 IMAGINE THE FOLLOWING PROJECT… A little city/community embedded in scenic surroundings wants to pay tribute to its natural splendour. The city/community plans to build and arrange an educational trail. This trail is nicely chosen to offer a beautiful walk, at the same time it offers information on the ecological and historical/cultural highlights along it, this via installations such as information panels, quizzes and games An expert provided by the city/community designs roughly the trail. The city/community provides all the working material. For the actual building of the trail, 10 international volunteers and 5 local persons with disabilities work together with and under the supervision of workers of the community and at least one expert. They work for about two weeks, roughly six hours a day, 4 or 5 days per week. Of course the volunteers do not re-place paid working staff, rather they perform practical tasks suitable for voluntary work. And the practical tasks are of course also adapted to the needs and possibilities of the people with disabilities.
The international volunteers and the local people with disabilities live together, they cook together and have a joint programme. This programme includes social, inter-/cultural and educational elements, for instance discussions on matters relevant to youth and society, artistic workshops, little trainings eg on non-verbal communication, presenting each others’ countries, visiting a local museum, invite the local community for an international evening, and many more. At least two trainers or activity leaders are in charge of the group during the whole two weeks, supported by some persons in charge of facilitating the integration of the people with disabilities into the group and into the work/the practical tasks. Before, during and after the two weeks, preparation, mentorship and evaluation measures are provided.
Now let’s look at the the benefits of such a project. Via working and living together, the international volunteers and the people with disabilities set an example of lived and tangible international solidarity. Benefitial voluntary work is accomplished, the community receives an educational trail. Volunteerism, intercultural dialogue and respect are promoted. The people with disabilities are offered a safe opportunity at grass-root level to take a first step in international voluntary activities. They actively and visibly participate in society. Maybe some of them are encouraged to later go abroad themselves. The projects are not designed “exclusively” for people with disabilities, on the contrary, they are taken as regular participants such as the international volunteers, which is the real idea behind “inclusion”! And the international volunteers of course have a unique chance to show their enthusiasm and to get to know another country in a way a tourist would never have access and a chance to.
Obviously, many types of voluntary work are possible, for instance a vine grower might need help for the harvest, a local authority might want to build a playground in a public park, a festival can be organized, a school might want to repaint the front of its building, a garden of flowers might need renovation, a dancing performance can be created, and many more. The important characteristic however is that the work consist in practical/manual or artistic or sportive tasks suitable for volunteers, and be benefitial And now imagine that some or all of the international volunteers could actually be long-term EVS participants. Looking at the benefits again, we have to add that this would provide an enrichment to the long-term programme of the EVS participants and of course a sensitization measure. For the National Agencies, these modules are an opportunity to add a proven inclusive note to their programme(s), especially Action 2, producing visible and tangible examples of lived international and intercultural solidarity and benefitial volunteerism.
back
 “All Inclusive” is an EU-wide project aiming at increasing the participation of young people with disabilities in international voluntary activities.
Regional coordinators in Denmark, France, Italy, Latvia, Poland and Slovakia. Overall coordination in Austria.
TIME and PEOPLE. This project, which we have called “all inclusive”, lasts from fall 2005 to spring 2008 and shall directly involve more than 40 young disabled persons and more than 80 young non-disabled persons in international voluntary activities.
ACTIVITIES. 8 social-integrative pilot activities – Workcamps (EU-wide, in seven different countries) where people with disabilities are integrated into international short term voluntary activities.
2 international trainings for workcamp leaders developing and compiling methods and tools specialized on integrative short term activities.
