ACTIVITIES
COME-IN! Final event and Awarding Ceremony
After three years the EU project COME-IN! led by the Central European Initiative – Executive Secretariat comes to an end. The closing event took place at the European Parliament in Brussels on 11 September at 17.00 alongside with the first Award Ceremony of the COME-IN! Label.
Launched in July 2016 and funded under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), COME-IN! – an acronym for Cooperating for open access to museums towards a wider inclusion - aimed at improving the capacity of cultural and museum operators to attract all visitors by promoting cultural heritage and making sites more accessible to people with disabilities, allowing all visitors to enjoy our cultural heritage in autonomy. Among the key outcomes of the project, COME-IN! has elaborated guidelines to crosscheck the different dimensions of accessibility throughout the service chain and to guide museums and galleries to provide satisfactory services for all visitors, to train their staff and to design and organize accessible exhibitions. People with disabilities were involved in all phases of the process.
The final event will be hosted by MEP Marion Walsmann and count with the contribution of renowned speakers in the field of accessibility from the European Parliament, the Network of European Museums Organisations (NEMO) and Associations for people with Disabilities.
The first Award Ceremony of the Label will be the occasion to reward six museums from Italy, Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, Germany and Poland, for their efforts in turning their exhibitions more accessible and inclusive to all, following the accessibility guidelines developed within the project.
The Croatian representative in the project is the Archaeological Museum of Istria, Pula. The award was recieved by Đeni Gobić-Bravar and Jasna Božić and the ceremony was attended by the representative at the EU Parlament Valter Flego.
The label aims at being a worldwide label for museums engaged in accessibility, promoting democracy, non-discrimination and equal opportunities, as well as accessible culture and equal cultural rights for all interested people. It also promotes new ways of thinking and accessing culture through multi-sensory experiences and innovative approaches. Furthermore, it aims at raising awareness on the benefit of having various dimensions of inclusion as well as giving promising and reliable information for visitors with disabilities.
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COME-IN! Guidelines and Handbook
The COME IN! the project is nearing its end, but only from a project point of view. It is the wish of all of us who have worked actively over these three and a half years that the results and findings are being disseminated among the museum professionals. All to make museums more open and accessible to everyone. The guidelines developed during the project have finally taken on a new shape, so anyone interested can download these two important documents in Croatian language, which can help define and adjust the accessibility level of their museum.
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Presentation of the results and Label of the COME-IN! project
On July 4, 2019, at 11.00 am, in the Sv Srca gallery, the presentation of the results of three years of work at the Interreg Central Europe project COME-IN! and the presentation of the Label and the future of the project ocurred.
Following the introductory words of the active project staff, the director Darko Komšo and the restorer Đeni Gobić-Bravar, experiences of the representatives of associations of persons with disabilities were presented to the participants.
Marin Giljanović from the Society of Persons with Physical Disability (DOSTI) emphasized the importance of physical accessibility and removal of physical barriers. He particularly stressed out the need not only of a person with disabilities but of all, to enable independence in deciding and executing their decisions.
Zlatko Kuftić from the Association of the Blind and Low sighted of Istria County (USIZ) spoke about the importance of tactical content and braille or audio descriptions when displaying museum items. He also emphasized the importance of communication between museums and associations, mainly the users to whom the exhibitions were intended.
Ozren Catela from the Association of People with Intellectual Disabilities of Istria spoke about the importance of adjusting the content in such a way that every person, irrespective of her status as a person with disabilities, is involved in museum activities. He also stressed the importance of including people with disabilities in all normal life activities that make up the community's integrity.
Đeni Gobić-Bravar presented the results of the project activities over the past 3 years. Then the Label visibility mark was displayed and a model of future and sustainability of the project was presented. Namely, the Label would become available to all museums which, in line with the project guidelines, show interest and activities aimed at raising accessibility levels to everyone.
