We wanted to empower practitioners, highlight professional development and aid the translation of research into practice. We also wanted to build a long lasting network for sustainability with an online fram work that can develop independently by the members of the European forum. We wanted to make this European forum available to other regions globally, facilitating connections, networking, shared experiences internationally and nationally. We also set out ot achieve a shift in the inclusion narrative and understanding, moving from a deficit-expert model of inclusion to a partnership - support model of inclusion. We felt that this is best done by promoting discussions, sharing experiences and translating research into practice. Our aim was to facilitate connections between professional groups working in schools and between policy makers and practitioners as well as researchers and practitioners. In concrete terms, we wanted to create a frame work for networking, sharing and disseminating knowledge that is sustainable for the future. We wanted the IFIP Europe to be an important partner ahead for policy makers, researchers and practitioners and the forum to grow through the members.
Research shows that there are many barriers to inclusion in schools. One of the main difficulties seems to be the teachers' and school leaders' capacity to identify and remove barriers to learning and wellbeing in the day to day practice. Barriers to learning and inclusion are also barriers to mental wellbeing and social inclusion. Many teachers and school leaders work in isolation without possibilities of professional development or networking posiibilities to share experiences and solve challenges together. We identified a strong need to empower both teachers and school leaders to remove barriers to inclusion and point to possibilities, through strengthening their practices of inclusion to the benefit of all learners in their classroom. We wanted to achieve this through building a Europe specific network online which practitioners can access easily and without costs to network across borders, find resources and participate in events and webinars provided by the online forum. We also identified the need to push the understanding of the concept of inclusion in schools. The international organisations all promote a shift from the deficit and expert model to a partnership model but in practice this is hard to achieve.