association was set up in 1997 to develop the potential of the Internet for visually impaired people in three main domains: information, education and culture. It has currently around 50 organisation members, spatial associations, schools and industrial companies. BrailleNet has been campaigning for a better accessible Web for all, writing and disseminating documents such as guidelines targeted toward Web designers. BrailleNet co-operates with the INRIA, one of the leading organisations of the W3C-WAI, and takes an active part in dissemination and outreach actions of WAI in Europe. BrailleNet helps organisations that commit themselves in the improvement of Web sites for their accessibility: for instance, BrailleNet brought its expertise to the newspaper « Le Monde », to the Web services of the Prime Minister, of the Ministry of Equipment, the Ministry of Health, Hachette Multimedia for its encyclopaedia. BrailleNet has created the AccessiWeb quality label.

i3s3 Integriert Studieren (Integrated Study, University of Linz) (Austria)

The institute was established in October 1991 as a model project which tries to support blind and visually handicapped students in their studies. The main part of the support activities is the digital preparation of all studying materials such as books, lecture notes, overhead sheets, exercises, contents of the blackboard and so forth for print disabled students all over Austria. Research and teaching is also mainly directed towards this field. In 2000, an Austrian wide institute was established. Research and teaching is oriented towards ICT for people with disabilities, Assistive Technologies and their application and therefore also toward e-Inclusion.

ONCE: Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles (Spain)

ONCE (Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles) is a not-for-profit organisation established in 1938 before the end of the Spanish Civil War. This organisation brought together a number of small societies of and for the blind all over Spain becoming the only organisation of blind and visually impaired persons in the whole country. Its aim is to provide its members with the widest range of services possible, from education to employment, from rehabilitation to reading services.

RNIB: Royal National Institute of Blind People (United Kingdom)

RNIB is the largest charity in the UK serving the needs of blind and partially sighted people. It meets a wide diversity of interests covering education, employment, daily living, leisure and social rights of people with serious sight problems throughout the UK. RNIB has a number of schools, colleges and residential homes and supports them with a comprehensive technical and customer services portfolio. As part of the drive for technical competence, RNIB has taken part in a wide range of research projects at national, European and international level.

FEP: Federation of European Publishers (Belgium)

The Federation of European Publishers (FEP) is an independent, non-commercial association of book publishers associations in the European Union. It first saw the light of day - under a different name – Groupement des editeurs de Livres de la Communaute- on 19th January 1967. In 1990 FEP-FEE became the umbrella organisation representing European book publishers associations. FEP represents the national associations of book publishers of all Member States of the European Union, of Norway, a member of the European Economic Area, and of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania and Slovenia. The European book publishing industry forms the leading cultural industry of the European Union.

FORCE Foundation (Netherlands)

The FORCE Foundation was officially established in 1998. FORCE does not receive government grants and is dependent on financial support from a small number of private foundations, supplemented by grants and donations from other organisations, business and industry, and from individuals. The FORCE Foundation aims to provide a focal point for the exchange of ideas on accessibility with developing countries.

Silesian University of Technology (Poland)

Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice, founded in 1945, is one of the largest technical universities in Poland. Located in Upper Silesia, the industrial heartland of Poland and one of the Europe's largest industrial areas, actively contributes to the growth and development of the region and of the country. The Institute’s main objective is education and training of highly competent professionals in various fields of technology.

TZI University of Bremen (Germany)

The Technology Centre for Computer Science (TZI) is an Institute within the Department of Mathematics and Informatics of the University of Bremen. It has the following goals: Developing and providing new computer science technologies; compiling existing expertise and putting computer science technologies into practice by coöoperation with commercial companies; applying computer science technologies to interdisciplinary coöoperation projects within the university.

Dolphin Computer Access (United Kingdom)

Dolphin Computer Access Group has a simple goal: to create software products that allow people with a vision impairment to use mainstream information technology. Founded in 1986 in the United Kingdom, the Dolphin Group now includes companies in the UK, USA and Sweden, and its product range encompasses both access and audio publishing technology. Using the same products as sighted people means individuals can retain their independence. At the same time, it allows prudent businesses, schools and colleges to benefit from the knowledge and ideas of people who might otherwise be excluded. Dolphin software is designed to work together with existing computer systems and standards, providing access to a wide range of Windows programs through magnification, speech and Braille.