Background

The AVTIA Project’s motivation relies on its contribution to the European desideratum of fighting discrimination and building an inclusive society. This is achieved by identifying and providing solutions to remove communication barriers that prevent specific communities from fully enjoying their rights and freedoms. The focus is on audiovisual productions and access to media information for people with sensory impairments, addressing the unbalanced presence of inclusive media services across European countries while respecting EU common values such as non-discrimination and equality.

Aims

The AVTiA project aims to:

• Develop new innovative content that provides lecturers in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) with knowledge and materials in the form of open online courseware (OPC) to teach and assess inclusion in audiovisual translation/subtitling for the deaf and hard of hearing, and audio description for the blind and partially sighted.
• Build and consolidate the required knowledge and skills of university students (including freelance translators) specializing in audiovisual translation through autonomous learning, preparing them for current labor market needs.
• Generate attitude change and raise awareness among HEIs and stakeholders regarding the disparity in the range of inclusion services provided in different EU member states and the obligation to ensure access to public information for people with disabilities within national legislation.

Target Groups

The target groups involved in the project are:

• Lecturers, teachers, and trainers in philology studies
• Undergraduate and postgraduate university students specializing in translation and audiovisual translation; novice translators for career switching or upskilling in AVT for inclusion
• Decision and policy makers in Higher Education Institutions (e.g., rectors, deans, program coordinators, university Senate members)

Activities

The AVTiA project will involve universities in:

• Developing and producing two training packages—one for lecturers and one for students—including theoretical frameworks, teaching activities, and tools designed for teaching and learning inclusive audiovisual translations for people with disabilities.
• Gathering university experts and decision-makers in a cooperative effort to promote awareness at a systemic level on inclusive access to media and video-based products through the appropriate qualification of the future workforce.

Results

The AVTiA project will provide academic communities with:

• A training package for lecturers on teaching and assessing inclusion in audiovisual translation
• A training package for students on subtitling for the hearing impaired and audio description for the vision impaired
• A set of policy recommendations for promoting inclusive approaches and practices in audiovisual translation in university courses and curricula

Partners

• The West University of Timisoara, Romania
• University of Lleida, Spain
• University of Belgrade, Serbia
• University of Parma, Italy
• Pixel, Italy