Digitalisation and digital transformation in Romania : implications for persons with disabilities.
Date: 2021-12-26
Institutions: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion
Subjects: Internet, Romania, digital literacy, digital transformation, digitisation, electronic government, facilities for people with disabilities, harmonisation of standards, integration of people with disabilities, mobile phone, public institution, public service, vocational training

Digitalisation and digital 
transformation in Romania 

Implications for persons with disabilities 

June 2021 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EUROPEAN COMMISSION 
Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion 
Directorate D — Social Rights and Inclusion 
Unit D3 — Disability and Inclusion 

European Commission 
B-1049 Brussels 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Digitalisation and digital 
transformation in Romania 

Implications for persons with disabilities 

Oana-Georgiana Gîrlescu 

This report has been developed under Contract VC/2020/0273 with the European 
Commission. 

Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
LEGAL NOTICE 

Manuscript completed in June 2021 

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Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2021 

© European Union, 2021 

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PDF 

ISBN 978-92-76-42576-2 

DOI: 10.2767/672099 

KE-07-21-030-EN-N 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

Table of contents 

1 
2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

Executive summary ............................................................................................ 6 
Are government strategies and plans on digitalisation and digital transformation 
disability-inclusive? ............................................................................................ 9 
2.1  Disability inclusion in generic strategies on digitalisation and digital 

transformation ............................................................................................ 9 
2.2  Disability inclusion in focused or sector-specific strategies on digitalisation 
and digital transformation ........................................................................ 12 

Do disability strategies address the potential of and challenges pertaining to 
digitalisation and digital transformation? .......................................................... 17 
3.1  How digitalisation and digital transformation are addressed in the national 
disability strategy ..................................................................................... 17 

3.2  How digitalisation and digital transformation are addressed in specific 

disability-related strategies ...................................................................... 18 
Promoting disability inclusion through funding, education and training ............ 20 
4.1  How funding promotes disability-inclusive digitalisation and digital 

transformation .......................................................................................... 20 

4.2  How disability inclusion is promoted through the education and training of 

digital professionals ................................................................................. 23 

4.3  How digital inclusion and accessibility is addressed in the education and 

training of accessibility and inclusion professionals ................................. 24 

4.4  How digital inclusion is addressed via the training of people with 

disabilities ................................................................................................ 25 

The opportunities and challenges presented by digitalisation and digital 
transformation to the rights of persons with disabilities .................................... 30 
5.1  The most significant opportunities presented by digitalisation and digital 

transformation for persons with disabilities .............................................. 30 

5.2  The most significant challenges faced by persons with disabilities in 

relation to digitalisation and digital transformation ................................... 32 
Conclusions and recommendations ................................................................. 34 
6.1  Conclusions ............................................................................................. 34 
6.2  Recommendations ................................................................................... 35 

5 

 
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

1 

Executive summary 

The government-led digital strategy currently in place is the National Strategy on the 
Digital Agenda for Romania for 2020, which was adopted in 2015. Its implementation 
and  replacement  with  an  updated  document  is  being  led  by  the  Authority  for  the 
Digitalisation  of  Romania,  which  was  established  in  2020.  The  Strategy  barely 
mentions  people  with  disabilities,  including  some  statistical  data.  It  identifies  two 
‘opportunities’ relevant for people with disabilities: one in the education field and one 
related to social benefits.  For its implementation, which is still in a very early stage,  
the  Government  relies  heavily  on  EU  Funds  and  international  financial  institutions. 
While it mentions its implementation would require  EUR 3 963 8 million, the National 
Strategy provides no information in relation to the percentage of the budget that will be 
allocated from the state budget for such purpose. 

Romania  is  also  in  the  process  of  adopting  the  Strategy  on  the  Digitalisation  of 
Education in Romania-SMART-Edu. Its draft makes several references to people with 
disabilities. For example, it includes a special section related to supporting people with 
disabilities in the development of skills basic and advanced digital.  

The measures envisaged for offering such support include creating an innovation hub 
which would ensure the promotion of the accessibility of educational technologies for 
people  with  disabilities;  opening  a  business  incubator  to  fund  initiatives  aimed  at 
ensuring  such  accessibility  and  creating  monthly  scholarships  for  people  with 
disabilities who want to develop advanced digital skills. The adoption of this Strategy 
could have a positive impact for people with disabilities, particularly for children and 
young people with disabilities. Given the context and the dire need of measures to be 
taken in the field, its speedily adoption and implementation is highly desirable.  

Regarding the disability specific national strategy, the one currently in place is in the 
process of being replaced by the 2021-2027 National Strategy on the rights of persons 
with  disabilities.  However,  regarding  digitalisation  and  digital  transformation,  the 
modifications  proposed  by  the  new  version  are  minor.  None  of  the  two  documents 
award priority to this topic. Specific relevant measures are proposed mainly in relation 
to ensuring more access to assistive technologies and to using digitalisation to simplify 
and deal more efficiently with the licensing procedure of social services. 

One  fifth  of  Romanians  have  never  used  the  internet.  Moreover,  most  people  with 
disabilities in Romania do not use the Internet to access information and services, and 
of those who do use it, a significant proportion experience difficulties. Access to online 
information  and  services  is  very  difficult,  accessibility  not  being  at  the  moment 
implemented on a large scale not even among public institutions. Moreover, Romania 
is ranking the lowest from EU Member States in the number of people having superior 
digital skills (only 10 %), leading with the highest percentage of people with low digital 
skills (43 %).   

Despite this, opportunities for people with disabilities to benefit from digitalisation and 
digital  transformation  do  exist.  Measures  were  initiated,  within  a  process  aimed  at 
transposing EU legislation, in particular the Web Accessibility Directive, to ensure web 
accessibility and access to online services, particularly those services made available 
online by public institutions. If adequately implemented, the digitalisation of the process 

6 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

could  ensure  the  coherence  of  the  regulation,  provision  and  monitoring  of  social 
services. 

A digitalised system could also be used to ensure people with disabilities have access 
to  the  free  local  and national transportation available  for  them  according  to  national 
laws;  people  with  visual impairments  could also  highly benefit of  the  creation  of  so-
called smart cities, which can communicate with them through mobile applications. 

Good practices 

There  is  evidence  that  Romania  has  certain  initiatives  through  which  it  promotes 
disability  inclusion  by  using  instruments  offered  in  the  context  of  digitalisation  and 
digital  transformation.  One  such  promising  practice  is  the  creation  of  the  National 
Disability Management System, a project which should tackles the problems related to 
a centralized national collection, storage and distribution of information on people with 
disabilities  (adults  and  children)  to  central  and  local  public  authorities,  individual 
beneficiaries and institutional partners. Unfortunately, this project, although initiated in 
2019, has yet to provide significant practical improvements in the provision of social 
services. 

Another  promising  practice  is  constituted  by  the  different  interventions  aimed  at 
ensuring access to assistive technologies. To this end, the National Authority for the 
Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Children and Adoptions is currently carrying out a 
campaign  to  inform  potential  users  about  the  available  and  the  advantages  of 
purchasing  such  products,  also  offering  vouchers  of  up  to  EUR  5 000  for  such 
purchases. Moreover, the 2021-2027 National Strategy on the rights of persons with 
disabilities provides for the necessity to extend the list of assistive technology related 
products for which expenses can be deducted from the state budget. In the same time 
however, access to assistive technologies remains problematic in Romania.  

Lastly,  several  initiatives  were  identified  among  both  private  and  public  educational 
institutions,  aimed  at  ensuring  disability  inclusive  environments  for  studying,  where 
people could develop their skills related to digitalisation and digital transformation. For 
example,  the Babes Bolyai University created an Office for Students with Disabilities, 
which  facilitates and supports the inclusion of students with special educational needs 
into  the  academic  life,  by  identifying  these  needs  and  by  informing  the  academic 
personnel  about  the  learning  needs  of  students  with  disabilities.  The  University  of 
Bucharest implements a series of measures for the inclusion of people with disabilities 
-  students,  professors  and  administrative  staff  -  through  a  project  entitled  "Quality 
inclusive education within the academic community of the University of Bucharest, with 
a focus on people with disabilities", funded by the Ministry of Education and Research 
through the Institutional Development Fund (FDI). The Changes will be carried out for 
the accessibility and modernisation of the access infrastructure in the spaces of the 
University. At the same time, efforts will be made to expand the guidance system with 
step-hear  technology  for  people  with  visual  impairments.  The  project  also  provides 
interventions  for  the  accessibility  of  educational  and  residential  spaces  for  students 
with disabilities. The project does not include trainings for digital professionals. 

Moreover, there are a variety of private initiatives of offering free or paid coding courses 
for  children,  including  children  with  hearing  impairments.  Some  of  them  also  aim  at 
educating and involving in the education of children digital professionals. For example, 

7 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

The Dalia’s Book Association proposes a free online coding club, called ‘Code Hero’, 
which will operate son a voluntary basis. The programme mentors are selected among 
IT professionals and technical faculty students who want to bring change in the lives 
of children. The programme, initiated in 2020, was initially dedicated to students aged 
between 9 and 13 in urban and rural areas throughout Romania, including students 
with hearing impairments. It subsequently extended its target group to children up to 
16.1 

Recommendations 

The  Authority  for  the  Digitalisation  of  Romania  should  ensure  the  disability 
inclusiveness  of  the  new  digital  strategy  which  is  to  be  developed,  with  due 
consideration being given to accessibility requirements. This strategy should ensure a 
coherence of adopted measures, across sectors of activity; its implementation must be 
ensured by providing it with efficient instruments. 

The Strategy on the Digitalisation of Education in Romania -SMART-Edu provides the 
opportunity  to  have  a  significant  impact  on  promoting  the  rights  of  people,  and 
particularly  children  and  young  people  with  disabilities.  Its  speedily  adoption  and 
implementation is highly desirable, as is the adoption of adequate instruments which 
will ensure its practical implementation.  

An  Accessibility  Code  should  be  created  by  the  National  Authority for  the  Rights  of 
Persons  with Disabilities, Children and Adoptions  and 
the 
Digitalisation of Romania, in collaboration with relevant Ministries. This Code should 
take  into  consideration  accessibility  requirements  as  provided  in  the  EU  Web 
Accessibility Directive and the European Accessibility Act; it can be used as an efficient 
tool  to  transpose  EU  legislation  in  the  domestic  system.    This  Code  should  include 
elements  regarding  accessibility  for  people  with  disabilities  with  all  types  of  support 
needs,  particularly  in  the  area  of  mobility  and  transportation,  education,  access  to 
services access to social services and access to assistive technologies. 

the  Authority 

for 

1   See https://www.carteadaliei.ro/ and Dalia’s Book (Cartea Daliei), (2020), Code Hero begins, a 
coding club for children (Incepe Code Hero, un club online gratuit de programare pentru copii), 
available [in Romanian] at https://ziare.com/scoala/educatie/incepe-code-hero-un-club-online-
gratuit-de-programare-pentru-copii-1603369. 

8 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

2 

Are  government  strategies  and  plans  on  digitalisation  and  digital 
transformation disability-inclusive?  

