Creative Inclusion in Adult Eduaction Erasmus Project

Project Title

Creative Inclusion in Adult Eduaction

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 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Creativity and culture; Inclusion – equity; Disabilities – special needs

Project Summary

One in six people in the EU has a disability, representing 80 million people who, as a result are often prevented from fully and equally participating in society and contributing to the economy. In 2006, the U.N. published the Convention on the Rights of Persons with a Disability (UNCRPD). This universal, legally binding standard recognised that every person must be empowered to participate in society and live life to their fullest potential. This was the ethos that drove this project from its conception right through to its completion. A recently published study on ‘Culture, Cities and Identity in Europe” (2016) by the EESC recognises that culture is a tool for integration and inclusiveness for people who have “special needs”. The partners that came together to drive this project are all exemplars in their own countries for taking actions to ensure that people with disabilities (PWD) are given the opportunities to explore and fulfill their potential in the arts. They all share the vision that the arts is an important means of inclusion and expression for people with disabilities. The Council of Europe’s Disability Action Plan, the EU Disability Strategy 2010-2020, The Charter of Fundamental Rights, and the EU Convention on Human Rights also gave a framework for this project.

The consortium was made up of six partners from four European Countries all of whom brought a complementary skill set that was essential to the delivery of this project, most of whom also had significant experience in delivering European Project work. The organisations these partners came from were EASPD, ENCC, L’ADAPT, Scuolo Viva and CIT. The Project took place over 24 months, with 5 Transnational Meetings, 2 multiplier events and one Teacher/Training Learning (TTL) event resulting in 4 outputs. At the time of application we had proposed to complete 5 outputs, however one of these was not approved.

Our aim was to innovate and implement joint initiatives with PWD, promoting cooperation, peer learning and exchanges of experience at a European level, with a focus on the horizontal priority of social inclusion for adult learners with a disability. It also prioritised extending and developing educators’ competences and improved and extended the supply of high quality learning opportunities tailored to the needs of the individual. This project developed innovative outputs to support all stakeholders to develop a more integrated, inclusive Europe. The project has achieved its objectives of improving and increasing awareness of obligations, rights, policy, law and practice. It addressed the identified gaps by improving access to education and connecting learners with more opportunities.

The project addressed these priorities in three key areas:
1) Information and Research:
This was done through the collation of general text and accessible information on European policy, law, frameworks and examples of good practice on inclusive arts education at an EU level (3.2 IO2 Development of good practices Guidelines). This resulted in the development of Good Practice Guidelines for arts organisations, arts educators, cultural centres and service providers. Signatories to these guidelines were acknowledged with an “accreditation logo” (1.1.2 CIAE Certification). The accreditation process was overseen by three of our partner organisations post project completion.

2) Publication and Dissemination
This was done through the population and development of a newly created Knowledge Centre on Inclusive Arts in the D-Lot platform (3.3 IO3 Development of Knowledge Centre) which was a pre-existing accessible platform that is maintained by EASPD, the dissemination of Good Practice Guidelines through D-Lot and other existing networks and the development of an EASY READ TOOLKIT to support access and engagement of PWD.

3) Innovation and Participation
This was done through the development of the EASY READ Toolkit (3.4 IO4 Development of Easy Read Toolkit) which supported the connection between PWD, educators, arts organisations, service providers and cultural centres. This helped bridge the gap between education and employment.

This project led to improved opportunities for adult learners with disabilities, improved diversity of those engaging with arts education leading to further diversity and opportunity in the workplace. The project was an innovative, transversal and integrated approach to addressing social inclusion, enhancing access, participation and learning performance of disadvantaged learners.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 195296 Eur

Project Coordinator

COPE Foundation & Country: IE

Project Partners

• EUROPEES NETWERK CULTURELE CENTRA IVZW
• CORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
• EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION OF SERVICE PROVIDERS FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
• ASSOCIAZIONE SCUOLA VIVA ONLUS
• L’ADAPT