MAIN OBJECTIVES
a) exchange and evaluate experiences, assess best practice in the relevant field
b) generally discuss, elaborate and describe ways of integrating people with disabilities in international voluntary activities (long term, short term, internationally, locally,…) c) specifically develop feasible models/modules/tools for inclusion that can be adopted by interested organisations all over Europe, with a strong focus on short term activities for mixed (disabled and non-disabled volunteers) groups, compatible with/enriching the programme YOUTH d) provide (international) trainings for ressource persons and organisations, build up regional/national co-ordination points e) put it into practice!: run at least 8 social-integrative pilot activities (EU-wide, in at least five different countries) where people with disabilities are integrated into international voluntary activities in the framework of point (c). Foreseen overall participation of 40 disabled persons and 80 non-disabled persons (= average of 5 + 10 per activity) f) produce electronic and printed material containing testimonies, recommendations/guidelines and ressources
ON THE SOCIAL-INTEGRATIVE PILOT ACTIVITIES
There are many different ways to integrate people with disabilities in international voluntary activities, we ourselves could successfully implement various of them, eg wheelchair users taking part in long term exchanges (EVS), people with mixed disabilites taking part in short term voluntary activities and youth exchanges, having people with disabilities work in our own organisations etc. One of the objectives of “all inclusive” is to discuss and partly evaluate/elaborate such various models. For the pilot activities to be actually implemented however, we put the focus on a specific model: based on our experiences, and in accordance with what many of our partners and also SALTO Inclusion feel, one especially successful way of conveying integration is to provide manual or artistic work to a mixed group of volunteers with and without disabilities over a period of one to three weeks. In other words, the activities are not directed “exclusively” at disabled people, but they are integrated into a group of regular volunteers, which obviously requires some adaptions but avoids patronising. The group work is pedagogically embedded in a high-quality overall programme including thematic and artistic workshops, discussions, field visits, reflections and many more, in other words, it contains social, inter-/cultural and educational elements. This method introduces the target groups to the issue of international voluntary activities on a grass-root level, and it seems to be an efficient tool to ensure sustainability. This short term inclusion model works for all kind of disadvantaged youth, and especially for people with disabilities. Furthermore, for “all inclusive”, the people with disabilites initially shall be local participants, while as the international participants shall mainly be volunteers of the EVS programme (European Voluntary Service - Action 2 of the European YOUTH programme). For the local disabled young people this is a ‘safe’ first step to participate in international activities. The EVS volunteers are actually long term volunteers, staying 6-12 months abroad, but they will participate in our short term activities as a part of their programme. This means that we will work in close co-operation with the National Agencies (=the national bodies responsible of implementing the programme YOUTH), and the module we develop is specifically linked to the programme YOUTH. Other models can however easily be derived from this and we shall also explore the matter. ACTORS FOR THE PILOT ACTIVITIES All Inclusive is based on a network of different partner organisations in Austria, Denmark, France, Italy, Latvia, Poland and Slovakia. In each participating country a regional co-ordinating structure ensures the implementation of All Inclusive activities and collaborats with different local actors as the respective National Agency, local organisations working with people with disabilities, workcamp leaders, a.o. Also, differing models adapted to the specific circumstances of the respective countries and regions hosting the projects will enable a mutual learning effect between all partners involved. | BENEFITS These small projects set visible examples of lived and tangible integration and of international solidarity. They should encourage people with disabilities to actively participate in society and sensitize the other volunteers, the local community and the society in general. Furthermore, institutions working with handicapped people obtain an enrichement of their general activities, local communities receive concrete benefitial work, international/EVS volunteers are offered an attractive enhancement of their programme and learning value, handicapped people are encouraged to further engage in international voluntary activites (eg longer stays abroad), and the programme YOUTH is offered an inclusion module producing visible and sustainable results.
|
|
back - People with disabilities (local and interntional)
- Participants in international voluntary activities (disabled and non-disabled)
- Programme YOUTH
- Local community
- Provider of technical tasks
- Institutions working with PWD
- Society in general
ACTIVITIES
- January 2006: working meeting / training of the regional co-ordinators starting conference (regional co-ordinators, National Agencies, donors, SALTO inclusion)
- Spring 2006: training for pilot activity leaders and people in charge of group integration
- Summer 2006-07: running of 8 pilot activities, in at least five different countries
- Fall 2006: midterm evaluation (regional co-ordinators)
- Fall 2006: liaise with TCP
- Spring 2007: training for pilot activity leaders and people in charge of group integration
- Fall 2007: final evaluation (regional co-ordinators, National Agencies, donors, SALTO inclusion, some participants and representatives of further actors)
- Fall 2007: liaise with TCP
- Spring 2008: presentation of website and manual
|
|
