The Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS) funds a wide range of projects focusing on vocational rehabilitation and improving the working conditions of people with disabilities in the general labor market. In addition to our AutARK project, which aims to improve the working conditions of people on the autism spectrum by developing assistive technologies, many other projects funded by the BMAS are currently working with different approaches in this area. To promote networking and knowledge exchange between these projects, the BMAS Division Va 5 was invited to a network meeting in Berlin on 24.09.2024, which AutARK also attended.
In a pleasant atmosphere, the projects presented their project approach and current working state in a short pitch, which enabled the identification of thematic overlaps between the projects and the establishment of contacts for further exchange. The presentations reflect the diversity of the target groups and existing barriers of the general labor market on the one hand, and the approaches to reduce these barriers on the other hand. The approaches range from cooperative workplaces for people with and without visual impairments using VR environments, the development of a sign language kit for public institutions to promote digital accessibility, the optimization of texts for better comprehensibility through artificial intelligence, the development of digital learning opportunities, to the testing of AI-supported assistance systems in practical laboratories with employers, whereby all projects have one thing in common: People with disabilities are the center of the research and are directly involved in the development process – in the sense of human-centered design – to create needs-based solutions.
In the afternoon of the network meeting, current topics of digital accessibility, such as the Accessibility Reinforcement Act, which will come into force in June 2025, as well as the potential, risks and possible applications of artificial intelligence for the inclusion of people with disabilities in the labor market, were discussed together. Overall, the project exchange was perceived very positively by all participants, offered space for discussion, exchange, and networking, and opened up an interdisciplinary perspective on the diverse support options for inclusion with digital approaches.