2.1  Disability  inclusion  in  generic  strategies  on  digitalisation  and  digital 

transformation 

In February 2015, the National Strategy on the Digital Agenda for Romania for 2020 
was adopted.2 This Strategy defined the following four major areas of action:3 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

area  of  action  1  -  eGovernment,  Interoperability,  Cyber  Security,  Cloud 
Computing,  Open  Data,  Big  Data  and Social Media  –  increasing the efficiency 
and  reducing  the  costs  of  the  Romanian  public  sector  by  modernizing  its 
administration; 
area  of  action  2  –  ICT  (Information  and  Communication  Technologies)  in 
Education,  Health,  Culture  and  eInclusion  -  intervening  at  a  sectoral  level  and 
ensuring that ICT investments will have a positive impact in the social context; 
area of action 3 - eCommerce, Research, Development and Innovation in ICT – 
supporting economic growth in the private sector; 
area  of  action  4  -  Broadband  and  Digital  Services  Infrastructure  –  improving 
access to ICT equipment and Internet, which will also facilitate social inclusion, 
increasing digital literacy and improving digital skills. 

The Strategy itself barely mentions people with disabilities. It only states that in 2014 
there  were  over  700  000  people  with  disabilities  in  Romania  and  that  only  28  %  of 
people belonging to vulnerable groups (including people with disabilities) had access 
to Internet on a weekly basis.4 

The Strategy identifies two “opportunities” that are relevant for people with disabilities: 
one  in  the  education  field  and  one  related  to  social  benefits.  As  such,  it  states  that 
there is  an “opportunity” to promote the development of digital skills at EU level among 
all inhabitants of a country: pupils, students, adults in continuing education and people 
in  a  situation  of  social  exclusion  (with  disabilities,  below  the  poverty  line,  from 
disadvantaged rural areas, etc.).5 It also mentions the possibility to use digitalisation to 
support the registration of people with disabilities in view of providing access to certain 
rights, such as social benefits (monthly allowances/ allowances for carers etc.).6 

The implementation this Strategy was estimated to need an investment of about EUR 
3.9 billion. These needs were to be covered partially from funds to be obtained from 
the EU and from other IFI (International Financial Institutions), such as the World Bank 

2  Romanian Government, (2020), National Strategy on the Digital Agenda for Romania for 2020 

(Strategia Națională privind Agenda Digitală pentru România 2020), available at 
https://www.ancom.ro/uploads/links_files/Strategia_nationala_privind_Agenda_Digitala_pentru_Ro
mania_2020.pdf.  

3   Romanian Government, (2020), National Strategy on the Digital Agenda for Romania for 2020 

(Strategia Națională privind Agenda Digitală pentru România 2020), pp. 18-19. 

4   Romanian Government, (2020), National Strategy on the Digital Agenda for Romania for 2020 

(Strategia Națională privind Agenda Digitală pentru România 2020), p. 81. 

5   Romanian Government, (2020), National Strategy on the Digital Agenda for Romania for 2020 

(Strategia Națională privind Agenda Digitală pentru România 2020), p. 129. 

6   Romanian Government, (2020), National Strategy on the Digital Agenda for Romania for 2020 

(Strategia Națională privind Agenda Digitală pentru România 2020), p. 140. 

9 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The rest was to 
be obtained from national and local budgets.7  

The  former  Ministry  of  Communication  and  Information  Society  had  contracted  the 
World Bank for a Monitoring and Evaluation Manual of this Strategy. This Manual was 
published  in  2016,8  including  a  list  of  indicators  and  of  the  public  institutions 
responsible  for  collecting  and  evaluating  relevant  data.  No  specific  reference  to 
disability  was  made  in  it.  No  public  information  on  the  funding  used  for  the 
implementation of the Strategy was identified. 

The  Romanian  National  Institute  for  Research  and  Development  in  Informatics 
published  an  evaluation  of  the  implementation  of  the  Strategy  for  the  2015-2019 
period.  No  specific  information  about  its  impact  on  people  with  disabilities  was 
included.  It  was  found  that  Romania  was  still  the  early  stages  of  achieving  the 
objectives  described  in  the  Strategy,  having,  after  an  analysis  of  indicators,  poor 
performance  in  almost  all  areas,  ranking  among  the  last  in  comparison  to  the  other 
Member States of the EU.9 An update to this study has yet to be published. It is also 
not clear when will a new Strategy be adopted. 

No evidence was identified to suggest people with disabilities were involved in any way 
in the development or the implementation of this Strategy. 

the  newly  appointed  Romanian  government 

initiated  a 
In  November  2019, 
reorganisation, which was, allegedly, partly needed due to an infringement procedure 
initiated by the European Commission against Romania in the field of cybersecurity.10 
The  Ministry  of  Transport  was  merged  with  the  Ministry  of  Communications  and 
Infrastructure  and 
Information  Society,  becoming 
Communications.    Moreover,  the  former  Agency  for  the  Digital  Agenda  of  Romania 
was replaced by a newly created Authority for the Digitalisation of Romania (“ADR”).11 

the  Ministry  of  Transport, 

ADR inherited the attributions of the former Agency for the Digital Agenda of Romania, 
but also some of the attributions of the former Ministry of Communications and of the 
Information Society. 

7   Romanian Government, (2020), National Strategy on the Digital Agenda for Romania for 2020 

(Strategia Națională privind Agenda Digitală pentru România 2020), pp. 29-31. 

8   Romanian Ministry of Communication and Information Society (Ministerul Comunicaţiilor şi 

Societăţii Informaţionale din România), (2016), Monitoring and Evaluation Manual of the National 
Strategy on the Digital Agenda for Romania (Manualul de Monitorizare și Evaluare al Strategiei 
Naționale privind Agenda Digitală pentru România), available [in Romanian] at 
https://www.comunicatii.gov.ro//wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Manual_Monitorizare_Evaluare_v2.0-
BM.pdf.  

9   E. Tudora et. al, (2020), The analysis of the evolution of DESI and SNADR indicators of the 

information society (Analiza evoluției indicatorilor DESI și SNADR ai societății informaționale), 
Romanian Journal of Information Technology and Automatic Control, Vol. 30, No. 2, 121-134, 
2020, pp. 121-133, available [in Romanian] at 
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342641861_Analiza_evolutiei_indicatorilor_DESI_si_SNA
DR_ai_societatii_informationale. 

10   European Commission, (2020), October infringements package: key decisions, 30 October 2020, 

p. 16, available at https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/inf_20_1687.    

11   See Romanian Government, (2020), Decision no. 89/2020 of 28 January 2020 on the organization 
and functioning of the Authority for the Digitalization of Romania (Hotărârea nr. 89/2020 din 28 
ianuarie 2020 privind organizarea şi funcţionarea Autorităţii pentru Digitalizarea României), 
available at  http://legislatie.just.ro/Public/DetaliiDocument/223055. 

10 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

The adoption of the Government Ordinance No. 89/2020, which created and described 
the functions of ADR, was  met  with  criticism  from  some public  institutions  who also 
have attributions in the field. For example, the Romanian Intelligence Service and the 
Romanian  National  Computer  Security  Incident  Response  Team  (“CERT-RO”), 
opposed ADR’s attributions in the field of cybersecurity.12 There are however hopes 
that ADR, with its extended attributions, will have a better chance of implementing a 
long-term  vision,  as  well  as  undertaking  and  finalizing  projects  that  are  currently 
severely under-developed. 

ADR  is  for  example  in  charge  of  developing  a  new  national  Strategy  in  the  field  of 
digitalisation.  

The ADR is to attain the following objectives:13 

the digital transformation of the Romanian economy and society; 
the electronic governance of the public administration in Romania; and 

(i)  
(ii)  
(iii)   reaching the objectives set for Romania by the European Union in its financial aid 

programmes, within the ADR’s domains of competence. 

In  meeting  its  objectives,  the  ADR’s  has  a  wide  variety  of  attributions  and 
responsibilities related to:14 

-  

-  

-  

-  
-  

creating and implementing strategies, plans and policies concerning the following 
lines of action, such as a new national strategy for digital transformation and the 
national plan for citizen’s digital skills; 
reporting to the Government on the progress of digitalisation in Romania, as well 
as to the European Commission on the compliance of public authorities’ websites 
and mobile applications with the EU requirements regarding accessibility to such 
for people with disabilities; 
representation  in  international  cooperation  organisms  and  liaising  with  EU 
institutions; 
promoting advanced technologies; 
regulation, supervision and control, including initiating standards, technical norms 
and guidelines; 

-   managing programmes and projects, liaising with the civil society and academia 

for public-private partnerships and other projects of common interest. 

ADR is expected to develop the following public systems: 

(i)  

the e-governance system; 

12   A. Popescu and F. Stefura, (2020), Romanian Digitalization Agenda - the Government takes one 
step forward by setting up the Authority for the Digitalization of Romania, Lexology, 17 February 
2020, available at https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=4d6b4d78-50ca-41ff-af6c-
faab94b4e697. 

13   See Romanian Government, (2020), Decision No. 89/2020 of 28 January 2020 on the organization 
and functioning of the Authority for the Digitalization of Romania (Hotărârea nr. 89/2020 din 28 
ianuarie 2020 privind organizarea şi funcţionarea Autorităţii pentru Digitalizarea României), 
available at  http://legislatie.just.ro/Public/DetaliiDocument/223055. 

14   See Romanian Government, (2020), Decision No. 89/2020 of 28 January 2020 on the organization 
and functioning of the Authority for the Digitalization of Romania (Hotărârea nr. 89/2020 din 28 
ianuarie 2020 privind organizarea şi funcţionarea Autorităţii pentru Digitalizarea României), 
available at  http://legislatie.just.ro/Public/DetaliiDocument/223055. 

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Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

the national online tax payment system; 

(ii)  
(iii)   the national electronic public acquisition system; 
(iv)   information  systems  for  the  electronic  issuance  of  electronic  authorizations  for 
international  transport  of  goods  and  for  the  electronic  assignment  of  national 
routes from the transport programmes; 
the sole electronic point of contact system; and 

(v)  
(vi)   the governmental cloud. 

The ADR is tasked to ensure the security of the information systems it operates, as 
well as their support centre. 

ADR published its first report on the activities carried out from February to April 2020.15 
This report included information on a variety of measures taken to digitalise services 
provided  by  public  authorities,  with  a  focus  on  the  measures  taken  and  support 
provided during the COVID-19 pandemic. No specific mention was made in relation to 
people with disabilities. 

Meanwhile,  ADR  is  responsible  for  monitoring  and  controlling  compliance  with 
legislative provisions regarding the accessibility of the websites of public institutions.16 
Emergency  Ordinance  No.  112/2018  on  the  accessibility  of  websites  and  mobile 
applications of public sector bodies transposes several obligations which derive from 
Directive  No.  2016/2012  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  the 
European  Union.  The  Ordinance  has  taken  over  from  the  Directive  the  types  of 
information  to  be  made  available  by  websites  and  accessibility  procedures.  The 
standards  for  accessing  these  websites  are  not,  for  now,  mandatory  for  all  public 
institutions. 

ADR  is  also  the  administrative  authority  in  relation  to  the  distribution  of  certain  EU 
Funds and a partner in carrying out certain EU Funded projects. Some of them, which 
will  be  described  in  Section  4.1.,  are  relevant  for  people  with  disabilities  or  refer 
specifically  to  them].  It  can  therefore  be  concluded  that  the  needs  of  people  with 
disabilities are being considered in planning and policy making; the practical impact of 
these considerations is however still minimal. 

