STUDY VISIT TO MALTA
25 January 2019
In the period 23-25 January, a group of representatives of the partner organizations under the project “PATHWAYS FOR ACCESSIBLE HERITAGE TOURISM” participated in a study visit to Malta.
The study visit was attended by representatives of the partner organizations of the project:
– Rhodope National Park Greece (Lead Partner 1)
– Regional Development Fund of Central Macedonia (Partner 2)
– Municipality of Volvi (Partner 3)
– Local Agency for Economic Development-Razlog ( Partner 4)
– National Confederation of People with Disabilities of Greece (Partner 5)
– Union of the Disabled in Bulgaria (Partner 6)
– Technological Educational Institute of Central Macedonia (Partner 7)
– Association “Ecosworld of the Rhodopes” (Partner 8)
– Association of Regional Youth Parliament-Kardzhali (Partner 9)
The study trip to Valletta and Malta aims to get acquainted with the Disability Policy and Accessibility; Accessible Tourism and Accessible Tourist Sites, as well as the activities of the Commission on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
Tasks – Getting acquainted with good examples and transfer of know-how in the field of accessible cultural and historical tourism, policies for people with disabilities and accessible urban environment, as well as a public structure for people with disabilities.
The activity contributes to the realization of the main goal of the project.
The project “Paths for accessible tourism” (“Access to Heritage”) aims to support the sustainable development of cultural tourism in the cross-border region of Greece-Bulgaria and to establish it as an international destination for accessible tourism, including people with disabilities and chronic diseases, adults people and their families.
In particular, the Project seeks to create conditions for the exchange and introduction of know-how and good practices related to improving the accessibility of cultural and natural structures, which will lead to improved accessibility and attendance of assets / sites of cultural and natural heritage in the cross-border region.
The “Study Abroad” activity, part of the Work Initiatives Cross-Border and Abroad Work Program, seeks to improve the capacity of project partners through information, know-how and knowledge on accessible tourism and tourism for older people in leading European countries. .
Subsequently, through the implementation of information activities (public events) and capacity building (trainings), the partners will be able to contribute at the local level to increase the capacity of the authorities responsible for the management of assets in the field of cultural and natural heritage, as well as and tourism professionals to meet the needs of adult tourism and affordable tourism at a higher quality level.
The participants in the study trip visited the Grand Master Palace, where the governing bodies are located. The medieval castle has been renovated and is fully accessible for the disabled, with visually impaired signs and sound devices with lectures on the exhibits in nine languages. Later, the team visited Saint John’s Co-Cathedral, which is organized for people with all kinds of disabilities, such as the Palace. Then we took a sightseeing tour on the shores of Valletta (Valletta Waterfront) – a nice designer promenade and accessible for wheelchairs.
On the second day, the team visited the Upper and Lower Barrakka gardens, an outdoor facility that fully meets the requirements for an accessible place – flat surface and elevators, parking and toilets. Later, everyone took a Hop-on-hop-off Bus (accessible to people with physical, visual and hearing disabilities) and visited the resort of St. Julian (St Julian Resort) to explore the roads and paths to the sea for people in wheelchairs.
On the last day of their stay in Malta, the team of project experts held a meeting to exchange know-how and good practices with experts from the Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability (www.crpd.org .mt). A lecture was given by Matthew Giordmaina, an expert on services, on new trends and achievements in making historical and cultural heritage more accessible to people with different types of disabilities – physical, visual, auditory and mental. On the recommendation of the host, the team visited the National War Museum, located in Fort St Elmo fortress, presenting the full history of Malta’s wars with many modern interactive tools. The museum is accessible for wheelchairs (stair elevators and lifts), there are instructions in Braylova and audio-visual presentations. We also visited MUZA – the national museum of art. Valletta’s European Capital City of Culture Title, nominated in 2018 (Valletta’s European Capital City of Culture Title in 2018.) This is an art museum and cultural center of national communities, the first of its kind, located in a historic site . It is green-powered, generates its energy needs through renewable sources and is the best practice for retro furnishing a historic building, fully accessible to people with all types of disabilities. During their stay in Valletta, the project team also visited renovated for Valletta – European Capital of Culture, nominated in 2018. (Valletta’s European Capital City of Culture Title in 2018.) This is an art museum and cultural center of national communities, the first of its kind, located in a historic site. It is green-powered, generates its energy needs through renewable sources and is the best practice for retro furnishing a historic building, fully accessible to people with all types of disabilities. During their stay in Valletta, the project team also visited renovated for Valletta – European Capital of Culture, nominated in 2018. (Valletta’s European Capital City of Culture Title in 2018.) This is an art museum and cultural center of national communities, the first of its kind, located in a historic site. It is green-powered, generates its energy needs through renewable sources and is the best practice for retro furnishing a historic building, fully accessible to people with all types of disabilities. During their stay in Valletta, the project team also visited generates its energy needs through renewable sources and is the best practice for retro furnishing of a historic building, fully accessible for people with all types of disabilities. During their stay in Valletta, the project team also visited generates its energy needs through renewable sources and is the best practice for retro furnishing of a historic building, fully accessible for people with all types of disabilities. During their stay in Valletta, the project team also visited
St. St. George’s Square, and the surroundings of the old city center, accessible to people with disabilities;
During the visit we also got acquainted with the policy in Malta for an accessible environment for people with disabilities and the elderly. You can get acquainted with them in more detail at the links to the relevant websites.
