Labour market integration
Despite legal requirements, people with disabilities are often disadvantaged in the labour market. VERBUND exceeds the legal requirements and employs significantly more people with disabilities than prescribed.
VERBUND Empowerment Fund
of the Diakonie
VERBUND Empowerment Fund of Diakonie
Diakonie's VERBUND Empowerment Fund supports people with disabilities in leading a self-determined life through the use of assistive technologies.
‘Communication is a fundamental right that is currently not guaranteed for everyone in Austria.’ Together with VERBUND, we want to close this gap.
Director of the Diakonie Austria
The fund offers immediate help for people with disabilities, promotes early support for children and expands the counselling network for those affected and their relatives. Around 40,000 people will benefit from this initiative.
Support and integration
Over 600,000 people with disabilities live in Austria, many of whom are severely restricted in their communication. Together with Lifetool and the Austrian Institute of Technology, Diakonie is developing barrier-free technologies and training programmes. The partnership with VERBUND is intended to expand the counselling services in cities such as Linz, Vienna, Klagenfurt and Graz as well as mobile counselling in Salzburg, Tyrol and Vorarlberg.
Financing challenges
In Austria, there is no standardised legal entitlement to funding for assistive technologies. Services are financed from various funds, often without binding entitlements. This is where the VERBUND Empowerment Fund comes in, with the long-term goal of establishing a legal entitlement to funding for assistive technologies for people with disabilities.
