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The Barrier
The travel experience has not been designed for people with blindness or low vision, partly because society assumes our community wouldn’t want, or be able, to travel. But there is so much the general public, businesses and airports could do to help make travel more accessible.
“I have limited time left with the current level of vision I have, so I want to see as much of the world as possible,” said Guide Dogs Client Ingrid Barnes. “When you’re travelling, you get to spend time with family, experience new places, go to new art exhibitions, concerts, the theatre and stay in lovely hotels – it gives you something to look forward to.”
The Solution
Guide Dogs NSW/ACT partnered with Sydney Airport as its Christmas Appeal Partner for 2023 in a first of its kind partnership. The aim of the project was to begin exploring some of the barriers that exist when it comes to Airport inclusion and what could be done to create a Boundless environment, all while raising awareness about what people can do to help.
This includes raising funds to train five new aviation-inspired Guide Dogs puppies: Aero, Pax, Kingsford, Syd and Amelia.
How we did it
Sydneysiders and holiday makers were met with cuteness overload as Guide Dogs NSW/ACT brought its lab-radorable pup-up café to Sydney Airport on 18 January.
For one day only, those travelling through Sydney Airport’s Domestic Terminal 2 enjoyed a coffee in the company of a puppy with an aviation-related name. They could also play games, learn about accessibility issues and donate funds towards the $50,000 it costs to breed, raise and train each Guide Dog over two years before they’re ready to become travel companions and matched with Handlers.
The appeal included special “Donation Dog” collection boxes and QR codes prominently displayed throughout the domestic and international terminals over January, with gift-wrapping stations from 18-24 December in the terminals, where passengers could make a contribution and get their Christmas presents wrapped.
Beyond the fundraising appeal, Sydney Airport is continuing to pioneer accessible travel for the low vision and blind community. The social change team is dedicated to keeping the issue high on the agenda with ongoing plans to work with Guide Dogs on new projects and continue to raise awareness and increase accessibility at the airport for all those living with a disability.
Join us in the search for a boundless world
We’ve heard from the low vision and blindness community what barriers they’d like to see removed in the world around us. Now we’re working with values-driven brands who can help create the solution.