2.2  Disability 

inclusion 

in 

focused  or  sector-specific  strategies  on 

digitalisation and digital transformation 

Education 

Romania is currently in the process of adopting the Strategy on the Digitalisation of 
Education  in  Romania  -SMART-Edu.  To this  end,  an online  public consultation  was 

15   Authority for the Digitalization of Romania (Autoritatea pentruDigitalizarea României), (2020), 

Report on the Digital Transformation of Romania. February-April 2020 (Raport pentru 
Transformarea Digitală a României. Februarie-Aprilie 2020), available [in Romanian] at 
https://www.adr.gov.ro/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Raport-trimestrial_Transformarea-
Digital%C4%83-a-Rom%C3%A2niei_1.pdf. 

16   Romanian Government (Guvernul României), (2018), Emergency Ordinance No. 112/2018 on the 
accessibility of websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies (Ordonanța de Urgență nr. 
112/2018 privind accesibilitatea site-urilor web și a aplicațiilor mobile ale organisemlor din sectorul 
public), 21 December 2018, available [in Romanian] at 
https://lege5.ro/gratuit/gmytimrugeyq/ordonanta-de-urgenta-nr-112-2018-privind-accesibilitatea-
site-urilor-web-si-a-aplicatiilor-mobile-ale-organismelor-din-sectorul-public. 

12 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

carried out from 26 October 2020 to 9 November 2020.17 It was reported that 574 inputs 
were submitted, without information being coherently provided in relation to the quality 
or any other elements related to the provided input. 

In any case, a coherent draft of the Strategy18  has been published for public debate 
from 18 December 2020 to 15 February 2021.19 The following are described as priority 
axes of action in this draft Strategy: 

1.  Development of digital skills of pupils and students 
2.  School curriculum for emerging jobs 
3. 
4. 

Lifelong digital education 
Initial and continuous training of teachers for digital education 

The draft Strategy makes a variety of references to people with disabilities. It states 
that for pupils and students with disabilities, especially those with hearing and visual 
impairments  and  those  who  are  on  the  autism  spectrum,  the  COVID-19  pandemic   
meant the deepening of digital divide, isolation and discrimination.20 It acknowledges 
the  important  of  supporting  the  development  of  digital  skills  among  all  children, 
including  children  with  disabilities,  and  it  underlines  that  this  must  be  done  while 
pursuing, in the same time, the promotion of inclusion, diversity and protecting mental 
health.21 

Digital training programmes are also supposed to include the development of digital 
skills 
of parents, especially those in rural areas / disadvantaged communities / for families 
with children with disabilities. Such skills would help parents both to provide for their 
children and, if necessary, re /qualify for the labour market.22 

In its operational plan related to the Development of digital skills of pupils and students 
priority  axe  of  action,  the  draft  Strategy  includes,  as  a  specific  measure,  the 
development  and  implementation  of  accessible  digital  literacy  programmes  for 
students with disabilities (e.g. the use of applications such as Jaws / NVDA for visually 
impaired students, for applications related to augmentative communication for students 
with ASD, etc.).23 

In its operational plan related to the school curriculum for emerging jobs priority axe of 
action,  the  draft  Strategy  includes,  as  a  specific  measure,  adapting  the  curriculum 
specific  to  the  emerging  professions  to  the  requirements  of  students  with  special 
educational  needs  (emerging  professions  such  as  digital  marketing  or  digital/library 

17   Smart-Edu, (2020), Online Public Consultation (Consultare publică online), available [in Romanian] 

at https://www.smart.edu.ro/home/consultare-public%C4%83-online#h.w2k8bymh6ik6.  

18   Ministry of Education and Research, (2020), Strategy on the Digitization of Education in Romania -
SMART-Edu. Document for public consultation from 18 December 2020 to 15 February 2021 
(Strategia privind Digitalizarea Educației in România -SMART-Edu. Document în consultare publică 
în perioada 18 decembrie 2020 – 15 februarie 2021), available [in Romanian] at 
https://www.edu.ro/sites/default/files/SMART.Edu%20-%20document%20consultare.pdf.  
19   Smart-Edu, (2020), Strategy- Public consultation (Strategie- consultare publica), available [in 

Romanian] at https://www.smart.edu.ro/home/strategie-consultare-public%C4%83.  

20   Ministry of Education and Research, (2020), p. 21. 
21   Ministry of Education and Research, (2020), p. 21. 
22   Ministry of Education and Research, (2020), p. 21. 
23  Ministry of Education and Research, (2020), p. 22. 

13 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

editing, professions that can be easily adapted for people with hearing impairments, 
with ASD or physical disabilities).24 

Furthermore, the draft Strategy states that understanding technology requires a critical 
approach to potential issues related to ethics, sustainability of the environment, data 
protection  and  confidentiality,  children's 
including 
discrimination on the basis of gender, disability and race. Thus, formal education must 
be  complemented  with  non-formal  education  in  partnership  with  libraries,  industries 
and research institutions.25 

rights  and  discrimination, 

It  is  also  acknowledged  that  despite  the  active  measures  adopted  by  Romania  to 
increase  the  employment  rate  of  people  with  disabilities,  there  are  still  major 
discrepancies  in  comparison  to  the  employment  rates  in  other  states.  A  large 
proportion of people with disabilities which could be integrated into the labour market 
fail to find a job, one of the causes being their low level of basic skills and employability 
skills, which are not related to their support needs.26 

In its operational plan related to the Lifelong digital education priority axe of action, the 
draft Strategy includes a special section related to supporting people with disabilities 
in  the development  of  skills basic and advanced digital.  The  proposed measures  to 
offer such support are the following:27 

• 

• 

• 

• 

developing a national structure in the form of an innovation hub for research and 
development, funded by European funds, in partnership with private entities and 
relevant  authorities;  this  hub  would  ensure  the  accessibility  of  educational 
technologies for people with disabilities; 
opening an annual business incubator competition that would provide full funding 
for  at  least  10  projects  aimed  at  ensuring  the  accessibility  of  educational 
technologies; these projects would be implemented at the level of the Romanian 
educational  system,  within  the  training  programmes  carried  out  through 
community  lifelong  learning  centres  or  in  an  open  system,  for  any  Romanian 
citizen; 
creating a national monthly scholarship programme for 12 months, through which 
at least 1 000 people with disabilities who want to develop advanced digital skills 
would be awarded monthly grants of EUR 150; 
exchanging  experiences  on  good  practices  at  the  European  level  in  the  field 
accessibility  of  educational  technologies  for  people  with  disabilities  to  provide 
access to all European citizens to the projects developed within the Romanian 
incubator. 

The  necessity  to  create  digital  educational  content  is  explored,  with  a  specific 
observation being made on the desirability to create a digital lesson platform adapted 
to the needs of students and teachers with disabilities.28 No further details are provided 
about how this inclusiveness would be achieved.  

24  Ministry of Education and Research, (2020), p. 37. 
25   Ministry of Education and Research, (2020), p. 39. 
26  Ministry of Education and Research, (2020), p. 44. 
27  Ministry of Education and Research, (2020), p. 48. 
28  Ministry of Education and Research, (2020), p. 66. 

14 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

The draft Strategy also acknowledges that the digitalisation of education is a necessity 
imposed by the permanent technological development. It adds that the minimum digital 
technological  architecture  required  by  educational  institutions  should  aim  to  ensure 
that digital education is fair, motivating, relevant, inclusive and does not marginalize 
children from disadvantaged backgrounds or those with disabilities.29 

The draft Strategy identifies a need to set up an online learning centre in each higher 
education  institution,  to  carry  out  specific  activities,  including  the  implementation  of 
assistive  technologies  to  facilitate  participation  in  online  education  for  students  with 
disabilities.30 

The  initiation  of  a  Strategy  on  the  Digitalisation  of  Education  in  Romania  is  to  be 
welcomed.  It  has  been  reported  that  more  than  1  200  people,  72  experts,  24  civil 
society  organizations  and  18  companies  with  relevance  in  the  field  of  digitalisation 
contributed to its elaboration.31 While it is not clear to what level people with disabilities 
themselves were involved in the elaboration of this Strategy, organisations who carry 
out activities in the disability rights field were. Given the above detailed considerations, 
it is evident that careful consideration was given to the specific needs of people with 
disabilities. 

The Strategy does have certain weaknesses that can be easily identified. It seems to 
focus  more  on  the  needs  of  people  with  certain  types  of  disabilities,  mentioning 
specifically  only  physical  disability,  hearing  impairments  and  ASD.  It  also  mostly 
addresses access to online education, disregarding, to a certain extent, the possibility 
to use digitalisation to promote inclusion in the community and physical participation to 
courses. Moreover, when providing examples of jobs to which people with disabilities 
could aspire, the Strategy mentions only low-skilled professions. Regarding funding, 
the Strategy relies heavily on EU Funds, which might raise certain risks in relation to 
the  willingness  of  national  authorities  to  invest  adequately  in  the  digitalisation  of 
education, ensuring the feasibility and sustainability of projects and measures.  

That  being  said,  an  adequate  assessment  of  this  Strategy  is  somehow  futile  at  this 
moment in time, as the final draft of the Strategy has yet to be published and it is not 
clear when it should be adopted. Moreover, as its implementation has yet to begin, an 
assessment of how all the principles and measures be applied in practice cannot be 
done. 

Urban policy 

Romania is currently in the process of adopting its first Urban Policy, which is being 
elaborated  within  a  project  co-financed  from  the  European  Social  Fund  through  the 
Operational Programme Administrative Capacity 2014-2020. Public commitment has 
been made that the rights of people with disabilities will be taken into consideration in 

29  Ministry of Education and Research, (2020), p. 60. 
30  Ministry of Education and Research, (2020), pp. 64-65. 
31  Cosmin Pirv, (2020), The Strategy on the Digitalization of Education in Romania launched for 

public debate until 15 February 2021 (Strategia de Digitalizare a Educaţiei din România lansată în 
dezbatere publică până în 15 februarie 2021), Mediafax, 20 December 2020, available [in 
Romanian] at https://www.mediafax.ro/social/strategia-de-digitalizare-a-educatiei-din-romania-
lansata-in-dezbatere-publica-pana-in-15-februarie-19798518.  

15 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

this  process,32  during  which  digitalisation  and  digital  transformation  could  be 
considered. Being at a very incipient phase, an assessment of this policy cannot be 
made at this stage. 

32   See Liviu Ploieșteanu, Adviser for the Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism, presenting 
the project within the National Accessibility Forum, an online event organised on 5 May 2021, 
available at https://www.facebook.com/gies.ngo/videos/366112641485936; for more information 
see the web platform launched within the project at https://citadini.ro/. 

16 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

3 

Do disability strategies address the potential of and challenges pertaining 
to digitalisation and digital transformation? 

3.1  How digitalisation and digital transformation are addressed in the national 

disability strategy 

The  current  national  disability  strategy  is  the  National  Strategy  'A  society  without 
for  people  with  disabilities',  2016-  2020.33  This  Strategy  mentions 
barriers 
digitalisations only once, making reference to an issue that was already referred to in 
this  report:  the  necessity  to  optimize  institutional  processes  so  that  the  procedure 
relating  to  accessing  benefits  and  social  services  is  simplified.  The  Strategy  also 
underlies  the  necessity  to  use  digitalisation  to  gather  information  in  real  time, 
information that can be easily accessed and used by central authorities.34 

These  issues  have  been  since  2016  addressed  through,  by  example,  the  ongoing 
project  on  the  creation  of  the  National  Disability  Management  System,  described  in 
Section 4.1. of this Report.  

