We are a team of young and proactive people with visual impairments. We are guided by our willingness to keep learning and to share our knowledge and experience with others. In order to manifest our motivation to the world, in 2016 we established a not for profit organization which reflects our clear vision of the future. The closest translation of its name in English is visionary, but we prefer the transliteration of the original name – “VIZIONER” – since we want to avoid the paranormal connotation.
Even though we comprise a team of people with different professional backgrounds, we share common goals and values embedded in our organization. Thus, we believe that
- Obtaining adequate education or training is of concern not only to every individual, but also to the society, and that
- having high achievements is a matter of proper mentorship.
In other words, we believe in the power of personal example and the advantages of non-formal and informal education.
Our mission is to support visually impaired people to communicate effectively in business environment. We achieve this by fostering their personal and professional development. At the same time, we help private companies, state institutions and not for profit organizations to understand the practicalities of working and interacting with people with vision loss.
Our activities respond to the increasing interest of Bulgarian employers in hiring people with disabilities. Despite that, In Bulgaria individuals who are blind and visually impaired still suffer high rates of unemployment. The latter is mainly due to the lack of motivation among the blind and visually impaired, and their very limited access to adapted trainings for personal and professional skills development.
We cope with This challenging situation by:
- creating trainings for visually impaired in public speaking, effective communication, teamwork, problem solving and other workplace essential skills;
- providing trainings and assistance to the business companies, state institutions, and civil society organizations which enhance their capacity to work with blind and visually impaired;
- facilitating career development for artists in various fields of art;
- Exchanging experience and expert knowledge with similar organizations on national, European and international level;
- Taking active participation in information campaigns and other initiatives related to people with vision loss.