Objectives

The Business House concept includes 9 parallel overall goals:

1.The aim of the project is to establish an independent business enterprise, known as Business House, in which the visually impaired people and other disabled/marginalised persons may complete their education in an active business environment focusing on normality and visibility.

One of the major challenges facing persons suffering from visual or other types of handicap is the tendency to become marginalised. Such marginalisation has not only personal and social consequences, but also makes it difficult to get an ordinary job.

The establishment of a real company in a normal business area is a concrete, visible and consistent refutation of the prejudices the handicapped often face. The formation and running of the company on normal commercial terms, with disabled employees playing the major role, can be expected to lead to changes in the views of both the surrounding business world and the disabled themselves about the ability of handicapped people in the labour market.

The company model will be characterised by:

• business combined with education
• the creation of new realistic education and job opportunities
• giving the visually impaired people the requisite qualifications to achieve job mobility
• contributing to technological development in the call-centre business
• taking the offensive in both national and international policy development
• the development of a new business model in this field
• being transparent and open, with the focus on getting the message across
• full collaboration with the corporate sector
• the development of a national/international commercial learning model
• contributing to international progress in the field.