IDEAL in Action: Testing Inclusive Digital Democracy at Connected We Stand 2026

On 19 September 2026, the IDEAL project took an important step forward in Thessaloniki, where IASIS NGO organised a hands-on piloting session during the Connected We Stand Festival.

The activity brought together 34 participants, including people with visual impairments and their caregivers, in collaboration with the Association Anorasi. The session offered participants the opportunity to discover, test and comment on the IDEAL mobile application in a real-life and inclusive environment.

The main objective was simple but essential: to understand how the application works for different users and, particularly, how accessible and practical it is for people with visual impairments.

During the session, participants explored the application directly on their mobile phones, tested its main functions and shared their experience with the project team. Their feedback focused on usability, accessibility, navigation and the overall experience of interacting with the platform as well as testing features like online questionnaires and debates, and the newly developed tools like the simplification.

For the IDEAL project, this kind of direct engagement is particularly valuable. Inclusive digital participation cannot be designed only from a technical perspective. It needs to be tested together with the people who will actually use the tools, including those who may experience barriers when accessing digital platforms.

The piloting session therefore created space not only for testing, but also for dialogue. Participants were encouraged to comment openly on what worked well, what could be clearer and where improvements could make the application more accessible and user-friendly. But the day was about much more than technology.

Taking place within the lively atmosphere of the Connected We Stand Festival, the activity combined learning, participation and sensory experiences. Participants and members of the project team also had the opportunity to engage with games and activities commonly used by people with visual impairments. These experiences offered another perspective on how people interact with their surroundings, information and one another.

This combination of digital testing and sensory activities helped create a more meaningful learning experience. Rather than discussing accessibility only as an abstract concept, participants were able to explore it in practice and better understand the importance of designing tools and environments that can be used by everyone.

The collaboration with Association Anorasi was particularly important in creating an inclusive and supportive setting for the activity and ensuring the participation of people with lived experience of visual impairment.

The feedback collected during the pilot will contribute to the further development and improvement of the IDEAL application. More importantly, it reinforces one of the project’s core principles: digital democracy must be designed with people, not simply for them.

For IASIS and the IDEAL consortium, the Thessaloniki pilot was another opportunity to bring technology, inclusion and democratic participation together in a practical way.

A full day of testing, learning, discussion and new experiences and an important step towards making digital participation more accessible to everyone.