In any case, Romania is currently in the process of adopting another national strategy, 
which  will  replace  this  one.  Its  draft  has  been  open  for  public  consultation  from  31 
March 2021 to 9 April 2021 and is in the process of being adopted. It is called the 2021-
2027 National Strategy on the rights of persons with disabilities.35 

While not particularly mentioning the word `digitalisation`, this Strategy has, as one of 
its  objectives,  improving  access  to  information  and  communication  for  people  with 
disabilities.  It  underlines  the  importance  to  use  alternative  methods  and  means  of 
communication  and  assistive  technologies,  customized  according  to  the  abilities  of 
people  with  disabilities,  which  shall  include  sign  language  interpretation  or  Braille 
writing, text readers, sound signals, specific icons and signs and voice commands.36 

It  also  mentions  the  importance  of  ensuring  to  information  and  communication  for 
people  with  disabilities  within  the  justice  system,37  on  the  labour  market38  and  in 
relation to education.39 The Strategy underlines that people with disabilities encounter 
severe  obstacles  in  accessing  assistive  technologies,  given  that  for  many  such 
purchases  no  financial  support  is  awarded,  that  their  prices  are  high  and  that  the 
number of manufacturers and distributors of assistive devices and technologies is very 
small, given that there is no national policy on assistive products and technologies. 

33   Romanian Government, (2016), National Strategy 'A society without barriers for people with 

disabilities', 2016- 2020 (Strategia nationala "O societate fr bariere pentru persoanele cu dizabiliti", 
2016-2020), available [in Romanian] at http://anpd.gov.ro/web/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/MO-nr-
737Bis-din-22-septembrie-2016.pdf. 
34   Romanian Government, (2016), p. 33. 
35   Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, (2020), 2021-2027 National Strategy on the rights of 
persons with disabilities -Draft (Strategia națională privind drepturile persoanelor cu dizabilități 
2021-2027- proiect), available [in Romanian] at 
https://mmuncii.ro/j33/images/Documente/MMPS/Transparenta_decizionala/31032021_anexa_1_S
ND.pdf. 

36   Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, (2020), p. 10. 
37   Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, (2020), p. 6. 
38   Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, (2020), p. 21. 
39  Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, (2020), p. 30. 

17 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

The  Plan  of  Action40  proposed  to  go  hand  in  hand  with  the  Strategy  provides,  as  a 
specific measure, the simplification and digitalisation of  the process of accreditation, 
licensing and re-licensing of social services.41 

It  also  provides  for  the  promotion  of  a  law  proposal  on  amending  the  electoral 
legislation,  so  that  the  threshold  of  necessary  voters  with  disabilities  which  would 
award a right to deduct related expenses would be lowered to 1 %; it adds that the list 
of deductible expenses should include expenses related to specific needs of people 
with disabilities, such as  a mimetic-gestural interpreter, assistant staff and/ or assistive 
technologies.42  This  is  likely  to  have  a  direct  impact  on  the  number  of  people  with 
disabilities voting, or at least their consideration of exercising their right to vote and the 
difficulties they might encounter. In a recent study it was found that among those with 
severe  disabilities,  38 %  reported  encountering  barriers  to  voting  in  the  2019 
presidential election, compared to 7 % for people with some limitations and 7 % without 
limitations.  Among  the  barriers,  the  most  frequently  encountered  are  the  inability  to 
travel to the polling station, the physical inaccessibility of the polling stations and the 
complex procedures in place for requesting mobile ballot boxes.43  

The  Plan  of  Action  also  provides  for  the  necessity  to  extend  the  list  of  assistive 
technology  related  products  for  which  expenses  can  be  deducted  from  the  state 
budget. This list should be extended to all the 50 products and technologies identified 
by WHO as a global priority in 2016.44 

While this has yet to happen, this Strategy and its Plan of Action are very likely to be 
adopted in the following months. Given the description of the relevant provisions, as 
detailed  above,  digitalisation  does  not  constitute  a  priority  of  this  Strategy.  Specific 
measures are proposed mainly to ensure more access to assistive technologies and 
to deal with the licensing procedure of social services. 

3.2  How  digitalisation  and  digital  transformation  are  addressed  in  specific 

disability-related strategies  

Electronic communications 

In recent years progress has  been seen in the field of electronic communications in 
terms of accessibility for people with disabilities. Decision No. 160/2015 on establishing 
measures addressed to final users with disabilities, a Decision issued by the National 
Authority  for  Administration  and  Regulation  in  Communications,  amended  most 
recently  in  2019,45  establishes  a  series  of  measures  for  providers  of  electronic 

40   Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, (2020), Implementation plan of the 2021-2027 National 
Strategy on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Plan de implementare a Strategiei naționale 
privind drepturile persoanelor cu dizabilități, 2021-2027), available [in Romanian] at 
https://mmuncii.ro/j33/images/Documente/MMPS/Transparenta_decizionala/31032021_anexa_2_P
O.pdf. 

41   Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, (2020), p. 33. 
42   Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, (2020), p. 63. 
43   Ministry of Labour and Social Protection and the World Bank, (2020), Diagnosis of the situation of 
people with disabilities in Romania (Diagnoza situației persoanelor cu dizabilități în România),  p. 
39, available [in Romanian] at http://andpdca.gov.ro/w/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Diagnoza-
situatiei-persoanelor-cu-dizabilitati-in-Romania-2020-RO.pdf. 

44   Ministry of Labour and Social Protection and the World Bank, (2020), p. 30. 
45   National Authority for Administration and Regulation in Communications (Autoritatea Naţională 

pentru Administrare şi Reglementare în Comunicaţii), (2020), Decision No. 160-2015 on 

18 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

communications  services  aimed  to  facilitate  the  access  of  users  with  disabilities  to 
telephone and internet services. Thus, this Decision specifies the conditions to be met 
in relation to the marketing of adapted service packages, the purchase and testing of 
equipment,  recommended  prices,  the  minimum  speed  of  internet  connections  and 
other technical standards.  

The  Decision  states,  for  example,  that  the  providers  of  phone  and  internet  services 
have the obligation to ensure to persons with disabilities, free of charge, the possibility 
to test equipment in order to see if it meets their needs, prior to purchase. Relevant 
information must be provided, if necessary, in printed form.46 Moreover, the providers 
have  an  obligation  to  create  on  their  webpages  a  section  dedicated  to  people  with 
disabilities, visible on the main screen, which  shall include complete, accurate, easily 
accessible, relevant, up-to-date, intelligible information that allows easy access to at 
least:  the  offers  available  to  people  with  disabilities,    the  specific  equipment  for 
electronic communications; any conditions or formalities that end-users with disabilities 
must meet in order to benefit from the offer of products and services adapted to them; 
and  the  contractual  conditions  for  the  provision  of  services  or  other  informative 
materials of interest for persons with disabilities.47 

Moreover,  providers  have  to  ensure  for  people  with  disabilities  the  possibility  to 
address  any  requests  or  complaints,  including  through  a  designated  person,  by 
telephone  and  by  email;  these  requests  and  complaints  will  be  dealt  with  priority. 
Access to customer services will have to be ensured in a manner that accommodates 
the needs of all people with disabilities.48 

The decision also provides guidance in relation to the pricing and type of services that 
need  to  be  made  available  for  people  with  disabilities.  It  states  for  example  that 
providers needs to make available for end-users with hearing and/or speech difficulties 
packages containing at least unlimited internet traffic, at a maximum data transfer rate 
for  download  of  at  least  30  Mbps  or,  where  this  is  not  technically  possible,  the 
maximum  speed  offered  commercially  to  individual  users,  against  a  recommended 
tariff of maximum 7 euro/month, including VAT; for visually impaired end-users they 
must offer packages containing at least 350 national minutes per month for a maximum 
recommended  rate  of  EUR  3  /  month,  including  VAT,  and,  at  the  user's  request, 
unlimited monthly internet traffic for a recommended rate of maximum 7 euro/ month, 
including VAT, the total recommended tariff of the package being of maximum EUR 10 
/ month, including VAT.49 

No  official  evaluation  of  the  achievements  and  obstacles  encountered  during  the 
implementation of this Decision appears to have been carried out. It can be however 
stated that the provisions are aimed at ensuring the inclusion of people with disabilities 
and were likely to have had a positive impact on their access to such services. 

establishing measures addressed to final users with disabilities (Deciza nr. 160-2015 privind 
stabilirea unor măsuri adresate utilizatorilor finali cu dizabilităţi), 23 February 2015, available [in 
Romanian] at https://lege5.ro/gratuit/gu3tinjsga/decizia-nr-160-2015-privind-stabilirea-unor-masuri-
adresate-utilizatorilor-finali-cu-dizabilitati.  

46  National Authority for Administration and Regulation in Communications (2020), Art. 5.  
47  National Authority for Administration and Regulation in Communications (2020), Art. 6. 
48  National Authority for Administration and Regulation in Communications (2020), Art., 7. 
49   National Authority for Administration and Regulation in Communications (2020), Art. 9.  

19 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

4 

Promoting disability inclusion through funding, education and training  

4.1  How  funding  promotes  disability-inclusive  digitalisation  and  digital 

transformation 

While a coherent vision of integrating a disability perspective in the funding and the 
development and roll out of digitalisation and digital transformation, several relevant 
funding schemes have been identified. They will briefly be presented below. 

The National Disability Management System 

The  National  Authority  for  the  Rights  of  Persons  with  Disabilities,  Children  and 
Adoptions  (ANDPDCA),  in  partnership  with  the  Authority  for  the  Digitalisation  of 
Romania and the Ministry of Labour and Social Justice, are currently implementing a 
project on the National Disability Management System.50 

The general objective of the project is to develop and implement a centralized national 
platform  for  the  collection,  storage  and  distribution  of  information  on  people  with 
disabilities  (adults  and  children)  to  central  and  local  public  authorities,  individual 
beneficiaries and institutional partners. The information registered in the new system 
will make it possible to follow centrally some aspects that contribute to the process of 
deinstitutionalization and de-bureaucratization; the activity of citizens will be monitored 
online, through an interconnected system of relevant institutions. The information flow 
will therefore   ensure the correctness of the payment of social benefits and will thus 
reduce the risk of errors and fraud. This system will manage the documents of the files 
of people with disabilities, with a reduced need for physical contact. 

This is aimed at supporting people with disabilities dealing with paperwork and ensure 
simplified and adequate access to social benefits. Accessibility requirements are at the 
forefront of this project. 

The project was initiated on 11 July 2019 and is supposed to be completed on 11 June 
2021. Regarding its funding, the total value of the project is of approx. RON 45 million 
(EUR 9.15 million), of which RON 38 million (EUR 7.7 million) come from the European 
Regional  Development  Fund,  through  the  Operational  Programme  Competitiveness 
and RON 7 million (EUR 1.45 million) come from the state budget.51 

No  information  on  the  stage  of  the  implementation  of  this  project  has  been  made 
available. 

