DANOVA

Project name

DANOVA 

Project period

July 1st 2020 -  December 31st 2022

Project value

2,192,546.66 EUR (ERDF 1,739,970.00 EUR)

Project description

More than 30 million blind and partially sighted people in Europe cannot travel independently because more than 96% of European transport systems, especially in the Danube Region, are still not fully accessible to them.

Many blind and partially sighted people find it difficult, and sometimes impossible, to use conventional air, rail or urban transport systems.

The reasons are diverse: blind and partially sighted people do not have equal access to up-to-date visual or written transport information and accessible infrastructure; staff are often not trained to assist and communicate with blind and partially sighted passengers properly; differences between national accessibility legislation from country to country, etc. Throughout the Danube region, there are increasing demands from organizations that work for and represent blind and partially sighted people to establish new services that will make the transport infrastructure environment more comprehensive and accessible, and where blind and partially sighted passengers will be treated as equals.

The goal of the DANOVA project is to improve the accessibility of airports, ports, railway and bus stations to blind and partially sighted people by developing a series of new services and competences in order to provide them with full access to all information and transport services.

The goal of the DANOVA project is to fulfill these needs by creating several concrete and tangible results through an integrative and transnational approach:

  • international research of the best solutions to be transferred to the Danube region;
  • A strategy that supports decision-makers in the effective transfer of established solutions;
  • involving stakeholders in the process of designing a new transnational concept of a fully accessible transport system for blind and partially sighted passengers in the Danube region;
  • testing innovative solutions in the countries involved;
  • staff training on the use of new services and how to adequately assist and communicate with blind and visually impaired passengers.

The consortium of 14 partners is led by Dubrovnik Airport Ltd.. The consortium includes airports, ports, research organizations, local self-government units and organizations representing blind and partially sighted people:

  • Dubrovnik Airpoort Ltd. (leading partner);
  • Žilina International Airport,
  • Budapest Airport,
  • Center for Budapest Transport,
  • University of Maribor,
  • Bulgarian Association for Transfer and Technology Innovation,
  • Croatian Federation of the Blind,
  • Austrian Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted,
  • Luka Dubrovnik,
  • Municipality of Maribor,
  • Airports of Montenegro,
  • Port of Kotor,
  • Sarajevo International Airport,
  • Technical University of Moldova.

The project also includes four associated partners:

  • Slovak Blind and Partially Sighted Union,
  • Ljubljana Airport,
  • Civil Aviation Authority of the Republic of Moldova
  • DEX Innovation Centre.

The European Regional Development Fund finances the transnational cooperation project under the European Territorial Cooperation objective, which supports regional cooperation between the countries of the Danube Region during the 2014-2020 programming period.

Project details:

Project number: 543
Project start: 01.07.2020
Project end: 31.12.2022
Total project budget: 2,192,546.66 EUR
Funding from the European Regional Development Fund: 1,739,970.00 EUR
Total budget of Dubrovnik Airport: 401,520.00 EUR
Funding from the European Regional Development Fund of Dubrovnik Airport: 341,292.00 Euro

Dubrovnik Airport project team:

  • Project and project finance manager: Hrvoje Spremić
  • Head of legal affairs, procurement and marketing: Paula Krmek
  • Technical and thematic expert: Maro Lukšić