Announcing EASPD’s 2025 Innovation Award Winners

The European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities (EASPD) is proud to announce the winners of its 2025 Innovation Awards. This year’s Awards celebrate six innovative practices recognised for their efforts to make cultural, recreational, leisure and sporting activities accessible to people with disabilities on an equal basis with others.
People with disabilities can face many barriers to enjoy arts, sports and leisure on an equal basis to others. EASPD’s 2025 Innovation Awards focus on initiatives which help to remove these barriers and create equal opportunities in accessing such activities, as outlined by Article 30 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The winners will receive an award during EASPD’s Spring Conference, ‘A Culture of Inclusion: Enriching lives through Arts, Sports and Leisure’ taking place in Gandia, Spain, on 15-16 May.
The 2025 EASPD Innovation Award winners, in no particular order, are:
‘T-Guide’ by the European Federation of Tourist Guide Associations (FEG) and European Network for Accessible Tourism asbl. (ENAT)
The T-GUIDE (Guiding People with Learning Difficulties) training is a lifelong learning course co-developed by FEG and ENAT. It is designed for professional tourist guides across Europe and provides key principles for preparing guided tours that are inclusive of persons with intellectual disabilities or learning difficulties.
‘ALL INCLUSIVE’ by Goethe-Institut Bosnia and Herzegovina on behalf of the EUNIC Cluster Bosnia and Herzegovina
ALL INCLUSIVE is a socio-cultural project, centred on the performing arts, which fosters the social inclusion of persons with disabilities and other marginalised groups. Through co-produced workshops, participants uncover their creative talents and develop professional skills. The process culminates in a multidisciplinary theatre production, amplifying underrepresented voices and creating meaningful cultural expression.
‘Including Inclusion’ by International Coaching Course (ITK)
The International Coaching Course (ITK) is a postgraduate education programme for sports professionals from developing and emerging countries. The course combines theoretical and practical learning in disciplines such as football, athletics, swimming and inclusive sports, with a focus on youth sports. As part of the postgraduate programme, ITK hosts the Alumni Working Group “Including Inclusion that focuses on promoting accessibility and inclusion of marginalised groups in sport.” Five ITK alumni from five global regions form a working group. Their work includes online workshops, in-person training, and visits to the German Paralympic Sports Association, promoting inclusive youth sports worldwide.
‘Nevronas FESTival’ by Nevronas
Held annually at the Technopolis of the Municipality of Athens, the Nevronas FESTival is a Festival of Inclusive Performing Arts and Artistic Interaction. The event, which has successfully run for three consecutive years, empowers professional and amateur artists with and without disabilities to perform in an accessible, non-discriminatory environment. A cornerstone of the festival is its Inclusive Volunteering Programme, which fosters cooperation and shared experience among volunteers with and without disabilities.
‘SavasRock’ by Savas Foundation
SavasRock is an inclusive rock festival organised by Savas Foundation that aims to raise awareness of intellectual disabilities, break barriers and remove prejudices. Moving away from events hosted exclusively for persons with disabilities, this event gathers everyone to enjoy music in a friendly atmosphere, providing a real festival experience with top artists.
‘‘Art is everyone's gift’ ’Supereroi Printre Noi
The‘Art is everyone's gift’ initiative delivers fully accessible and inclusive events across Romania. These events include adapted concerts, theatre performances, literature clubs, exhibitions and film screenings tailored to the needs of people with complex disabilities. The events aim to amplify the voices of persons with disabilities by sharing their life stories, combating stereotypes and encouraging social understanding through inclusive cultural participation.
Speaking on the Innovation Awards Kirsi Konola, EASPD President said “EASPD wishes to congratulate our 2025 winners as well as all the 80+ organisations who submitted their innovative practices. Together, your work shows what is possible when we commit to enabling persons with disabilities to enjoy arts, sports, and leisure on an equal basis with others.”
EASPD hopes that these promising practices can be a source of inspiration for other service providers as we work together towards the full implementation of the UNCRPD. For more information on these practices and the selection process, we invite you to consult the EASPD Innovation Awards 2025 Booklet.
Supporting Documents
For more information, please contact:
Miguel Buitrago
Learning & Development Officer
miguel.buitrago@easpd.eu
+32 2 238 39 31
Note to editors:
The European Association of Service providers for Persons with Disabilities is a non-profit European umbrella organisation, established in 1996, and currently representing over 20,000 social and health services for persons with disabilities. EASPD advocates effective and high-quality disability-related services in the field of education, employment and individualised support, in line with the UN CRPD principles, which could bring benefits not only to persons with disabilities, but to society as a whole.