EU Funds to support the Digitalisation of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) 

The digitalisation of SMEs is being supported under priority axis 2, investment priority 
2b - Development of ICT products and services, e-commerce and ICT demand, action 

50   Authority for the Digitalization of Romania (Autoritatea pentru Digitalizarea României), (2020), The 
National Disability Management System  (Sistem Național de Management privind Dizabilitatea), 
available at https://www.adr.gov.ro/sistem-national-de-management-privind-dizabilitatea/.  

51   Authority for the Digitalization of Romania (Autoritatea pentru Digitalizarea României), (2020), The 
National Disability Management System  (Sistem Național de Management privind Dizabilitatea), 
available at https://www.adr.gov.ro/sistem-national-de-management-privind-dizabilitatea/.  

20 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

2.2.2  "Digitalisation  of  SMEs"  under  the  Competitiveness  Operational  Programme 
2014-2020. 

Funds were made available under this scheme starting with 22 December 2020. They 
are available until the allocated budget is exhausted, but not later than 31 December 
2021. Payments are to be made until 31 December 2023.52 ADR is the administrator 
of this scheme. 

The value of the scheme is EUR 100 million (EUR 84.5 million EU contribution from 
the  European  Regional  Development  Fund  and  EUR  15.5  million  national 
contribution.53 From this budget, SMEs can receive non-reimbursable grants ranging 
from EUR 30 000 to 100 000.  

These  grants  can  cover  up  to  90 %  of  their  expenses,  which  means  that  the 
beneficiaries  of  the  grants  will  have  to  insure  the  remaining  10 %  of  the  eligible 
expenses plus the ineligible expenses from the projects. It is estimated that up to 3 333 
SMEs will be awarded funds under this scheme.54 

Eligible expenses include procurement of PC systems, related devices and equipment, 
programmes, cloud services, software as a service, databases, web domain names, 
new  website,  hosting  services,  software  automation,  RPA  (robotic  process 
automation), networking etc. A specific mention is made to the fact that, among the 
eligible expenses, expenses related to the purchase of specific computer applications 
for people with disabilities are included. No accessibility requirements are imposed, as 
a general rule, to those applying for such funds. No information was available, at the 
moment of the finalisation of this report, in relation to the projects which had received 
funds under this scheme.55  

Funding for assistive technology 

The  National  Authority  for  the  Rights  of  Persons  with  Disabilities,  Children  and 
Adoptions  (ANDPDCA),  in  partnership  with  the  National  Agency  for  Employment,  is 
currently  implementing  the project  “Facilitating  the  insertion  on  the labour market  of 
people  with  disabilities”,  project  co-financed  within  the  Human  Capital  Operational 
Programme 2014-2020.56  

The  project  included  carrying  out  a  campaign  to  inform  potential  users  about  the 
available and the advantages of purchasing assistive products. Moreover, vouchers of 
up  to  EUR  5  000  are  awarded  to  people  with  disabilities  fulfilling  the  following 
requirements: they have a disability attested by a certificate; they are unemployed and 
are currently searching for a job and are aged 18-65 years old.  

52   Ministry of European Funds and the Authority for the Digitization of Romania (Ministerul Fondurilor 
Europene și Autoritatea pentru Digitalizarea României), Minimis aid scheme of 8 December 2020 
(Schemă de ajutor de minimis din 8 decembrie 2020), Art. 15, available [in Romanian] at 
http://legislatie.just.ro/Public/DetaliiDocumentAfis/235528. 

53   Ministry of European Funds and the Authority for the Digitization of Romania, Art. 16. 
54   Ministry of European Funds and the Authority for the Digitization of Romania, Art. 17. 
55   Ministry of European Funds and the Authority for the Digitization of Romania, Art. 14. 
56   The National Authority for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Children and Adoptions, (2020), 
Facilitating the insertion of people with disabilities on the labour market (Facilitarea inserției pe 
piața muncii a persoanelor cu dizabilități), Press release, 31 March 2021, available [in Romanian] 
at http://andpdca.gov.ro/w/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Comunicat-presa-Martie-2021-31_03.pdf. 

21 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

In  order  to  encourage  people  to  purchase  these  products,  ANDPDCA  created  an 
infoline opened daily from 12 to 14, published informative videos and provided on a 
page dedicated to this subject information about available products, distributors of this 
products, and the procedure related to obtaining the vouchers.57 No information was 
available, at the moment of the finalisation of this report, in relation to the number of 
such vouchers that been awarded. 

STEP-HEAR Romania – private initiative, collaborating with private institutions58 

Step-Hear is a smart solution, created in Israel, that provides guidance for the people 
with  visual  impairments.  Based  on  Bluetooth  technology  and  proximity  sensors,  the 
step-hear system is able to provide information, in audio format, through their mobile 
phones, to people with visual impairments, helping them to explore physical space. 

The Step-hear application shows the user which objectives are made accessible using 
the Step-hear system. Whenever the user approaches a step-hear accessible object 
of interest, they receive instructions on their mobile phone regarding where they are 
and how they can reach that objective (e.g. building access door, etc.). 

The  Step-Hear  system  has  been  installed  in  Romania  in  several  locations,  through 
partnerships  with  private  entities,  such  as  malls,  as  well  as  public  institutions  and 
academic  and  educational  institutions,  such  as  the  University  of  Bucharest,  the 
University  of  Agronomic  Sciences  and  Veterinary  Medicine  in  Bucharest,  the   
Bucharest City Hall Sector 159 and the Cluj Napoca City Hall.60 

Step-Hear also employs an important number of people with disabilities.61 

Voices for Hands: Remote Video Interpretation62 

The  project  "Voices  for Hands:  Remote  Video  Interpretation"  is implemented  by the 
National Association of the Deaf in Romania  - Bucharest Branch and funded by the 
Orange Foundation. 

The  aim  of  the  project  is  to  improve  the  quality  of  services  of  interpretation  in  sign 
language in the Romanian deaf community and in its relationship with society through 
the creation, development and implementation of a remote video interpretation system. 

57   The National Authority for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Children and Adoptions, (2020), 
Facilitating the insertion of people with disabilities on the labour market (Facilitarea inserției pe 
piața muncii a persoanelor cu dizabilități), available [in Romanian] at 
http://andpdca.gov.ro/w/tehnologia-asistiva/. 

58   For more information see http://www.step-hear.com.ro/prezentarea-step-hear/205.  
59   For more information see http://www.step-hear.com.ro/ambasadorii-step-hear/288.  
60   Step-Hear, (2020), Test Step-Hear in Cluj-Napoca (Testează Step-Hear în Cluj-Napoca), Press 

Release, 19 February 2021, available [in Romanian] at http://www.step-hear.com.ro/testeaz-step-
hear-n-cluj-napoca/32.html. 

61   Step-Hear, (2020), Step-Hear is a protected unit (Step-Hear este unitate protejată), Press Release, 
19 February 2021, available [in Romanian] at http://www.step-hear.com.ro/step-hear-este-unitate-
protejata/31.html.  

62   For more information see http://www.vocipentrumaini.ro/site/despre. 

22 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

The "Voices for Hands" interpretation application is available in web format, as well as 
a  mobile  application  for  "Android"  and  "iOS"  systems.  Registered  deaf  people  can 
request  interpretation  services  by  sending  a  call  to  all  interpreters  available  on  the 
platform. The first interpreter who accepts the call will enter into audio-video contact 
with the applicant, interpreting remotely. 

The beneficiary has the option to choose one of the predefined interpretation situations 
(for  example,  "bank",  "post  office",  "pharmacy",  etc.)  in  order  to  provide  additional 
information to the interpreter who would accept the cal.  

Lumen Glasses for the blind63 

The  lumen  glasses  offer  a  system  for  people  who  are  blind  or  have  severe  visual 
impairments. Founded in 2020 by Romanian engineers, lumen has a team of over 30 
engineers, professors, disability experts, designers and scientists who use the latest 
AI and robotics technologies to enhance the life of the blind. 

The system is still in the pre-production phase, but it has already attracted over EUR 
1  million  in  investment  funds.  Its  initiators  declared  that  they  are  trying  to  initiate 
collaboration with public authorities, so that the glasses are offered to the people who 
need them at a reduced price. 

4.2  How disability inclusion is promoted through the education and training of 

digital professionals 

Programmes  available  at  universities  and  other  educational  facilities  for  digital 
professionals  were  examined  while  carrying  out  this  research;  no  element  aimed  at 
disability  inclusion  was  identified.  There  was  however  identified  the  private  initiative 
presented below, which might be relevant. 

Coding courses for children with hearing impairments 

There  are  a  variety  of  private  initiatives  of  offering  free  or  paid  coding  courses  for 
children,  including  children  with  hearing  impairments.  Some  of  them  also  aim  at 
educating and involving in the education of children digital professionals. 

For example, The Dalia’s Book Association proposes a free online coding club, called 
"Code Hero", which will operate son a voluntary basis. The programme mentors are 
selected  among  IT  professionals  and  technical  faculty  students  who  want  to  bring 
change in the lives of children. The programme, initiated in 2020, was initially dedicated 
to  students  aged  between  9  and  13  in  urban  and  rural  areas  throughout  Romania, 
including students with hearing impairments. It subsequently extended its target group 
to children up to 16.64 

In  order  to  be  able  to  participate  in  the  courses,  children  need  to  have  access  to  a 
computer and internet at home. Volunteer IT professionals are recruited and trained to 

63   For more information see https://www.dotlumen.com/post/glasses-that-aid-the-mobility-of-the-blind.  
64   See https://www.carteadaliei.ro/ and Dalia’s Book (Cartea Daliei), (2020), Code Hero begins, a 
coding club for children (Incepe Code Hero, un club online gratuit de programare pentru copii), 
available [in Romanian] at https://ziare.com/scoala/educatie/incepe-code-hero-un-club-online-
gratuit-de-programare-pentru-copii-1603369.  

23 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

actively participate in the implementation of the programme and supporting children 
online. They teach exclusively online, once a week, for 50 minutes, using the Scratch 
programming platform and the open-source curriculum Creative Computing resources 
developed  by  research  groups  at  MIT  and  the  Harvard  University  from  the  United 
States. The classes are organized through the online platform Google Classroom, and 
the  communication  between  mentors  and  students  is  done  by  way  of  video 
conferences, through Google Hangouts Meet.65 

A  similar  initiative,  this  time  aimed  solely  at  children  with  hearing  impairments,  is 
carried  out  by  the  Light  into  Europe  Foundation,  their  project  being  financed  by  the 
Ford Motor Company Fund.66 The main objective of the project is to start with involving 
50 students with hearing impairments, a number which is to be increased in the future. 
These  students  are  to  be  supported  to  develop  coding  skills,  through  the  Scratch 
method. The project also aims to train at least 10 teachers and educators in supporting 
programming sessions. Moreover, the project aims to create an educational resource 
in sign language with terminology related to the IT sector and programming. 