– Since 2000, Malta has had the Equal Opportunities (People with Disabilities) Act , which is the legal framework governing the rights of people with disabilities in the country. The purpose of the document is to recognize and protect the rights of people with disabilities with a view to ending, in a reasonable manner, discrimination on the grounds of disability. The law addresses the rights of people with disabilities, discrimination due to disabilities and its prohibition in the field of employment, education, accessibility, provision of goods and services, housing, insurance, health care and others. In addition, it designates the main government body responsible for enforcing the law, the Commission on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. http://justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=lom&itemid=8879&l=1
– In 2016, a new programming document was developed – the National Strategy for People with Disabilities in Malta, which defines the national policy on the rights of people with disabilities. The strategy seeks to provide guidance, a national plan to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities and their families. It is based on the fact that every person with a disability must lead a secure, fulfilling life and take an active part in society, politics, culture and the economy. The document is for every person with a disability to become an active citizen with the freedom to make a choice. The aim of the strategy is to have better opportunities for people with disabilities in the labor market, to improve the educational experience, to provide social services in the right formats and to focus on the emancipation of the individual.
https://activeageing.gov.mt/en/Pages/Malta-National-Disability-Strategy.aspx
– Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD)
The Commission on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in Malta is the public regulator for the rights of persons with disabilities in Malta.
KPHU is an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of people with disabilities. The structure seeks to make Maltese society inclusive so that people with disabilities reach their full potential in all aspects of life, enjoying a high quality of life through equal opportunities.
KPHU has a useful website with numerous contact details and links. https://crpd.org.mt/
– The Foundation for Information Technology Accessibility (FITA) seeks to promote ICT and web accessibility in order to provide support, empowerment and social inclusion for people with disabilities so that they can overcome all barriers, imposed by their condition and to take active and productive roles in our society. FITA is the main advocate and coordinator for ICT accessibility in Malta. The FITA advises and acts on behalf of the Commission on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on ICT accessibility.
https://mita.gov.mt/en/eGov/DevelopmentToolkit/Pages/Accessibility-and-Standards.aspx
– The Ministry of Tourism of Malta fully applies the principle that tourism is a free / pleasant time that should be offered and given as an opportunity to all, developing a culture that will facilitate social tourism and accessibility for people with disabilities. It works to improve the scope for accessibility of the tourist product and the service offered for the benefit of social tourists. There is a Charter for National Tourism Policy Paper for the period 2015 – 2020.
https://tourism.gov.mt/en/tourism/Pages/Tourism-Entities/Accessible-Tourism.aspx
– There is an official website providing guidelines for organizing a trip to Malta, with special sections dedicated to people with disabilities. The people of Malta and its government have made a concerted effort in recent years to ensure that everything from the airport to hotels, museums and even sandy beaches is accessible to all. https://www.guidememalta.com/en/accessible-malta-holidays-for-people-with-disability
Lessons learned
The study trip to the city of Valletta and Malta, in general, can be defined as unforgettable and valuable for each participant.
Valletta, the city with the most historical and cultural monuments in its small territory, is a rich, easy and very useful “catalog” of various facilities and facilities for improved accessibility of the urban environment for people with disabilities. Many cultural and historical sites have Braille and audio information products for the visually and hearing impaired.
Specialists in the field of accessibility for people with disabilities are already actively working in the field of improving the urban environment in relation to the requirements for accessibility of people with mental disabilities.
The palace, which houses the MUSEUM Museum, is a magnificent model of a “green” and affordable, historically renovated building.
Malta, a small country where tourism plays an important role, can be a useful example of building and maintaining seaside resorts in line with modern requirements for high-quality leisure and recreation, and in accordance with the principle of accessibility for all.
The shared experience of the Commission’s expert on the rights of people with disabilities, their individual approaches in building accessibility tailored to each type of disability, can serve as guidelines for building a similar methodology by the participants in the Access to Heritage project.
The acquired knowledge and know-how, the shared experience from the research trip to Valletta and Malta provide invaluable and useful information for the Bulgarian and Greek project experts.
Presentation:
Del.-6.9.2-Inernational-study-visits-for-exchange-of-good-parctices-Malta-BG
Del.-6.9.2-Inernational-study-visits-for-exchange-of-good-parctices-Malta-EN