Associazione Ergon a favore dei sordi

The Association was founded in 2010 in order to support a group of young adults, alumni of the Istituto dei Sordi, to develop entrepreneurial skills and be more active in the world of work. The basic idea was to cooperate with the school in the management of some facilities (cantina, cafeteria) and to re-insert some unused assets into the economic track, such as small farmland and some rooms formerly used for school purposes. All this in a perspective of growth also in the digital environment and with the introduction of innovative technologies in activities previously managed with very traditional formulas. The association is active in the field of dual discrimination, working mainly with young people that face at least two possible reasons for weakness in the society: disabled and migrant; disabled and women; disabled with a double diagnosis; disabled and unemployed. Generally speaking: - Job placement service; - Information technology course for Deaf and hard of hearing; - Accessible ICT design for Deaf; - Vocational training and vocational guidance for young deaf (cooking and gardening), blind, autistic and other disabled adult students; - Special projects for the inclusion of deaf people in the society in the view of universal accessibility, with a focus on museum and cultural institutions; - Projects with the Universities in the fields of researches, language rehabilitation, and social services; European and international projects; - Intercultural mediation for deaf migrant; - European Solidarity Corps; - Translation Services in English, French, Italian, Spanish, German and Greek; - Interpretation Services to Italian Sign Language, American Sign Language, International Signs, and Greek Sign Language; - Counseling to public employment services. Our work is encompassed in four key themes: Rights, Livelihoods, Access to Appropriate Technology, Wellbeing. Our programs, devised in partnership with our local partners, cross-fertilize these themes- making them unique, different and importantly - Deaf led!