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Prehistory in hands at the Night of the Museum
The Night of the Museum was held on February 1st 2019, starting at 18.00. In the premises of the Sv Srca gallery, the exhibition Prehistory in the hands was still on so it was decided to give to the numerous visitors of the Night of the Museum an added value with the possiblity to visit the exhibition through guided tours. The authors of the exhibition, as well as colleagues Giulia Codacci Terlević and Vera Jelenić, have led numerous groups of interested visitors through the exhibition, explaining the historical periods, showing special contents and pointing out how the exhibition is accessibe to everyone. The number of visitors of more than 1,200 citizens of Pula showed us their interest for this exhibition, which has surely marked out its last days. The exhibition has been closed on February 3rd 2019.
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Presentation of the exhibition catalog "Prehistory in hands"
On January 31st 2019, at 11:00, the presentation of the catalog Prahistory in hands, at the Sv Srca gallery was held. The catalog presents the prehistoric period in Istria in a simple and accesible way that is readily and easily understood by everyone. It came up not only as a supporting material of the exhibition but also as its extension. Namely, the catalog not only presents exposed objects, but also the reconstructions, replicas and customized contents that make this exhibition accessible to everyone. With the images of the exhibits and of the exhibition itself, the catalog will keep the memories and experiences that the visitors felt through the exhibition.
Also, for the needs of an accessible exhibition, a catalog was previously realized completely for blind people, printed exclusively in Braille, with tactical drawings and with an accompanying audio catalog.
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The inclusive museum – Challenges and Solutions, State of the Art and Perspectives
Organising thematic conferences is one of the activities of the COME-IN! project. The conferences are naturally devoted to raising awareness about the problems and needs of people with disabilities as users of museum institutions but also about the problems of museum institutions in attempting to adapt to the needs of people with disabilities. The first meeting was held in Udine, Italy on the 9th of November 2017 and the second in Erfurt, Germany, on June 26, 2018. These days, the proceedings of the two conferences were finished and you can freely download them at the link below.
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The COME IN! project on the European Heritage days
The marking of the European Heritage Days started on September 21st 2018 and ends on October 10th 2018. The project COME-IN! with its pilot exhibition Prehistory in hands found room for the manifestation, especially with the theme of the "Art of Sharing". The basic objective of the project is to share cultural heritage with everyone.
For the entire duration of the event (except Sundays), guided tours will be provided through the exhibition and on Tuesdays and Thursdays workshops for making objects in the prehistoric ways will be held.
The beginning of the event is marked by two lectures focused on expanding the possibilities to open exhibitions to people with disabilities, ie to everyone. Đeni Gobić-Bravar talked about the basic points of accessibility through examples of world museums, while Maja Čuka presented all the guidelines of accesssibility through the thematic exhibition Prapovijest u rukama.
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Prehistory in the hands of the Minister of Culture
On September 13th 2018, the exhibition Prehistory in the hands was visited by the Minister of Culture Nina Obuljen Koržinek. The minister praised the exhibition and stressed the uniqueness of the project, as the facilities, though aimed at people with disabilities, are ultimately accessible to everyone.
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Presentation of the COME-IN! project in Vienna
On September 06th 2018, representatives of the museums partners of the COME-IN! project presented the results achieved to the representatives of European countries in the European Union and to those responsible for deciding on financing projects of importance for the European Union.
The project was chosen as an example of a cultural and socially oriented project that has achieved important results in bringing culture closer to disabled people, with added value increasing the number of visits to small and medium-sized museums in Central Europe.
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Opening of the exhibition Prehistory in hands
14th June 2018
Through the COME-IN! project many information were received for the development of the pilot exhibition that should, in almost all its parts, be accessible to people with disabilities.
That is how the exhibition Prehistory in hands came into being. Through the numerous objects and reconstructions that can be touched and felt the exhibition shows four basic prehistoric periods in Istria. Access to objects is enabled for everyone, floor marks are placed to guide visitors through the contents, the legends are simple in the increased and contrasting fonts, and there are legends in braille as well as tactile drawings.
Come to experience the exhibition and leave us your comments through a questionnaire or book of impressions so that we know if we have been successful in adjusting the structure and content and what else can we do to make the exhibitions tailored to everyone.
https://www.facebook.com/Arheoloski/videos/1952669634778521/
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Training of AMI’s staff for accessibility for all
April 24 and 25, 2018.