4.3  How digital inclusion and accessibility is addressed in the education and 

training of accessibility and inclusion professionals 

Private  initiative:  The  digitalisation  of  the  neuromotor  management  and  recovery 
process with the help of technology67 

This Project is being carried out by the Mihai Neșu Foundation, being partially funded 
by the Vodafone Foundation (RON 170 000 of the total cost of RON 250 000). The 
project supports the beneficiaries and the employees of the Foundation, by digitalising 
the  management  and  neuromotor  recovery  processes,  which  will  allow  streamlining 
workflows, improving case management and increasing the quality of life of children 
with  neuromotor disabilities  in  the Bihor County  and  surrounding  areas.  The  project 
involves streamlining the management process through a platform, specifically created 
for  the  Recovery  Centre  for  children  with  neuromotor disabilities  Sfântul  Nectarie  in 
Oradea, a platform that can be accessed by employees and parents of the beneficiary 
children directly from the mobile phone. The platform will keep a digital record of the 
children's medical history, of their appointments for therapies, of their attendance and 
cash registers, of stock of consumables, of several types of internal reports and will be 
an  easy  means  of  communication  between  parents  and  therapists,  which  will  be 
updated  in  real  time,  being  accessible  to  everyone,  from  anywhere,  through  mobile 
phones. 

65  See https://www.carteadaliei.ro/ and Dalia’s Book (Cartea Daliei), (2020), Code Hero begins, a 
coding club for children (Incepe Code Hero, un club online gratuit de programare pentru copii), 
available [in Romanian] at https://ziare.com/scoala/educatie/incepe-code-hero-un-club-online-
gratuit-de-programare-pentru-copii-1603369. 

66  Gazeta de Sud, (2020), Craiova. The first coding club for students with hearing impairments 
(Craiova. Primul club de programare pentru elevii cu deficienţe de auz), 25 February 2020, 
available [in Romanian] at https://www.gds.ro/Educatie/2020-02-25/craiova-primul-club-de-
programare-pentru-elevii-cu-deficiente-de-auz/. 

67   Mihai Neşu Foundation, (2020), The digitialisation of the neuromotor management and recovery 
process with the help of technology (Digitalizarea procesului de management și recuperare 
neuromotorie cu ajutorul tehnologiei), Press Release, 20 September 2020, available [in Romanian] 
at https://www.mihainesufoundation.com/ro/centrul-de-recuperare-sfantul-nectarie/proiecte.html.  

24 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

The project also involves financing the purchase of an endurance and running treadmill 
equipped  with  an  airwalk  fall  protection  system  and  a  movement  support  and 
resistance increase system. The project started its implementation in October 2020.  

AMAIS (Association of Alternative Methods of Social Integration)68 

This  Association  specializes  in  ensuring  accessibility  through  architecture  and 
technology. Its team, composed of both people with and without disabilities, provides 
services related to architecture and design, software development, social assistance, 
pedagogy and data analysis. 

Its purpose is to create an inclusive community and smart cities. The Association was 
created as a response to a lack of education available for professionals specialised in 
the services, they are offering in relation to taking into consideration, in their work, the 
needs of people with disabilities. It therefore created a space where professionals from 
a variety of fields can meet and contribute to the creation of an inclusive community. 

AMAIS provides services which include assessments and reporting on the accessibility 
of spaces, services, websites and mobile applications. AMAIS carries out a series of 
projects, such as Senseability. This project is aimed at transforming existing spaces 
into  inclusive  social  contexts.  It  transforms  existing  spaces  into  socio-cultural 
platforms,  meeting  places  for  people  with  visual  impairments  and  people  without 
disabilities through a multisensory approach. 

SenseAbility wants to implement a multidisciplinary way of approaching the problems 
faced by people with visual disabilities in the existing urban context. This is done by 
discovering a space built by using the non-visual senses. Senseability therefore gets 
visitors of certain spaces to explore the spatial complexity hidden behind the visuals, 
that has developed a one-sided perspective on space. From a social point of view, the 
aim  is  to  establish  a  channel  of  communication  between  people  with  visual 
impairments and people with no such impairments.69 

AMAIS also led the distribution of 70 WeWalk smart canes for blind people and people 
with visual impairments, providing trainings for their users.70 The services offered by 
AMAIS  are  available  to  all  those  interested,  including  private  companies  and  public 
authorities. In addition, AMAIS also provides such services free of charge, having a 
rande of private companies funding them.71 

4.4  How  digital  inclusion  is  addressed  via  the  training  of  people  with 

disabilities 

In Section 2.2. of this report process of adopting the Strategy on the Digitalisation of 
Education in Romania -SMART-Edu was briefly presented. It was underlined that, in 
its operational plan related to the Development of digital skills of pupils and students 
priority  axe  of  action,  the  draft  Strategy  includes,  as  a  specific  measure,  the 
development  and  implementation  of  accessible  digital  literacy  programmes  for 
students with disabilities (e.g. the use of applications such as Jaws / NVDA for visually 

68   For more information see https://amais.ro/despre-noi/.  
69   For more information see https://amais.ro/senseability/. 
70   For more information see https://www.facebook.com/AMAis.ro. 
71   For more information see Despre noi - AMAis. 

25 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

impaired students, for applications related to augmentative communication for students 
with ASD, etc.).72 

While  there  are  therefore  plans  to  provide  access  to  such  trainings  for  people  with 
disabilities, it must be underlined that no coherent national practice with such objective 
was identified. Therefore, below examples can be found of relevant practices across 
both public and private entities. 

Initiatives carried out within universities, aimed at ensuring the inclusiveness of 
the academic environment 

The Office for Students with Disabilities of the Babes-Bolyai University73 

The  Office  for  Students  with  Disabilities  facilitates  and  supports  the  inclusion  of 
students  with  special  educational  needs  into  the  academic  life,  by  identifying  these 
needs and by informing the academic personnel about the learning needs of students 
with disabilities. It promotes values such as care, inclusion, diversity, respect, focus on 
the individual needs, accessibility and collaboration.  

It  provides  counselling  to  students  with  special  learning  needs  and  opportunities  to 
volunteer in activities regarding the physical and social accessibility of the academic 
environment  (learning,  evaluation),  as  well  as  of  other  spaces  related  to  the  social 
activity of students, including the students with special needs. 

It also constitutes a point of contact for those searching to collaborate with centres, 
NGOs and institutions that are offering information and services related to accessibility, 
medical  support,  vocational  training  and/or  training  of  several  skills  for  helping  and 
caring for persons with disabilities.  

The Office collaborates with private entities and association specialised in providing 
support to people with disabilities.74 As an example, it collaborates with the Centre for 
Assistive Technology and Access. 

Support  for  students  with  disabilities  within  the  Tibiscus  Faculty  of  Computers  and 
Applied Informatics75 

The Faculty of Computers and Applied Informatics organizes its activity in such a way 
as to ensure equal opportunities for people with disabilities regarding admission and 
participation in studies, as follows: 

•  

•  

•  

ensures  the  participation  in  admission  and  in  all  activities  of  persons  with 
disabilities,  
provides  continuous  logistical  support  for  people  with  disabilities,  consisting  of 
auxiliary materials, equipment and adapted curriculum, as appropriate; 
ensures  or  allows  the  presence  of  support  teachers  or  allows  the  presence  of 
companions during activities, as appropriate. 

72   For more information see Despre noi - AMAis, p. 22. 
73   More information available at http://bsd.centre.ubbcluj.ro/for-students/. 
74  More information available at  http://bsd.centre.ubbcluj.ro/resources-and-collaborators/. 
75   Tibiscus University, General information, available [in Romanian] at http://fcia.tibiscus.ro/info-

studenti/admitere2018/. 

26 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

Similar  initiatives  have  been  identified  at  other  universities,  such  as  the  Hyperion 
University in Bucharest76 and the West University from Timişoara.77 

Quality  inclusive  education  within  the  academic  community  of  the  University  of 
Bucharest78 

The  University  of  Bucharest  implements  a  series  of  measures  for  the  inclusion  of 
people  with  disabilities  -  students,  professors  and  administrative  staff  -  through  a 
project  entitled  "Quality  inclusive  education  within  the  academic  community  of  the 
University of Bucharest, with a focus on people with disabilities", funded by the Ministry 
of Education and Research through the Institutional Development Fund (FDI).  

Changes  will  be  carried  out  for  the  accessibility  and  modernization  of  the  access 
infrastructure in the spaces of the University. At the same time, efforts will be made to 
expand  the  guidance  system  with  step-hear  technology  for  people  with  visual 
impairments. The project also provides interventions for the accessibility of educational 
and residential spaces for students with disabilities. An important dimension aims to 
increase the university's capacity to provide visually impaired students with access to 
quality  information  and  education through  the purchased  technologies and  assistive 
software.  Also,  starting  with  the  academic  year  2020  -  2021,  the  University  of 
Bucharest provides students with new accessible educational resources. Students with 
disabilities  will  be  able  to  benefit  from  counselling,  career  guidance  and  mentoring 
sessions, supported by specialists in the field. Last but not least, a network of student 
volunteers will support young people with disabilities in accessing the administrative 
and educational services provided by the university.  

Through  public  debates,  the  project  team aims  to  bring  up  issues such as  ensuring 
free  and  equal  access  to  quality  education,  promoting  diversity  and  inclusive 
education, respecting human rights and ensuring the well-being of all beneficiaries of 
education and training services. 

Private  initiatives,  aimed  at  supporting  people  with  disabilities  in  continuing 
their studies 

Google scholarships for students with disabilities79 

Students with disabilities who are passionate about technology can sign up for Google 
scholarships.  They  would  receive  a  yearly  EUR  7  000  stipend.  Applications  were 
opened to students enrolled in an accredited university institution in Europe, wanting 
to study computer science, IT engineering, computers, or similar fields. 

76   Hyperion University, Support for students with disabilities (Sprijin studenţi cu dizabilităţi), available 
[in Romanian] at https://www.hyperion.ro/structura-si-organizare/sprijin-studenti-cu-dizabilitati. 

77   West University of Timişoara, Accesibility for Students with Disabilities (Accesibilitate pentru 

studenţii cu dizabilităţi), available [in Romanian] at https://admitere.uvt.ro/student-la-
uvt/accesibilitate-pentru-studentii-cu-dizabilitati/. 

78   Bursa, (2020), University inclusion for people with disabilities (Incluziune universitară pentru 

persoanele cu dizabilităţi), 15 July 2020 available [in Romanian] at https://www.bursa.ro/sanse-
egale-incluziune-universitara-pentru-persoanele-cu-dizabilitati-43640047. 

79   StartupCafe, Google scholarships for students with disabilities (Burse Google pentru studenţii cu 

dizabilităţi), available [in Romanian] at https://www.startupcafe.ro/afaceri/bursa-studenti-dizabilitati-
google.htm. 

27 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

Initiatives targeting specifically blind people and people with hearing or visual 
impairments 

Private initiatives, with public institutions as collaborators – BLINDHub80 

The project BLINDHub is to be carried out by the Association of the Blind in Romania 
and the University of Bucharest. The project started in 2020 and is to be carried out up 
until 2022, aiming at meeting the needs of over 50 000 people, including people with 
visual impairments, in the context of the digitalisation trend and the growing demand 
among well-trained human capital employers. The BLINDHub project is funded by the 
Orange Foundation with the amount of EUR 482 000 (EUR 86 000). 

BLINDHub has a national coverage and aims at creating at mobile application which 
will facilitate the access for people with visual impairments on the labour market and 
in academia. 

The main component of the project is the mobile application in which beneficiaries will 
be  able  to  create,  for  free,  a  complete  professional  profile  based  on  a  video  CV. 
Interested companies will have the opportunity to filter the database and send interview 
requests directly to candidates. The CV video material will be made with the support 
of  the  project  team  within  the  2  BLINDHub  centres  in  Bucharest  or  in  the  country, 
during  the  events  organized  in  5  big  cities,  in  order  to  promote  the  benefits  of  the 
application, both among employees and employers. 

