A website for people with disabilities and chronic illnesses has been set up in Moscow.

At a press conference, the initiator, Tobias Raisner, announced that the site was intended for use worldwide. From the start the content was in Russian, German and English and the site had been adapted for use by people with poor eyesight (with the help of variable size and coloured script). In the near future Italian, French, Turkish, Chinese and other languages are to be made available. The site would also be adapted for totally blind people. Mr Raisner emphasised that the Russian title ‘bezgraniz.ru’ would be used worldwide. The idea for the site originated in Russia – a country where people with special needs have to surmount all kinds of obstacles in order to live a normal life.

The chief technical expert on the project said the technology used was advanced and the website had great potential for the development of all kinds of services. It already contained seventeen sections including education, architecture, sport, and art. The site is to be further developed in close cooperation with Russian organisations dealing with people with disabilities, the authorities and the scientific community. At the same time information from users will be used to improve the site in line with its development for social networking. Thematic groups are to be formed according to different kinds of disability and chronic illnesses with the involvement of medics and social workers. The initiators take special pride in an interactive application containing the names of all registered users and the site’s accessibility for those with limited mobility. There will also be facilities for finding work, and a tourism agency is being developed in collaboration with companies in various countries. There are already plans to organise trips for people with disabilities in collaboration with German and Russian tour operators.

The resources for the project initially came from the initiator and sponsors. If private investment were to be attracted it could be underpinned financially over many years.