Within the COME-IN! project training activities to educate museum staff to provide quality services to people with disabilities as well as to everyone were developed. During the two days of lectures and workshops, employees became familiar with the issues of people with disabilities, from physical barriers to content. The correct ways of communication, the technical and technological possibilities of displaying archaeological objects and content in customized ways, techniques of art and object descriptions were presented. Practical experience of people with disabilities, which are the ultimate users of services the museum can provide, were directly illustrated. In addition to the lecturers who were directly involved in the project (Đeni Gobić-Bravar from AMI and Marco Angeli from ENAIP, Udine), the training was performed by lecturers with rich work experience with vulnerable groups of people, Danijela Kasumović-Maružin and Jadranka Ostić. Representative of the Association of blind people of Istrian County, Zlatko Kuftić and the representative of the Society of people with physical disability, Marin Giljanović explained to the museum staff about physical barriers that can be obstacles for their own movement and enjoyment of exposed objects. Representatives of the associations enriched the employees' knowledge also about different possibilities to adapt to all the contents of the exhibition in order to be more interesting and accessible.
The next task for the museum staff is to apply the acquired knowledge to become accessible in both space and content.
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Gallery C8 accessible to people with mobility difficulties
This year we started an important step towards bringing our exhibition spaces closer to people with mobility problems. The C8 Gallery was difficult to visit since the only approach was over several steps. But through the COME-IN! project we installed a platform lift that gives visitors direct access to the gallery. As the C8 hosts various thematic exhibitions, we hope everyone will find something that interests them and come visit us.
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Visit to the Musei civici in Udine
After the thematic Pilot exhibition at the Musei civici di Udine was opened, and part of the permanent exhibition was adapted to persons with disabilities with a special focus on blind and partially sighted persons, members of the Association of blind and partially sighted persons of the Istrian County together with staff from the Archaeological Museum of Istria visited the museum in Udine to experience newly adapted contents.
The visit to the museum was accompanied by extremely friendly staff who explained the contents more closely to us, introduced us with new possibilities after adapting the structure and responding to each of our questions. We had the opportunity to touch relief depictions of objects and decorations, 3D print of a replicas of a prehistoric figure representing a woman and her importance in the home and listening to informations about the history of the museum. The members of the Association of Blind County of Istria have enthusiastically described us their experiences through the exhibition so that we can continue to improve and display the museum's content in an even more accessible way.
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The First Thematic Conference
On November 9th 2017, the first thematic conference entitled "Inclusive Museums - Challenges and Solutions" took place in the beautiful conference hall of the castles in Udine. Examples of good practice of opening European museum and cultural institutions to all persons and especially to people with special needs were presented. The audience received many useful information and ideas to further enrich their museums and institutions with content that would be accessible and acceptable to everyone.
Conference presentations can be downloaded here (http://www.interreg-central.eu/Content.Node/COME-IN/1st-Thematic-Conference-presentations-1.7z)
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Opening of the thematic Pilot Exhibition in Udine "Women, Mothers, Goddesses"
On November 9th 2017 to the participants of the conference and to the project partners were opened the doors and given a tour through the first Pilot Exhibition of the COME-IN! project in the area of the Archaeological Museum within the City Museum in Udine. The exhibition dedicated to prehistoric presentations of women is enriched with relief tactical displays, replicas and simplified texts written also in braille so that blind and partially sighted people can also learn about ways of depicting women through the Central European region at prehistoric times.
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Presentation of the COME-IN! Guidelines
On July 25th 2017, at 11.00 am, the presentation of the COME-IN Guidelines was held in the multi-purpose room of the City Library in Pula. The guidelines are one of the important content realized during the year of implementation of the Interreg Central Europe project.
The presentation of the guidelines themselves was also used as an opportunity to present the project as well as examples of good practice in the field of adaptation of museum institutions to persons with disabilities, ie to all.
After introductory speeches and thanking words, the AMI Director,Mr Darko Komšo, presented the COME-IN! Project. How the museum participates and what local goals are meant to be achieved through the project.