Access to libraries for blind people and people with visual impairments 

There  are  several  initiatives  in  Romania  to  ensure  access  to  people  with  visual 
impairments to libraries, which contributes to their access to education. For example, 
libraries can use Biblionet Romania to provide people with visual impairments access 
to  its  services.  Biblionet  Romania  is  programme  which  includes  the  provision  of 
services such as a voice recognition software and other specialized digital tools such 
as email, search engines, music online, chat and radio broadcast accessible for people 
with visual impairments.81  

A similar initiative is being carried out since 2013 by the National Romanian Library, 
within the project The Sounds of the Pages.82 

Coding courses for children with hearing impairments 

This initiative is similar to Code Hero, a project briefly presented in Section 4.3. This 
initiative is aimed solely at children with hearing impairments and is carried out by the 
Light into Europe Foundation, their project being financed by the Ford Motor Company 

80   The Romanian National Council for Disability (Consiliul Naţional al Dizabilităţii din România), 

(2020),  BLINDHub, the first mobile application that will contribute to the professional integration of 
people with visual impairments (BLINDHub, prima aplicație mobilă ce va contribui la integrarea 
profesională a persoanelor cu deficiențe de vedere), 30 octomber 2020, available [in Romanian] at 
https://jurnal-social.ro/blindhub-prima-aplicatie-mobila-ce-va-contribui-la-integrarea-profesionala-a-
persoanelor-cu-deficiente-de-vedere/. 

81   Romanian Government, (2020), National Strategy on the Digital Agenda for Romania for 2020 

(Strategia Națională privind Agenda Digitală pentru România 2020), p. 76. 
82   For more information see http://www.bibnat.ro/Sunetul-paginilor-s312-ro.htm. 

28 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

Fund.83  The  main  objective  of  the  project  is  to  start  with  involving  50  students  with 
hearing impairments, a number which is to be increased in the future. These students 
are to be supported to develop coding skills, through the Scratch method. The project 
also  aims  to  train  at  least  10  teachers  and  educators  in  supporting  programming 
sessions.  Moreover,  the  project  aims  to  create  an  educational  resource  in  sign 
language with terminology related to the IT sector and programming. 

Initiatives aimed at supporting life-long educational training 

Distance learning courses84 

The Tîrgovişte University concluded an agreement with a day care centre for people 
with disabilities in order to encourage its beneficiaries to enrol in education. 12 people 
consequently  started  attending  bachelor  courses  in  Mathematics  and  Informatics, 
receiving support from the team resulted from the collaboration of the two institutions. 

Without carrying out an exhaustive and through assessment of such initiative, we can 
notice most of them target young people with disabilities, with less opportunities being 
available  in  relation  to  life-long  training,  moreover,  measures  aimed  at  supporting 
people with hearing and/or visual impairments and people with physical disabilities are 
more widely spread and have been in place for longer periods of time;  the measures 
proposed to support people with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities are still in an 
incipient phase when it comes to digitalisation and digital transformation. 

83  Gazeta de Sud, (2020), Craiova. The first coding club for students with hearing impairments 
(Craiova. Primul club de programare pentru elevii cu deficienţe de auz), 25 February 2020, 
available [in Romanian] at https://www.gds.ro/Educatie/2020-02-25/craiova-primul-club-de-
programare-pentru-elevii-cu-deficiente-de-auz/. 

84   IGJ, (2014), Faculty for people with disabilities (Facultate pentru persoanele cu handicap), 
available [in Romanian] at https://www.igj.ro/social/facultate-persoanele-handicap.html. 

29 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

5 

The  opportunities  and  challenges  presented  by  digitalisation  and  digital 
transformation to the rights of persons with disabilities 

5.1  The  most significant  opportunities  presented  by  digitalisation and digital 

transformation for persons with disabilities 

Digitalisation and digital transformation did not yet gain priority in the agenda of non-
governmental actors traditionally fighting for the rights of people with disabilities. An 
exception might be access to assistive technologies, which have always had priority 
for the organisations promoting the rights of people with physical disabilities. This lack 
of prioritisation of digitalisation and digital transformation might relate to the fact that 
people  with  disabilities  still  face  a  significant  range of more  traditional human  rights 
violations,  in  relation  to  which  organisations  promoting  their  rights  already  have 
expertise  and  experience;  this  is  expected  to  change,  as  funds  are  being  made 
available in related to digitalisation and the opportunities offered by digitalisation will 
become more widely known. 

For nor, from the discussions that do exist, corroborated with the ideas promoted by 
new organisations and entities that were born and are more interested in technological 
developments, potential opportunities did arise. They most commonly refer to one of 
the following areas:  

1.  Web accessibility and access to online services, particularly those services made 

available online by public institutions 

A growing range of basic services tend to be transferred online, a process accelerated 
by the constraints of interaction in the physical environment imposed in the context of 
the  COVID-19  pandemic.  This  can  be  perceived  as  an  opportunity  for  people  with 
disabilities  if  measures  are  taken  to  ensure  their  access  to  such  services.  Such 
measures need to be adapted to different levels of support needs. 

2. 

Transportation and physical accessibility 

People with disabilities often face obstacles when trying to use public transport to travel 
within or between villages/towns/cities. Certain measures were taken to alleviate this 
problem, such as measures related to physical accessibility and providing free tickets 
for people with disabilities.85  

However, in  order to  offer such benefits,  private  companies need to  firstly  conclude 
agreements with local authorities. The lists of these companies are not comprehensive 
and are not created taking into consideration the travel itineraries, schedules and the 
support needs of people with disabilities.  

There is therefore a lack of systematic information, easily accessible online, both on 
the supply of accessible routes and on the demand for accessible transport services; 
this makes  planning  difficult  both  for  providers  of  transportation  and  for  people  with 
disabilities. On the one hand, the lack of information provided by transport operators 

85   Ministry of Labour and Social Protection and the World Bank, (2020), Diagnosis of the situation of 
people with disabilities in Romania (Diagnoza situației persoanelor cu dizabilități în România),  pp. 
63-66, available [in Romanian] at http://andpdca.gov.ro/w/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Diagnoza-
situatiei-persoanelor-cu-dizabilitati-in-Romania-2020-RO.pdf. 

30 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

on issues such as the availability of accessible routes, their capacity and waiting times 
make  it  difficult  for  people  with  disabilities  to  plan  and,  as  a  consequence,  reduces 
demand. On the other hand, for operators to plan how services are to be provided and 
what reasonable accommodation must be provided, they need information on when 
such services are needed, how many people need them and what support needs these 
people  have.  No  such  information  is  gathered  or  made  available  to  them.86  These 
issues could be addressed through the use of electronic systems and tools available 
online. 

In addition, more and more attention is awarded, to using application to support people 
with visual impairments in their daily activities carried out within the community, in rural 
and urban areas, in relation to private or public services. 

3.  Coherence of the regulation, provision and monitoring of social services 

In Romania, there are a variety of instruments to be used in ensuring access to social 
services  for  people  with  disabilities  living  in  the  community  and  for  people  with 
disabilities  who  are  institutionalised.  There  are  several  problems  in  relation  to  the 
manner these instruments are being used and to the manner of gathering data and 
information which should transpose into an efficient provision of services.  

To take a few examples, according to an assessment carried out in 2020, while there 
are some tools standardized at national level for the provision of social services, given 
that there is no specific methodology for their use and monitoring, there are different 
practices  at  the  county  level,  which  results  in  disparities  at  the  national  level.  Case 
management for adults with disabilities is provided for in the legislation, but the manner 
in which is to be carried out is provided in details only for people who live in residential 
centres.87 

Although the collection of data on persons with disabilities is extensive, the subsequent 
statistical  use  of  these  data  is  practically  non-existent,  given  that  there  is  no 
aggregation  mechanism  to  produce  relevant  information  on  the  situation  of  persons 
with  disabilities  at  national  level.88  There  is  also  no  systematic  monitoring  of  the 
situation of services for people with disabilities.  

There are also problems with the evaluation of the quality of provided social services 
and  with  their  accreditation  a  re-accreditation.  For  example,  in  order,  to  obtain 
accreditation, a provider of social services for people with disabilities should have a 
minimum  of  30  documents  in  paper  or  electronic  format.  It  would  therefore  highly 
recommended that this procedure by digitalised and simplified and that information be 
gathered  in  a  consolidated  form,  in  a  common  database  used  by  central  and  local 
authorities.   

86   Ministry of Labour and Social Protection and the World Bank, (2020), Diagnosis of the situation of 
people with disabilities in Romania (Diagnoza situației persoanelor cu dizabilități în România),  pp. 
63-66, available [in Romanian] at http://andpdca.gov.ro/w/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Diagnoza-
situatiei-persoanelor-cu-dizabilitati-in-Romania-2020-RO.pdf. 

87   Ministry of Labour and Social Protection and the World Bank, (2020), Diagnosis of the situation of 
people with disabilities in Romania (Diagnoza situației persoanelor cu dizabilități în România),  pp. 
162-172, available [in Romanian] at http://andpdca.gov.ro/w/wp-
content/uploads/2020/12/Diagnoza-situatiei-persoanelor-cu-dizabilitati-in-Romania-2020-RO.pdf. 

88  Ministry of Labour and Social Protection and the World Bank, (2020). 

31 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

The National Disability Management System, presented in section 4.1, was created to 
deal with these issues. On one side there is this assessment, which was carried out in 
2020, when the project on the System was in its initial phase of implementation. On 
the  other  side,  there  is  no  publicly  available  information  on  the  stages  of  the 
implementation of the project. Therefore, an assessment of its impact cannot be made 
at this stage. What can be said for certain is that digitalisation and digital transformation 
can have an important positive impact on the provision of social services. 

5.2  The  most  significant  challenges  faced  by  persons  with  disabilities  in 

relation to digitalisation and digital transformation 

According to Eurostat, in 2019 43 % of Romanians aged 16-74 had low digital skills, 
this being the highest percentage registered in the European Union. Only 10 % of the 
population had superior digital skills, making Romania the worst, from this point of view, 
from the EU.89 One fifth of Romanians have reportedly never used the internet.90 The 
digital skills are usually better and cities and from worse to significantly worse in towns 
and suburbs and in the rural areas.91 This data is relevant for people with disabilities 
as well. 

People  with  disabilities  have  a  lower  probability  to  access  information  and  services 
available online, with such access being even more difficult for people with high level 
support needs. It was found that most people with disabilities in Romania do not use 
the Internet to access information and services, and of those who do use it, a significant 
proportion experience difficulties.92 Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, when online 
access  to  services  became  even  more  important,  most  people  with  disabilities  in 
Romania were found not have used the internet in the previous month; this rate was 
of  50  %  among  people  with  some  level  of  impairment  and  of  60  %  for  people  with 
severe disabilities. Moreover, people with disabilities living in rural areas had it even 
worse; so did people with disabilities aged over 65.93 

In relation to access to information and services provided online by public institutions 
and other actors, a 2020 accessibility control campaign conducted in Romania, only 3 
out  of  1  441  public  institutions  assessed  had  taken  measures  to  ensure  the 
accessibility of the services provided online for people with disabilities. Moreover, only 

89   Eurostat, (2019), Eurostat regional yearbook 2019 edition, pp. 140-141, available at 

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/3217494/10095393/KS-HA-19-001-EN-N.pdf/d434affa-
99cd-4ebf-a3e3-6d4a5f10bb07?t=1574339587000. 

