What an amazing event!
We were a group of 2 young participants with visual impairment and 2 “spirit youngsters” or assistants if you like. I am a guide and kind of a group coordinator. Our crew namely: Michal, Rastislav, Lenka and Stanislav. Let’s go, Brussels direction!
Blog post written by Stanislav Sokol – Project Manager for Slovak Disability Council and Slovak Blind and Partially Sighted Union
Traveling to Brussels
After detailed preparations, finally, on the 27th of October, early morning ️, we are ready to go. We are really tired. Some of us sleep on the bus to Vienna airport. But this is a really exciting flight trip. The first one after the long pandemic restrictions. We are going to “charge our batteries” to the European Parliament (EP).
When arriving at Charleroi Airport we were a bit confused by the orientation system here, but we managed. We go on the airport bus, but again, some queues. And Brussels! Here we learn very quickly that this is a city of reconstruction. We first saw an example of this at Brussels Midi Train Station. Thus, we need to find another way to go. Underground, our blind participants are a bit lost but not only them. Cars with open windows are hardly calm enough to follow announcements of respective stops.
On the other hand, I appreciate the easy ticketing system. The provider should only install more ticket machines on the spot.
Beginning of our First Activity
Leading to our hotel, quickly! We had a little delay, but we made it on time for our very first activity – A visit to the House of European History. This is a really great place to go with perfect guides. The first funny thing happened at the entrance door. I am a guide for Rastislav who is blind. We had to pass through security control, which is very similar to an airport check. Rasto had to go on his own a few steps straight ahead through the metal detector. But to my great surprise, he did not stop after a few steps but continued towards the revolving door where he got stuck somehow. “Stop, stop, stop, Rasto!” I tried to navigate him. Too late. But, no worries, he is safe, having learned that a revolving door is not a good friend to a blind person.
Key Take Aways
Inside the building, I am impressed by many installations. One of them is a never-ending alphabet which is held by a really long chain that runs through the different museum rooms. The Alphabet chain, consisting of 4 European alphabets, was created by a Czech artist. We call Czechs our brothers because of the good relations from the past. I am always interested when I find abroad any relations to Slovak or Czech Republic. And I can tell you that I had the very same feeling with other European countries when being part of “Level Up!” events and from that moment on. We built it with our friends from the European Disability Forum, during those interesting workshops in the EP, when walking through its huge corridors, and when sitting in the Hemicycle…
Those feelings of unity, brotherhood, and of belonging to something big, strong, and worthy remain inside me. This is why I came to Brussels. We really need to stay together in these difficult times!
Thank you
Thank you to the EDF colleagues for this great experience, and for having the opportunity to meet colleagues from the Ascend project and from other countries, as well as enthusiastic Level Up participants from all over Europe. This event was really something to charge our batteries.
About Stanislav
Stanislav was born in 1983 in Trenčín, Slovakia. He studied Natural Sciences at Comenius University, Bratislava. During his studies, he volunteered for the Slovak Association of the Visually Impaired Youth with responsibilities mainly for international projects. From 2006 – 2008, he served as a Youth Committee member of the World Blind Union. In 2016, Stanislav worked for Slovak startup Corvus which develops accessibility kits for Android smartphones to make them more accessible for blind users.
Nowadays he works as Project Manager for Slovak Disability Council and Slovak Blind and Partially Sighted Union. He deals with disability issues concerning youth, web, and social media content, accessibility, and fundraising.
Do you have a question for Stanislav?
You can contact him:
- By email at sokol@unss.sk
About the Ascend project
The Ascend project is funded by Citi Foundation and coordinated by the European Disability Forum. This one-year program is focused on strengthening the capacity of the disability movement in Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia.
