In August 2024, the Italian Union of the Blind and Partially Sighted hosted the 29th edition of the International Camp on Communication and Computers for young visually impaired persons - ICC24. This initiative was started by the disability support centres of the universities of Karlsruhe (Germany) and Linz (Austria), but it was so successful that in a few years it became a truly international annual event that was hosted in 17 European countries. Since 2022, the EBU joined efforts with the ICC association as it strongly believes that the ICC camps format, that combines non formal training on information and communication technologies with the enhancement of social skills and independent living, is a fundamental component of a strategy to empower young visually impaired persons, that is a common goal of both associations. The objective of EBU at ICC camps is then to develop this strategy bringing in the awareness of the importance of self-advocacy and the activities of self-representative associations at local, national and international level.
This year, 50 young visually impaired persons from 12 different EU and non-EU countries spent 10 days together in Rome, Italy. They attended two workshops of their choice every day, experimenting and acquiring new skills, hearing about European opportunities, while making friends with their peers from other countries and enjoying hosting country’s attractions.
The climax of this extraordinary empowerment camp was reached on 10 August, when all participants were actively involved in the ICC24 Media Day. ICC and EBU worked together to organise this day, that opened with key messages from the EBU, represented by Francesca Sbianchi, Coordinator of the EBU Youth Activities. A participant, a young journalist from Greece, also interviewed other guests, showing strategies to discuss blindness-related activities on media. After this introductory session, participants were asked to speak about the things that struck them most in ICC24 and they could choose to use any media they wanted: audio, video, creative writing or interviews. The ICC and EBU trainers were available to support participants in their efforts. The multimedia output of the ICC24 Media Day will soon be available on the ICC website https://www.icc-camp.info/.
Another interesting feature of the ICC camp was the circulation of knowledge, as all participating countries contributed to the workshop programme, bringing in the most innovative or creative ideas in non-formal education for the visually impaired they experimented nationally.
At the end of the camp, participants and trainers left with increased knowledge and skills, as well as the feeling of being a community that grows and that, united, can achieve more and better results for the welfare of visually impaired persons. We are convinced that the suitcases of ICC participants were not only full of good memories but also of a sense of belonging to a larger circle of persons, beyond borders and languages, who want to fight for their own rights and now, also thanks to ICC and EBU, have the key to do it.