90   European Commission, (2020), Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI). 2020 Romania, p. 3, 

available at https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/dae/document.cfm?doc_id=66928. 
91   Eurostat, (2019), Eurostat regional yearbook 2019 edition, pp. 140-141, available at 

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/3217494/10095393/KS-HA-19-001-EN-N.pdf/d434affa-
99cd-4ebf-a3e3-6d4a5f10bb07?t=1574339587000. 

92   Ministry of Labour and Social Protection and the World Bank, (2020), Diagnosis of the situation of 
people with disabilities in Romania (Diagnoza situației persoanelor cu dizabilități în România),  pp. 
57-63, available [in Romanian] at http://andpdca.gov.ro/w/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Diagnoza-
situatiei-persoanelor-cu-dizabilitati-in-Romania-2020-RO.pdf. 

93   Ministry of Labour and Social Protection and the World Bank, (2020), Diagnosis of the situation of 
people with disabilities in Romania (Diagnoza situației persoanelor cu dizabilități în România),  pp. 
57-63, available [in Romanian] at http://andpdca.gov.ro/w/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Diagnoza-
situatiei-persoanelor-cu-dizabilitati-in-Romania-2020-RO.pdf. 

32 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

in  32 %  of  the  1  544  public  institutions  assessed  with  this  purpose  had  a  person 
designated to assist people with disabilities.94 

Taken  this into  consideration,  the  opportunities  created  in the  realm  of  digitalisation 
and digital transformation for people with disabilities can be reduced, with many not 
being able to enjoy any of the benefits. Therefore, careful consideration needs to be 
given to the specific, often significant, barriers faced by people with disabilities, as well 
as  to  the  difficulties  related  to  infrastructure,  and  not  only,  faced  by  the  entire 
population. 

94   Ministry of Labour and Social Protection and the World Bank, (2020), Diagnosis of the situation of 
people with disabilities in Romania (Diagnoza situației persoanelor cu dizabilități în România),  pp. 
57-63, available [in Romanian] at http://andpdca.gov.ro/w/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Diagnoza-
situatiei-persoanelor-cu-dizabilitati-in-Romania-2020-RO.pdf. 

33 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

6 

Conclusions and recommendations 

6.1  Conclusions 

One  fifth  of  Romanians  have  never  used  the  internet.  Moreover,  most  people  with 
disabilities in Romania do not use the Internet to access information and services, and 
of those who do use it, a significant proportion experience difficulties. Access to online 
information  and  services  is  very  difficult,  accessibility  not  being  at  the  moment 
implemented on a large scale not even among public institutions. Moreover, Romania 
is ranking the lowest from EU Member States in the number of people having superior 
digital skills (only 10 %), leading with the highest percentage of people with low digital 
skills (43 %).   

Digitalisation  and  digital  transformation  is  gaining  more  and  more  attention  among 
decision makers and other stakeholders across Romania. The restructured Authority 
for the Digitalisation of Romania was made responsible, yet again, with ensuring a swift 
transition  to  a  society  where  technological  development,  smart  cities  and  smart 
planning are customary. 

The inclusiveness of this new type of society, by taking into consideration the needs of 
people with disabilities, appears to have been trending among decision makers. This 
trend  was  however  not  consistent,  nor  overarching.  Proposed  objectives  and 
measures are scattered across strategies, plans of action and ongoing projects. 

Romania  might  soon  start  working  on  a  new  national  digital  strategy.  It  is  currently 
adopting a Strategy on the Digitalisation of Education in Romania  -SMART-Edu and 
replacing the old national disability strategy with the 2021-2027 National Strategy on 
the  rights  of  persons  with  disabilities.  Projects  such  as  the  creation  of  a  National 
Disability  Management  System  are  carried  out  to  address  some  of  the  most  ardent 
issues  faced  by  people  with  disabilities,  which  can  be  tackled  by  digitalisation  and 
digital transformation. These issues include a social services system which is at the 
moment characterised by incoherence, divergent practices and difficult access. They 
also  relate  to  failures  in  ensuring  the  mobility  of  people  with  disabilities  and  their 
inclusion in the community. Moreover, the implementation of proposed changes relies 
heavily on EU Funds. 

While  on  paper  and  at  the  commitment  level  objectives  and  proposed  measures 
appear reasonable and feasible, assumed obligations were not amended significantly 
in the past 5 years. Changes in practices have however been minor. 

Despite this, opportunities for people with disabilities to benefit from digitalisation and 
digital transformation do exist. Measures were initiated to ensure web accessibility and 
access to online services, particularly those services made available online by public 
institutions. If adequately implemented, the digitalisation of the process could ensure 
the coherence of the regulation, provision and monitoring of social services. 

A digitalised system could also be used to ensure people with disabilities have access 
to  the  free  local  and national transportation available  for  them  according  to  national 
laws;  people  with  visual impairments  could also  highly benefit of  the  creation  of  so-
called smart cities, which can communicate with them through mobile applications.  

34 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

Relevant projects, funded through EU Funds, are currently being implemented. They 
include  the  creation  of  a  National  Disability  Management  System,  support  for  the 
digitalisation  of  companies,  support  in  accessing  assistive  technologies  and  the 
development of an inclusive urban policy. Some of them include certain accessibility 
related  requirements;  whenever  the  target  group  is  people  with  disabilities, 
accessibility  is  required,  at  least  for  the  specific  type  as  disability  addressed  by  the 
project. The projects addressing wider groups, such as, for example, that on support 
for  the  digitalisation  of  companies,  are  unlikely  to  include  general  accessibility 
requirements;  such  requirement  are  inherent  to  the  project  applications,  within  this 
general scheme, which target particularly people with disabilities.  There are as well 
numerous private initiatives aimed at, for example, supporting the creation of inclusive 
spaces  and  services.  Private  entities  are  developing  services,  such  as  mobile 
applications,  to  support  the  mobility  and  inclusion  in  the  community  of  people  with 
disabilities.  There  also  scattered  initiatives  aimed  at  ensuring  the  development  of 
digital skills among pupils and students with disabilities, such as support measures at 
the university level and code courses for children. 

There is however little coherence of these practices, particularly at a legislative and 
policy level. Having no or inconsistent access to funding from the state budget, most 
of  the  identified  promising  practices  are  facing  risk  regarding  their  feasibility  and 
sustainability.  People  with  disabilities  therefore  end  up  negotiating  individually  their 
participation  or  remain  dependent  of  assistive  services  provided  by  private  entities, 
aimed at particular groups and therefore responding to particular support needs; these 
are not sufficient to ensure accessibility and the inclusion of all people with disabilities.  

In this context, Romania needs to adapt its approach to promotive disability inclusion 
in the era of digitalisation and digital transformation, creating coherent and sustainable 
legislative and policy measures, as well as adequate funding schemes to support their 
implementation. 

6.2  Recommendations 

The  Authority  for  the  Digitalisation  of  Romania  should  ensure  the  disability 
inclusiveness of the new digital strategy which is to be developed. This strategy should 
ensure  a  coherence  of  adopted  measures,  across  sectors  of  activity; 
its 
implementation  must  be  ensured  by  providing  it  with  efficient  instruments  and 
adequate funding. 

The  Strategy  on  the  Digitalisation  of  Education  in  Romania  -SMART-Edu  can 
potentially have a significant impact on promoting the rights of people, and particularly 
those  of  children  and  young  people  with  disabilities.  Its  speedily  adoption  and 
implementation are highly desirable, as is the adoption of adequate instruments and 
funding which will ensure its practical implementation.  

An  Accessibility  Code  should  be  created  by  the  National  Authority for  the  Rights  of 
Persons with Disabilities, Children and Adoptions in collaboration with the Authority for 
the Digitalisation of Romania and relevant Ministries (e.g. the Ministry of Labour and 
Social Protection and the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure and Communications).95 

95   As suggested in Ministry of Labour and Social Protection and the World Bank, (2020), Diagnosis of 
the situation of people with disabilities in Romania (Diagnoza situației persoanelor cu dizabilități în 

35 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

This Code should take into consideration accessibility requirements as provided in the 
EU Web Accessibility Directive and the European Accessibility Act; it can be used as 
an efficient tool to transpose EU legislation in the domestic system. The Code should 
include  elements  regarding  accessibility  for  people  with  disabilities  with  all  types  of 
support needs, in the following areas: 

-  Web accessibility and access to online services, particularly those services made 

available online by public institutions by: 
o 

o 

o 

developing a guide for drafting public documents in easy-to-read and easy-
to-understand language; 
a set of standards for the accessibility of online services provided by public 
institutions; 
o  minimum standards for checking and monitoring the accessibility of all 
websites,  including  those  ensuring  access  to  services,  such  as 
ticketing  machines,  banking  and  ATMs,  e-books,  online  shopping 
websites and mobile apps; 

developing  an  occupational  standard  for  the  recognition  of  specialists  in 
creating accessible websites or otherwise able to support accessibility for 
people  with  disabilities  in  the  process  of  digitalisation  and  digital 
transformation. 

- 

- 

- 

o 

o 

Transportation, with elements on ensuring the accessibility of means of transport:  
o 
a set of minimum standards for the accessibility of means of transport;  
o 
conditioning  the  granting  of  the  certificate  approval  for  public  transport to 
complying with the minimum accessibility standards;  
an  obligation  of  public  transport  operators  to  provide  online  and  offline 
information on accessible and free routes for people with disabilities;  
sanctions on the refusal of private transport operators to conclude contracts 
to ensure the free transport of persons with disabilities; 
an obligation for public authorities to create local and regional assessments 
for  the  needs  of  people  with  disabilities,  taken  into  account  predictable 
variables and coordination between different local authorities (e.g. ensure 
wider access to transport means for people with disabilities during summer 
holidays in the areas located near the see); 
provisions on the obligation to make accessible services related to public 
transport  services  such  as  computer  applications  (e.g.  online  ticket 
purchase) which accompany transport services. 

o 

o 

Provision of social services: 
o 

o 

simplify  and  digitalise  procedures  related  to  the  accreditation  and  re-
accreditation of social services; 
provide  an  analysis  of  the  activities  carried  out  within  the  project  on  the 
National  Disability  Management  System  and  an  action  plan  for  the 
continuation of the project, with the objective to touch upon the deficiencies 
identified in the provision, monitoring and evaluation of social services. 

Access to assistive technologies for people with disabilities: 
o 

an  obligation  to  collect  data  related  to  health  and  long-term  care  needs, 
including those that may be met by assistive technology; this could be used 
develop evidence-based strategies, policies and programmes; 

România),  pp. 57-63, available [in Romanian] at http://andpdca.gov.ro/w/wp-
content/uploads/2020/12/Diagnoza-situatiei-persoanelor-cu-dizabilitati-in-Romania-2020-RO.pdf. 

36 

 
 
 
Digitalisation and digital transformation – Romania 

o  minimum standards related to the training of staff and the procurement of 
equipment,  in  order  to  ensure  that  assistive  products  are  available  at  all 
levels of health and social services;  
promote  and  invest  in  research,  development  and  product  design  to 
contribute  to  increasing  the  affordability  and  availability  of  assistive 
technologies.  

o 

37 

 
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