Greece Operation Video Tender

The installation of a video communication station for the deaf and hard of hearing TV interpreter at the Syntagma Metro station was inaugurated by the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Mr. Giannis Kefalogiannis the Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs with Ms. Domdou Mi Deaf E.I.K Mrs. Venneta Lambropoulou and the CEO of STASY Mr. Nikolaos Hairetas.Greece is the first country in the European Union where this service is offered free of charge at a Metro station. The TV interpreter will operate as a pilot for a year from the National Institute for the Deaf in a space provided by STASY inside the station in order to serve people with hearing problems and is a gateway for communication with public transport.The communication station for the deaf and hard of hearing is essentially a tablet which has a built-in application iris Relay service which is a remote telecommunication service for the deaf and hard of hearing which operates on a 24-hour basis at the National Institute for the Deaf ... The person with hearing problems reaches the machine that is connected to the application and under his username and password he presses the go button. It is directly connected to the interpretation center and has visual contact via camera with the interpreter to whom it can address sign language and lip-reading and request information. The Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Mr. Giannis Kefalogiannis statedToday in collaboration with the Ministry of Labor the National Foundation for the Deaf and STASY Greece becomes the first country in the European Union to install a remote interpretation system for the deaf and hard of hearing at a Metro station providing the service free of charge. We offer our fellow citizens who have hearing problems the opportunity to have contact with the interpretation center at EIK through the central Metro station in Syntagma. Thus they can access any information that will facilitate their movements. I want to believe that in this way we are improving their daily lives and the conditions of accessibility to public transport which is after all a priority for the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport. The Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Mrs. Domna Michailidou statedThe Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs supports our fellow citizens with deafness and consistently continues its actions to facilitate their daily lives. With the National Foundation for the Deaf we continue and expand the remote interpretation service also known as the Relay service to even more key points of public services and bodies of common interest. We started the pilot operation of the service in 2019. The success of the system and the increased needs led us to the decision to install this year and operate for one year pilot and free thirty 30 video telecommunication stations in key points of public services and stakeholders such as local authorities hospitals regions as well as airports and subways.Relay is an innovation that radically changes the daily lives of our fellow citizens with deafness as it gives them direct digital access to hundreds of services. The number of employees at the beginning of the program was 2000. Today Relay users exceed 10000. The operation of digital service stations for the deaf and hard of hearing in more and more public places contributes to the faster provision of services to people with disabilities and is another action of the State to improve the accessibility and independent living of all citizens of our country.The President of the National Institute for the Deaf Ms. Venneta Lambropoulou saidThe National Deaf Foundation created and operated with great successthe service of remote interpreting provider offering monthly to approximately 10000 deaf and our hard of hearing citizens for the first time in our country free access on a 24-hour basis in social goods communicating with the rest of the world. In the context of the implementation of the above project a special communication station will be placed at the Syntagma Metro station which will facilitate the access of the deaf hard of hearing passengers to their communication within the Metro areas.