Type of Project: Funded project Model project
KOSmos - Competence of visually impaired people visible on the job

The KOSmos project aims to integrate unemployed, visually impaired Hamburg residents into the general labor market. A parallel PR campaign will proactively promote the hiring of visually impaired employees. This campaign is aimed directly at potential employers in Hamburg with the goal of reducing reservations about hiring people with visual impairments. An additional goal of KOSmos is the activation of the visually impaired participants through active participation in this campaign. Job seekers affected by visual impairment or blindness can themselves participate in convincing employers of the strengths and capabilities of visually impaired people in workshops and events. The development of the contents for these events takes place in small groups of eight people each, who, in addition to creating their own meaningful application documents, also contribute to the homepage and the creation of a logo for KOSmos, for example. The end result is a small campaign of their own, told from the perspective of people with visual impairments and in which they, as those affected, take center stage. The name says it all: The competencies of employees with visual impairments are made visible to everyone. Starting in June 2012, four months of group training will take place in four rounds, in which the focus will be on empowerment of the participants in addition to coaching, job application training and biographical work. Equipped PC workplaces for the visually impaired and blind are available for this purpose. It is also possible to take part in longer-term coaching after or as an alternative to participation in the small group events.