DESCRIPTION: The main aim of our project is to develop a toolkit and framework based on non-formal learning methods structuring and improving the empowerment of young people living with disabilities, who are often heavily disadvantaged (also NEET). This methodology would be designed based on empirical research conducted in the project and would contribute to and improve the work of organisations and professionals working on the youth field with this specific target group in a local youth work context. The methodology also tested in the pilot phase of the project and the results of the research will be published in a methodology handbook and distributed to reach all relevant stakeholders of the field. CONTEXT and BACKGOROUND: Association Co-Efficient, APCC and UNIAMOCI has a wide range of experience/expertise of involvement young people living with disabilities into local and international actions/learning experiences. Inclusion of young people living with disabilities is a main horizontal objective of our daily work, promoting the Independent Living Movement and empowering young people to be more self-sustainable and active citizens along the way. Our experience is that there is little emphasis on youth work with young people living with disabilities on a local level, which – in our opinion guarantees the most opportunities for valuable and permanent results. We also see the limitations which prohibit maximum usage of empowerment techniques due to a variety of reasons, therefore the need to study closely the issue and develop an adequate tool for empowerment of young people living with disabilities in a local context. OBJECTIVES: -to gather and structure existing knowledge, tools and methods relevant to the topic: - to develop and test an empowerment methodology handbook containing all the relevant expertise in the field of empowerment of young people living with disabilities -to increase the professional capacities and competences of participating partners and other organizations through the intellectual outputs and dissemination of the project ACTIVITIES OF THE PROJECT (24 MONTH DURATION) 1. Kick-off meeting in Hungary 2. 5 Transnational meetings in Italy, Hungary and Portugal for the joint and co-operative work of the partnership 3. IO1: research – structuring and developing the methodology based on research with the target group and focus group discussions, seminars with experts 4. Joint staff mobility - methodology development seminar: 5 days in Hungary 5. IO2: methodology development including the pilot of the research (output: handbook) 6. Dissemination: 3 national conferences organised by each partner to disseminate the results of the research and the pilot PARTICIPANTS: In the project the partnership will involve altogether 114 young people living with disabilities per country in the research and the pilot phase. The number of professionals working with young people living with disabilities who we will directly involve is 312.
‘MOONWALK’ was a strategic cooperation of three civil society organization from Hungary, Italy and Portugal. The main aim of the project was to develop a toolkit and framework based on non-formal learning methods structuring and improving the empowerment of young people living with disabilities, who are often heavily disadvantaged (also NEET). This methodology was designed based on empirical research conducted in the project and and improved the work of organisations the professionals involved in the project. The partners tested the methods and tools presented in the handbook during the pilot phase of the project. While COVID-19 restrictions made reaching these objectives difficult, the partnership managed to adapt the project to the changed environment and implemented both the research and the methodology development phase. ’MOONWALK’ focused on how to involve local groups of young people living with disabilities more efficiently into skills development processes and how to empower them more efficiently. The partnership worked on gathering professional literature, knowledge from the experts working on the field and asking the target group directly to establish a strong basis for the methodology and steps of involving young people living with disabilities in local youth projects. The intellectual outputs improved the efficiency of the partners and gather multidisciplinary knowledge for other organizations too, through dissemination activities including a dedicated website and conferences, dissemination workshops organized in all three participating countries. Activities implemented 1)Research report published with the results of the survey in Italy and Hungary, and the focus groups in Italy, Portugal and Hungary. 2)Handbook published with the pilot descriptions, toolkits and case studies, developed based on the research report 3)Joint staff mobility implemented in Hungary, July, 2021 4)Transnational meeting implemented in Italy, November,2021 5)Total of 10 meetings and conferences with the aim of dissemination The project reached the envisaged results of increasing the capacities of the partnership and involved a high number of young people living with disabilities into the project activities. The research and the pilot helped to understand empowerment and inclusion on a better level, the dissemination process of the outputs increased the level of understand and the general quality of youth work.