We also contribute to inclusion: Young volunteers with Special Needs Erasmus Project

Project Title

We also contribute to inclusion: Young volunteers with Special Needs

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for youth

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Disabilities – special needs; Inclusion – equity; Quality Improvement Institutions and/or methods (incl. school development)

Project Summary

Albinism is a rare disease that causes us a lack of pigmentation, both in the skin and hair, usually also with photosensitivity (which usually forces us to stay at home and not be able to participate in leisure and free time activities in equal conditions) and mild to severe visual problems that generate many problems, not only for non-formal outdoor education activities, but also for socializing, because it is difficult for us to recognize the person we meet, or even generates a feeling of fear due to the difficulty of identifying the people around us.
All these serious barriers might seem insurmountable obstacles for young people who have albinism, but they aren’t. In 2012, youth with albinism from all over Europe undertook a process of empowerment and training through the Youth in Action programs (until 2014) and the Erasmus Plus Programme (from 2014 onwards) that has allowed us to develop the capacity, not only to overcome our barriers, but to create a closely tied group of youth with albinism that supports us, helps us, and allows us to achieve unparalleled challenges for other young people our age (some members are world athletics runner-ups, actresses from short films and movies, or young members with brilliant grades in the sciece field). All of this is thanks to the fact that we have undertaken European projects in the field of youth, all led by ourselves, young people with Albinism.

During this period, we have already carried out transnational learning activities in the KA1 line, projects to exchange good practices and innovation within KA2, and also KA3 projects of dialogue activities between youth and policy makers.
There is still a long way to go for youth with albinism, but we believe it is our duty to start helping other young people with low vision so that they too can overcome their barriers. And we can only achieve this by telling them our experiences and everything they are capable of, and also actively working as volunteers in entities that work with them, such as Spain’s “ONCE” and its European equivalents.
We are aware that volunteering will not be easy, but it is a challenge that we believe we’ll overcome. This is why we want to exchange experiences that will form the base of the “Methodological Guide for Young Volunteers with Special Needs: WE ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO INCLUSION”. This guide will structure everything we have learned, will gather all the good practices that we have carried out during these years, and will be useful for those young people with similar SSNN and the organizations that organize camps, learning meetings, or informal education activities.
This Guide will focus on how to organize Transnational Learning Activities adapted to young people with low vision, with a specific section if they are framed within the Erasmus Plus Programme, to make it more inclusive.

For the creation of this high quality and impactful result, we have joined the youth with albinism with more experience developing projects from SPAIN (ALBA Association), ITALY (Albinit), IRELAND (Albinit Fellowship-Ireland families education and development), DENMARK (DFFA)and NORWAY (NFFA) , who we will be the true protagonists of the project activities. Among the many activities are 3 Transnational Meetings in different partner countries of Europe, and a Learning Activity in the final stage of the project, that will serve as a pilot test to implement the methodological guide and improve its quality.
We believe that we can develop a project capable of helping us to continue building our competences, but also with a great impact on all disability-focused entities (not only those of people with low vision), because it can make a change in the lives of its members by being a reference of success in inclusion. It will be an example of how to overcome their obstacles, and go from beneficiaries to volunteers, while discovering that low vision is not the end of the way, but a barrier that can be overcome to live unique experiences.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 60542 Eur

Project Coordinator

Asociación Alba & Country: ES

Project Partners

• NOAH Albinismus Selbsthilfegruppe
• Danish Association of Albinism
• ALBINIT
• Norsk forening for Albinisme (NFFA)