The objective for this project is to extend and develop competences of service staff to support adults with disabilities so that these individuals are more confident and able to benefit from opportunities to developed competences to became active citizenships. It will be done through the development the best practices of tools and methodologies for teachers and educators The objectives of the project are: • Develop guide lines for educators and teachers to enhance the attitude of adult learners with disabilities to became active European citizens; • Enhance the independence of adult learners with disabilities and make them live experiences of social integration in an international context; • Improve the autonomy and self-esteem of adult learners with disabilities; • Increase the network of organizations internationally to develop new Erasmus plus projects; • reduce the gap between training and what is required to became an active European citizen; • The mobility experience of adult learners with special needs will add value to their motivation to learn and will be a proactive driving force in their social context. • Encourage the learning of foreign languages • Enhance teachers’/educators’ motivation to prepare adult learners with special needs to became active European citizens. There are strong reasons for the project to be transnational. The complementary but varied range of expertise and knowledge amongst our partners will ensure that there is a substantial added value from collaborating. Some other results of this project will be: - Teachers, educators and adult learners with special needs from different countries will met and get acquainted with different societies and cultures; --Taking part in the project will be an inspiring and mind-expanding event which will allow the participants to practice skills which they almost never apply in daily life and through which they will gain competences that will contribute to active citizenship; - The know-how of teaching to improve citizenship skills to adult learners with disabilities will be spread and the concepts of active citizenship and how to promote it will gain further ground. Working on this project means that it complements the know-how of each member of the partnership and the achievement of the outcomes of the project will provide not only extra skills and competences to adult learners with special needs but even mobility in Europe. The innovative side of this project is not only teaching about active citizenship but giving the opportunity to adult learners with disabilities to benefit from their rights as European citizens. For the research stage of the programme, the participants will be those at the organisations to whom the partners will send the research questionnaires. Participants to the Short term joint staff training events will be two staff members of the organisations involved in the partnership that worked in the development of the project. Blended mobility of adult learners: Participants will be adult learners with disabilities from partner's organisations. The selection will be done based on common criteria in all the involved organisations. To support participants there are going to be all the special conditions to permit their full involvement in all the steps of the project, from personal assistance to venues without barriers, from facilitator to extra time, etc. Each partner will prepare a summary of the personal background and supports that are needed for their adult learners with disabilities that will eventually be involved in the project specifying competences for their personal assistances, architectonic barriers, etc. New materials (guidelines for teachers/educators) will be developed and tested in parallel in a collaborative research exercise supported by the pilot phases at local level and during the blended exchange of adult learners. We will seek to share our materials developed through the project with the adult learning audience within EPALE. The project includes 3 short term joint staff training events and 2 blended mobility of adult learners. Participants will be mental and physical special needs, all of them need one to one assistant to be able to take part in all the activities and even for their personal needs. By conducting regular lessons about active citizenship, awareness will be raised about rights, needs and choices amongst adult learners with special needs, their informal and formal carers as well as families, making a contribution to the increased well-being of these target group. Given the right tools, adult educators can play a positive role in designing and developing educational interventions that address active citizenship for adults with disabilities. EASE TO BE will be presented as a best practice example and will clearly demonstrate that even the most hard to reach target groups can be encouraged to get involved and participate in the society.
The objectives of the project were: • Develop guide lines for educators and teachers to enhance the attitude of adult learners with disabilities to become active European citizens; • Enhance the independence of adult learners with disabilities and make them live experiences of social integration in an international context; • Improve the autonomy and self-esteem of adult learners with disabilities; • Support adult learners with disabilities for the acquisition of awareness of their abilities to carry out a life experience in an international context; • Increase the network of organizations internationally to develop new Erasmus plus projects; • Reduce the gap between training and what is required to become an active European citizen; The mobility experience of adult learners with special needs add value to their motivation to learn and is a proactive driving force in their social context. • Encourage the learning of foreign languages (motivation for learning and teaching foreign languages); • Enhance teachers’/educators’ motivation to prepare adult learners with special needs to become active European citizens.
Citizenship is usually defined in terms of the rights and duties people have within their society. People that live in a territory but lack the status of citizen, are deprived of the rights and duties that citizenship involves. Citizenship is more than nationality and a legal status and, over the years, the concept has evolved from a largely passive quality to an active expression of identity and belonging. Identity is the self-understanding and self- consciousness of an individual or a group referring to territory, culture, etc. Identity also deals with social action, with similarities and differences and is expressed in a relational context. Active citizenship is social, cultural and political responsibility and participation in associational life through areas like formal education, lifelong learning, families, etc. Taking part in lifelong learning activities is itself proof of active citizenship: citizenship as a responsible lifelong learner. With this project we focused on strengthening and promoting willingness to participate and to be an active citizen as adult learners with disabilities. It was done through development of best practices of tools and methodologies for teachers and educators.