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ACCESS+ Youth Work Lab

2026-1-HR01-KA153-YOU-0003965862026Mobility of youth workersongoing
Countries: HR|RS|DE|SE|ES|EL|MK|IT · Grant: €31,160
Inclusion of marginalised young peopleQuality and innovation of youth workDisabilities

Objectives

The project aims to make disability-inclusive youth work a repeatable quality standard (not a “nice extra”) by training youth workers to prevent exclusion through Accessibility-by-Design (communication, environment, roles, pacing, and support routes). In youth work practice terms, this means participants will be able to redesign real activities (invitations, agendas, sessions, social programmes) so disabled young people can participate with dignity, clear roles, and predictable structure—while staff know exactly what to do when overload, distress, stigma, or withdrawal appears. The project therefore targets measurable competence gains in inclusive facilitation, accessible communication, psychosocial safety, and safeguarding routines. From a practical standpoint, the objectives are also tool-based: participants co-create and standardise a shared “how we work” package that partners can immediately adopt in daily youth work and future Erasmus+ practice. This includes an Accessibility-by-Design system (planning sheet + checklists), support planning tools (Safe Contact workflow + scripts + referral mapping), adapted non-formal methods (12 method cards with disability-related variants), and an Accessible Communication Pack (plain language + visual templates + captioning/alt-text rules). These tools are designed for direct reuse by colleagues who did not attend the course, so the project improves organisational practice—not only individual learning. A core objective is mandatory transfer-to-practice: learning is not left to motivation, but locked into deliverables and follow-up actions. Within 12 weeks, each organisation must implement one local pilot and use the replication pathway, while also adopting internal standards (e.g., compulsory use of the accessibility annex and an Inclusion Procedure Note with Safe Contact role, calm-space protocol, reporting route, and referral mapping). This ensures that the training becomes organisational routine and improves the quality and safety of future youth activities for disabled young people. Finally, the project objectives are linked to measurable quality indicators in real youth work settings: pilots must reach disabled young people with clear communication and meaningful participation, while protecting safety and dignity (0 serious incidents; documentation of any minor incidents). At ecosystem level, the objectives include open-access sharing and replication so the approach spreads beyond the consortium through a structured pathway (toolkit, replication workshop, dissemination pack, evidence folder).

Project partners (8)