Origin, Mission and Vision

In a landscape full of organisations, initiatives and expertise, knowledge about children and young people with visual impairments is becoming increasingly fragmented. Everyone works towards the same goal, but often alongside each other rather than together. This leads to inefficiency and limited knowledge sharing — while the need for connection is greater than ever.

From Centrum Ganspoel and Spermalie – De Kade, we therefore took the initiative to take the first steps towards a connecting expertise network. With Vizier, we want to sustainably anchor, share and further develop our specific (often tacit) knowledge — in the interest of our target group.

Expertise Network Vizier was created to bring about change, driven by the conviction that we go further together. Within organisations, between organisations and across the boundaries of care and education. All of this with one shared goal: improving the quality of life of children and young people with visual impairments.

We believe in the power of interdisciplinary collaboration!

Given the limited number of specialised organisations in Flanders for the specific target group of children and young people with visual impairments, collaboration is essential to sustainably maintain and further develop expertise.

Although the target group is relatively small, many organisations are involved in their support. This sometimes leads to fragmentation rather than collaboration. With Vizier, we want to break through that fragmentation and focus on connection, efficiency and knowledge sharing.

We strive for an open and accessible society in which inclusion is a matter of course. This means: identifying and lowering barriers, providing targeted support and sharing knowledge broadly. Together we are building a network that gives every child and young person with a visual impairment the best chances to participate fully in our society.

Vizier is an expertise network founded on the initiative of Centrum Ganspoel and De Kade, with the central aim of improving the quality of life of people with visual impairments. It is a partnership that will grow in collaboration with various specialised organisations that want to raise awareness and increase general consciousness in society, with a view to the maximum integration of people with visual impairments in our society.

As a collaborative partnership between various specialised organisations, we focus on professionalisation and networking. Securing specialised knowledge is therefore an essential objective within knowledge management and continuity.

We promote new expertise and foster broad and wide knowledge sharing through training, peer consultation and coaching. We also advise policymakers (including governments) on education, care and employment for children and young people with visual impairments. Both professional and personal networks are welcome at Vizier.