The President of the Association of the Blind of Istria County, Mr Zlatko Kuftić, presented the involvement of the association as an associated partner in the implementation of the project and highlighted the importance of the project for the better inclusion of blind and partially sighted persons in the social and cultural life of the local community.
Đeni Gobić-Bravar presented the guidelines with a special review of the concrete possibilities applied to all the museums that want to be accessible to everyone.
In the end, examples of good practice were presented, starting with the world's museums but continuing with a wider view of Croatian museums who are increasingly trying to adapt their buildings and content to make them accessible to everyone.
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Second Implementation Workshop of Interreg Central Europe for Croatian Project Partners - Zagreb, Croatia
On May 26, 2017, on the occasion of the project COME IN! In the premises of the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds in Zagreb, representatives of the Istrian Archaeological Museum attended the second implementation workshop held within the Interreg Central Europe Program. The main purpose of the workshop was to give a detailed insight into the reporting process and the preparation of accompanying documentation after completing the first period and the first certificates were issued. Also, the new Costs Approval Guidelines for Croatian Project Partners, version 2 (May 2017), were presented during the workshop.
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COME IN! Steering Committee Meeting - Piran, Slovenia
On 10 and 11 April 2017, a project meeting was held near Piran, more precisely in Portoroz, where for two days partners were active in the final definition of the documents that would show the accessibility of the museums and allow museum institutions to improve accessibility through concrete advice and tools. Partners visited the Maritime Museum of "Sergej Mašera" where they could enjoy a wealth of inventory as well as the beautiful historical palace, all with a special look at the ways to improve the accessibility of the building and the many problems that arise in museums located in historic buildings.
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COME IN! 3Rd Meeting of the WGS - Vienna, Austria
On 13 and 14 February 2017, the activities of all partners were presented in order to improve the accessibility of museums and there were reflections on the future outputs of the project, ie the report on the situation in Central Europe regarding the accessibility of the museums, on the future Guidelines that should describe a museum's basic needs for accessibility and the Educational curriculum for the training of museum staff in the field of accessibility.
The partners were given the opportunity to inspect some aspects of the Kunsthistorsches Museum's presentation for blind and partially sighted people and have had the opportunity to communicate with the curator, Dr. Rotraut, who is active in bringing the museum's history to blind and visually impaired people. The willing ones were also enabled to "try" to be a person with disabilities: low vision, blindness, impaired mobility or on a wheelchair.
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COME IN! 2 nd Meeting of the WGS - Graz, Austria
During the 05 and 06 December 2016 the working groups defined what in museums should be changed in order to adapt and become open to everyone. It is necessary to actively make changes and adjustments. Each partner has its own specific needs, but everyone has the same goal. Representatives of associations and organizations of persons with disabilities will help museum professionals understand which ways are correct and which would not have resulted in great help.
The most important documents of the project are defined as well as how the museum staff will be trained to make museum facilities accessible to all.
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Implementation of Interreg Central Europe projects Workshop for Croatian Project Partners - Zagreb, Croatia
On 22 November 2016, the Regional Development Agency of Croatia organized the Interreg Central Europe Implementation Workshop for Croatian Project Partners. The control system in the Republic of Croatia is described, the hierarchy of cost-acceptance rules, the reporting process and the preparation of the report. In addition to the general guidance on implementation and enforcement of the project, partners have received answers to many questions, all for the purpose of quality implementation of projects.
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First Meeting of Working Groups 1 and 2 - Udine, Italy
At the Udine Castle, the Civic Museums of Udine, on September 19th 2016, the First meeting of working groups 1 and 2 was held. All museum partners presented the museum's situation with regard to accessibility, while the partners representatives of associations and organizations of people with disabilities presented accessibility to museums from their perspective. Considering the same situation from two contrasting perspectives greatly enhances the understanding of the same and opens the door to changes.
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Kick Off Meeting - Trieste, Italy
On 05 and 06 July 2016 an introductory meeting was held during which the partners were fully acquainted with all the tasks and activities expected of them in the coming years. Lectures on project rules, administration methods, cost control and final reporting were also held. The upcoming task is demanding but full of perspective.
