On January 24 and 25, 2022, the fourth Transnational Meeting of the project Towards a Multisensory and Inclusive Museum for Individuals with Sensory Disabilities / TOMIMEUS was held in Istanbul, organized by the Turkish Regional Directorate of Railways. The hosts of the Regional Directorate I of Railways in Turkey provided excellent conditions for the meeting, which benefited from the facilities in the TCDD Fenerbahçe Sosyal Tesisler.
The first discussion session was dedicated to the analysis of intellectual products made so far in the project, being presented and evaluated especially the inclusive learning activities attended by people with visual and hearing impairments, carried out in the four partner museums: Museum Istanbul Railways, the Cycladic Museum of Art in Athens, the House of Traditions in Budapest and the Transylvanian Museum of Ethnography, the coordinating institution of the project. In addition, the guidelines for the good practice guide that will be developed in the next period, which will analyse the information and experience gained in the project, in order to provide all interested organizations with proven methods and techniques to increase accessibility to the museums for people with sensory disabilities, were also discussed. The day’s program included a visit to the Istanbul Railway Museum, where the accessibility resources developed so far were presented and discussed, and the possibilities for expanding them were explored.
The second discussion session was dedicated to the analysis of the project management and the discussion of their administrative and financial aspects, in order to prepare the very important stages that will follow.
The project Towards a multisensory and inclusive museum for people with sensory disabilities / TOMIMEUS is funded under the Erasmus + program, lasting 34 months (01.11.2019 – 31.08.2022) and benefiting from a funding of EUR 246,457. The project aims to make museums accessible to visitors with sensory disabilities, supporting the fundamental right of every person to have access to cultural heritage.
Coordinated by the Transylvanian Museum of Ethnography, the project is carried out in partnership with institutions and organizations from several countries: University of Thessaly in Greece; Medeniyet University in Istanbul, Turkey; Eötvös Loránd University of Budapest; Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, House of Traditions (Hagyományok Háza) in Budapest; Cycladic Art Museum of the Nicholas and Dolly Goulandris Foundation in Athens; Regional Directorate I of Railways in Turkey; The Balkan Network of Museums, based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina; SC Atomo Ro S.R.L. from Cluj-Napoca.