Accessible EU Community of Practice
Digital workplace to share accessibility knowledge.
Sílvio Gil Martins says that the community of practice is made up of accessibility experts from different EU countries
What resources we work on
Built Environment
Transport
ICT
Policies
Standards
Accessible tourism
This workspace was created to generate knowledge about accessibility.
It was divided by thematic forums.
Registered members ask or answer questions or share information that may be of interest to the group.
The forums are moderated by the senior experts of the AccessibleEU consortium.
Built environment, coordinated by ENAT (European Network for Accessible Tourism).
- Transport, coordinated by Fundación ONCE.
- ICT, coordinated by JKU (Johannes Kepler University of Linz).
- Policies, coordinated by EASPD (European Association of Service Providers for People with Disabilities).
- Standards, coordinated by UNE (Spanish Association for Standardization).
- Other topics, coordinated by Fundación ONCE.

Sílvio Gil Martins has a degree in Tourism and Urban Planning Law
She has completed a specialization in accessibility and coordination of work, namely in the field of health and safety at work, and the topics she works and collaborates with the most are
Built environment; ICT and Standards.

BUILT ENVIRONMENT
In the built environment, among others, we work on topics such as:
Universal accessibility
Environmental sustainability
The Improvement of Working Conditions
Sílvio Gil Martins refers to the importance of working conditions, as it is transversal to all themes.
The number of accidents at work has decreased by 25% over the last ten years. However, work-related diseases continue to be responsible for approximately 2.4 million deaths worldwide every year, 200 000 of them in Europe.
EU-OSHA's work on work-related diseases aims to provide an evidence base for prevention, policies and practices. Another important objective is to provide a better overview of the burden of illness in the workplace.
Work-related diseases include:
Musculoskeletal disorders
Stress and mental disorders
Work-related cancer
Skin diseases
Work-related diseases caused by biological agents

ICT / TIC
Many of the daily tasks related to ICT/ TIC environments require
software and devices accessible to be usable.
In these cases, as in many others, the implementation of accessibility features for products, services and environments is essential to ensure that people with disabilities are not prevented from accessing and using them.
It is important to keep in mind that accessibility is not an issue exclusively linked to disability and rights.
Indeed, the strengthening of accessibility requirements across the EU leads to
improved, more accessible and user-friendly products and services;
and competitive for all. Similarly, for economic operators, harmonisation of accessibility rules across the EU facilitates trade in the internal market and ensures clarity of rules and expectations.
STANDARDS
As for the rules, they mainly call for the elimination of barriers to those who can
prevent people with disabilities from enjoying their Human Rights on an equal footing
base with others. Under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, accessibility is mentioned in Article 311 as it is one of the eight
General principles of the Convention:
Respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy, including freedom
making people's own choices and independence;
Non-discrimination;
Full and effective participation and inclusion in society;
Respect for difference and acceptance of people with disabilities as part of it
of human diversity and humanity;
Equal opportunities;
Accessibility;
Equality between men and women;
Respect for the evolving abilities of children with disabilities and
respect for the right of children with disabilities to preserve their
Identities.