VERBUND Empowerment Fund
of the Diakonie

Diakonie’s VERBUND Empowerment Fund supports people with disabilities in leading a self-determined life through the use of assistive technologies.

The picture shows employees of Diakonie in a workshop. On the far left is an elderly lady with short grey hair and a blue dress in a wheelchair, next to her is a lady with blonde hair and a white blouse with a pink jacket, a man with a white top and short dark hair is sitting slightly in the middle, to his right is a lady in a white top with long brown hair and glasses, to her right is a young man in a dark jumper holding two screens. On the far right is VERBUND CEO Michael Strugl, wearing a grey suit, white shirt and dark grey tie. He wears glasses and has white hair.

“Communication is a fundamental right that is currently not guaranteed for everyone in Austria. Together with VERBUND, we want to close this gap.”

Michael Chalupka Director of the Diakonie Austria

The fund provides emergency assistance for people with disabilities, promotes early childhood intervention, and expands the network of counselling services for people with disabilities and their families.

Support and integration

More than 600,000 people with disabilities live in Austria, many of whom are severely limited in their communication. Together with Lifetool and the Austrian Institute of Technology, Diakonie is developing accessible technologies and training programmes. The partnership with VERBUND is intended to expand the range of consulting services in cities such as Linz, Vienna, Klagenfurt and Graz, as well as mobile consultations in Salzburg, Tyrol and Vorarlberg.

Individual and group consultations allow people to get to know the different tools and try them out.

About Diakonie

I'm Kathi. And this is my voice.

There are around 60,000 people in Austria who are restricted in their speech. To communicate, they need tools tailored to their specific needs. Kathi Panholzer speaks with the help of her Tobii, which she controls with her eyes.

Together with Lifetool and the Austrian Institute of Technology, Diakonie has developed accessible technologies and training programmes. These cover the following areas:

Supported communication
Early childhood intervention
Workplace adaption
Environmental control devices and
educational support software

"I hear my real voice in my head"

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.

A lady with short red hair and a green jumper is looking at a monitor. She smiles

The right to communicate?

In Austria, there is no uniform legal right to funding for assistive technologies. As a result, services are financed from various funds, often without binding entitlements. This is where the VERBUND Empowerment Fund comes in: through the use of assistant technologies, VERBUND and Diakonie are helping people with disabilities lead self-determined lives.

The goal? To establish the legal right to funding of assistive technologies for people with disabilities.

A boy in a wheelchair with computer control explains the functions of his wheelchair to Michael Strugl, CEO of VERBUND.

VERBUND Empowerment Fundof the Diakonie