In Lviv «The Ukrainian Union of Disabled Persons – USI» implemented socio-cultural project «Meet: Paddington!», which won the competition on social welfare protection by Lviv City Council. Specialists adapted the film «The Adventures of Paddington» for blind and partially sighted children, and also published Michael Bond’s book with universal design about adventures of the bear Paddington, which became the basis of the film.
According to Oksana Potymko, Head of Resource Center for Educational Information Technology for Persons with Disabilities, Lviv Polytechnic National University, adviser to the mayor of Lviv, the circulation of the book is 25 copies (two volumes each). Each book contains embossed, dotted and flat fonts (the latter is a large font for visually impaired children), a QR code with audio text and a QR code with a film with audio description adapted for the blind, 4 colour tactile pictures that can be «seen» by touch and a hardcover in Braille. Each picture contains a description of what is depicted on the page – for the convenience of blind children.
Employees of the Lviv Polytechnic Resource Center Kateryna Ivashutina and Oksana Potymko worked on the publication of the books. The audio description of the film was prepared and voiced by Lesia Bonkovska, actress at Mariia Zankovetska Theater. The book was voiced by Yaroslav Nudyk, a vocalist from Pikkardiyska Tertsiya. Sound directors – Volodymyr Svatenko and Yaroslav Bosyi.
The film «The Adventures of Paddington» with audio description will be soon posted on the website usi.org.ua; an audio version of the book is already available on this web resource.
– Due to the QR-codes every child will have free access to the printed and audio book, as well as the film adapted for the blind. Thus, a universal book, supplemented with audio version, film, tactile pictures and text in two fonts, can be read by children with various forms of disability – vision, hearing, and others, as well as relatively healthy children, said Oksana Potymko.
