TOGETHER WE CAN OVERCOME BARRIERS: Strategy for the equity inclusion of young people with albinism at the center and in the classroomThe main objective of the strategic partnership of school education field will be the development of innovation through high quality results for students with albinism and/or visual impairment in the Primary Education, according with Erasmus + priorities and the Declaration on the Promotion of citizenship and common values of freedom, tolerance and non-discrimination through education, 17 March 2015 ("the Paris Declaration")This project consists on a solid partnership, whose bases were laid in 2012 and in recent years has jointly developed several projects Erasmus +. That experience has enabled us to strengthen and consolidate this European structure.The partners whose will develope this project are: Danish Association of Albinism –DFFA (DENMARK), Norwegian association of albinism (NFFA) (NORWAY), Albinit (ITALY), and As. ALBA (SPAIN). All entities has a national scope, experience and high qualified educatie workteams. They will be responsibles to develope the high innovative intellectual outputs adapted to students with albinism and the educational community.To this end, many results will be created to ensure the full development of these students with special needs in educational , social and personal areas. These results will be very different (from training of teachers, ICT, multimedia resources adapted, including new tools ...) and will affect different members of the educational community. However all of them are based on a collaborative innovative educational methodology.It must been noted both intellectual outputs. The first one will be the “Guide for Training of Educational Environment for Students with Albinism and/or visual impairment in the Plan of Attention to Diversity”, which will include:- A Pedagogical Guide that will provide guidelines to each one of school agents, and especially teachers, in working methods for the development of key competencies of students with albinism through its inclusion in equity.- Content Guide, increasing knowledge of users on the theoretical content and resources needed for the inclusion of students with albinism and/or visual impairmentThe second one will be the “Curricular development for the inclusion of students with albinism through non significant curricular adaptations”. A specific curricular development for these students will be created from the perspective of professional intervention of teachers in the third level of curricular development in accordance with the regulatory framework of the European Union.To develop this project, 4 transnational meetings will be made in the headquarters of each partner. Also it will serve to see on site best practices in the participating countries, visiting the centers of the collaborating schools and meeting with their staff.To strengthen the impact, a multiplier event will take place (in Spain) in order to disseminate the intellectual products of the project and publicize the Erasmus Plus Program participation in this project. It will promote the replication of this multiplier event in other countries. Several spanish schools will colaborate as a pilot experience helping the implementation of the spected results.To achieve all these goals and develop these results, we have a two years work plan where the four associations of people with albinism and collaborating entities (primary schools, teachers, European associations, institutions of reference in the field of visual impairment, education authorities, etc. )The partners will promote using the results of this project in all schools with students with albinism and/or visual impairments. Also the European Albinism Federation will support the project disseminationThe dissemination plan of the project will publicize to other stakeholders the most relevant results of the project so they can be used by others, adapted and replicated, extending itself to the highest number of beneficiaries.This project is expected to have an impact on all students with albinism in Europe. Currently it has been estimated at some 50,000 people in Europe, but the impact of this initiative will be not only on this target group. Also the results will impact the entire educational community, affecting the entire classroom and improving the quality of teaching methodologies in the classroom. It will promote a education more participative, collaborative and based on ICTs and new technologies.
During the 24 months in which the Project “TOGETHER WE CAN OVERCOME BARRIERS: Strategy for the equity inclusion of young people with albinism at the center and in the classroom” has been developed, we have established a strategic partnership in the field of dynamic and efficient school education. Thanks to the work done by a solid partnership comprised by 4 European entities of persons with albinism and their families in multiple activities (virtual, national and transnational ones), we have implemented several actions that will last for years to come, achieving a real impact in the inclusion of primary school students with albinism and/or low vision into education centers all across Europe. This was achieved thanks to the development of many results and two high-quality intellectual outputs for students with disabilities (a visual impairment and/or albinism) during the primary education stage, in line with the Erasmus + Programme and the Declaration on the promotion of citizenship and the common values of freedom, tolerance and non-discrimination through education of the 17th March 2015 (the Paris Declaration). The first of them is the “GUIDE FOR THE FORMATION OF THE EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT FOR THE EDUCATION OF STUDENTS WITH THE GENETIC CONDITION OF ALBINISM AND/OR VISUAL DEFICIENCIES IN THE DIVERSITY CARE PLAN” comprised of two well-differentiated parts. One of them provides guidelines for the staff in educational centers, especially teachers, regarding working methods recommended for the development of key skills for students with albinism through their inclusion in equity. The second part extends the knowledge of the user regarding the theory and resources necessary for the inclusion of children with albinism and/or visual impairment. The second intellectual output is the “GUIDE FOR THE ELABORATION OF AN INDIVIDUALIZED CURRICULAR ADAPTATION OF ACCESS AND THE CREATION OF SPECIFIC TOOLS FOR STUDENTS WITH SEVERE VISUAL DISABILITIES RELATED TO THEIR GENETIC CONDITION OF ALBINISM”, that provides a curricular program for the inclusion of students with albinism and/or visual impairment from the perspective of the professional assistance of teachers from the third level of curricular concretion, according to the European Union regulatory framework. Along with these two intellectual outputs, several intangible results have also been developed, which have allowed entities, participants, and youth with albinism to improve their skills, networking capabilities, and European impact, and have also had an impact on the educational community. All of these results and outputs have been spread and their use is being promoted in all educational centers with students with albinism and/or visual impairment, with the support of the Albinism Federation at the European scale. This project has been developed by a solid partnership, that established its foundations in 2012, and has jointly developed multiple other Erasmus + projects during the latest years, which has allowed us to strengthen and consolidate this European structure. Four European entities have participated in this project: Danish Association of Albinism - DFFA (Denmark), Norwegian Association of Albinism – NFFA (Norway), Albinit (Italy) and ALBA Association (Spain). Four transnational meetings (Spain-Denmark-Italy-Norway) have been held during the project, in which, besides the usual tasks assigned to each meeting (to coordinate the efforts of each partner, define contents, plan visibility and diffusion actions), also “on-site” visits to the collaborating educational centers were made to test the materials. Many other national activities have also been carried out to create the materials, along with bilateral meetings with collaborating entities, virtual coordination meetings, etc. In addition to the diverse implementation activities, a special effort was made regarding the project’s visibility during its lifespan, and also for the diffusion of its results once these where finished. We want to specifically point out a multiplier event (in Spain) that was made with the objective of spreading the intellectual outputs of the project and make the participation of this project better known within the Erasmus + Programme. Many other diffusion activities were carried out both during the project’s diffusion stage and after its final stage. We believe that out project is having a significant impact among the educational community and people with albinism all across Europe. In this sense, it is also worth highlighting that three educational centers (from Spain, Norway and Denmark) are already introducing the project’s results, and that these have already reached multiple other educational centers and have been also handed out to entities of people with albinism across Europe and national and international federations.