Description of organisation

e-LSA no-profit association was founded in 2009 with the invitation to tender of youth political actions of Puglia Region, named “Principi Attivi”. Through the project "Second A Nessuno" - (topic: right to study, disability and e-learning), the association has achieved its purpose: to guarantee the accessibility conditions for people with disabilities within Public University and the main education institutions as primary and secondary school in Bari. Headquartered in Bari, the e-LSA association is part and member of the regional network of assistive centers for independent living since 2012, with the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Puglia Region - Welfare Department on 18 May 2012. Since 2014, the association is a member of the GLIC - Interregional Working Group of Computer and Software Aids for disabled people. e-LSA Association aims to pursue in all its activities the aims of integration, inclusion and social solidarity of all disadvantaged and at risk of social exclusion,
Struggle against social exclusion means thinking, planning and implementing interventions, case by case, aimed at providing tools and means capable of making people independent, self-employed and able to express their full potential. Pursuing this end means being reactive in reading the changes in society and valuing as much as possible the potentials dictated by the network and new technologies because our goal is not to normalize people but to enhance their capabilities.
The e-LSA Association has been responsible for the management and coordination of the job coaching and work placement per XFood Project , a social restaurant with work placement for people with disabilities, and has coordinated the activities of job coaches aimed at encouraging the job placement and acquisition of skills both in the professional life and in everyday life. Moreover e-LSA association it participated in the construction of Avanzi Popolo community, the first experience in Puglia as community building against food waste and for people in difficult economic conditions, introducing the concept of foodsharing for the first time in Puglia. In recent years, the association has gained experience in the Erasmus + European program both through partnerships with some high schools in Bari and as a host organization for a romanian student enrolled at the University of Transylvania. In summary, among the different activities, the association carries out:
• Orientation on the themes of assistive technologies for the achievement of independent life
• Consulting and Evaluation for the selection of the best technological aids for people with disabilities.
• Consulting for the creation and design of home and accessible environments aimed at improving the quality of life and overcoming obstacles to independent living.
• Work placement and job coaching activities for people in disadvantaged situations
• Volunteering community building on social issues such as the fight against food waste
• International cooperation
• Informal learning and learning by doing
• Activities in schools and in the main learning environments

Motto "Always remember that you are unique, just like everyone else". (Anonymous)