This Zero Project Awardee demonstrates how innovative learning materials make education accessible to everyone.
The Bergama Belediyesi Rahmi Yeşilsoy Engelliler Merkezi, an inclusive education center in western Turkey, is dedicated to developing tactile and auditory learning materials for blind and visually impaired children. Since 2018, they have been creating learning games, books, and models that combine various textures, Braille, and touch-activated sound signals.
The impact is impressive: Around 3,000 students and teachers in Turkey are already using the materials – in addition to over 2,600 children in Africa and Pakistan. Through partnerships and training in countries such as Burundi, Rwanda, Sudan, and Uganda, the materials are now being used in eleven countries.
Three aspects make this project special:
- Innovation through inclusion: The learning materials promote joint learning between sighted and visually impaired children. Tactile and auditory elements help to better understand complex content and convey it in a playful way.
- Sustainability through local production: The materials are manufactured cost-effectively – increasingly using 3D printing technology – and are easily adaptable. Those interested can learn how to produce tactile materials themselves in the Inclusive Accessible Modelling workshops.
- Public-benefit funding: The center is supported by the city of Bergama and uses a building donated by a philanthropist. Thanks to municipal funds and in-kind donations, all workshops and materials can be offered free of charge.
A quote from Hakan Koştu, Mayor of Bergama, sums up the vision: „We are working to ensure that every child in the world can learn, live and dream on an equal basis.“
This project demonstrates how local engagement, technological creativity, and social responsibility can work together to break down barriers in education – and have a global impact.
More information: Bergama Belediyesi Rahmi Yeşilsoy Engelliler Merkezi