Can Do Empowerment Erasmus Project

Project Title

Can Do Empowerment

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 adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2014

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Inclusion – equity; Intercultural/intergenerational education and (lifelong)learning; Access for disadvantaged

Project Summary

In 2012 close to a fifth of Europeans report that they have personally experienced discrimination or harassment: 13% have experienced discrimination on the basis of one issue and 4% on multiple issues. Over a third of Europeans have witnessed or heard of someone suffering discrimination or harassment in the last 12 months. Growing nationalism and right wing populism is worsening the situation of minorities in Europe. Their is a need to confront these developments and find a means to empower those who are confronted with discrimination. Intercultural and anti-discrimination trainers and activists work to sensibilise people for the assets of diversity and to empower minorities.

The main objective of the Can Do project was to empower trainers as CHANGE AGENTS within their own local context to deal with discrimination, to share and develop an educational, conceptional and methodological basis on which to develop an effective EMPOWERMENT FOR SOCIAL CHANGE training approach.

Consortium Manager of the project was VIA Bayern from Germany,
an expert in national and international project management in the field of civic education, intercultural learning/ consulting/ organisational development and empowerment.
The project had five partners:
• ICA-Spain, a registered national NGO specialized in intercultural and intergenerational training for private and public organizations locally, nationally and internationally.
• Brighton and Hove Community Works, a membership organisation and an established charity with diverse range of expertise including training, equality and anti-discrimination as well as their innovative asset based approach to community engagement.
• The Austrian organization ZEBRA expertise lies in the counselling and psycho-therapy for migrants and refugees and educational offers for different target groups.
• The Dutch organization RADAR is the main agency for equal treatment and against discrimination in the south western part of the Netherlands.
• Umtapo, a South African non-profit development organisation whose mission is to engage in education, training, community mobilisation, and networking in order to empower people to take control of their own lives in the struggle for sustainable development, peace, and human rights.

The project developed and disseminate material that can be used in the facilitation of anti-discrimination work, including a website, a blog, a manual and a book. During the exchange meetings experiences with proven empowering anti-discrimination strategies and approaches were shared and on basis of this exchange the concrete products were developed. The dissemination of findings happened in the last year of the project. Expert meetings, conferences, workshops, publications and trainings will be organized.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 359597 Eur

Project Coordinator

Verband für interkulturelle Arbeit (VIA) Bayern & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Instituto de Asuntos Culturales, Spain
• RADAR
• ZEBRA Interkulturelles Beratungs- und Therapiezentrum
• Umtapo Centre
• Brighton and Hove Community Works