First pilot EUROPEAN INCLUSIVE EDUCATION WEEK ‘14 (24 – 28 November 2014)
Wed, 10/12/2014
The European Network on Inclusive Education and Disability (incluD-ed) launched this year the first pilot European Inclusive Education Week from 24 – 28 November 2014, previous to December 3, the International Day of People with disabilities. The week aimed to highlight the diversity of actions taking place throughout Europe that promote inclusive education and to acknowledge the efforts undertaken by organisations, institutions and experts to foster inclusive education systems in Europe.
incluD-ed, led by Fundación ONCE with the co-funding of the European Social Fund, brings together a diverse group of organisations, founding partners and associated members from across Europe that are all working to advance inclusive education for people with disabilities. The first pilot European Inclusive Education Week represented a unique opportunity to give visibility to those efforts, following previous experiences at national level.
The week was inspired in an initiative carried out by one of the incluD-ed founding partners in the Czech Republic, RYTMUS, and adopted by the network partners in 2014.
Throughout the week, the incluD-ed website provided a forum to present the multiple and diverse initiatives and events that promote inclusive education throughout Europe. The most inspiring events will be promoted in the next incluD-ed newsletter reaching a community of over 3,000 experts and organisations throughout Europe.
The flyer of the 1st pilot European Inclusive Education Week can be found here. Download the flyer.
Launch artcile of the First pilot EUROPEAN INCLUSIVE EDUCATION WEEK ’14
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Contributions of the first pilot EUROPEAN INCLUSIVE EDUCATION WEEK ’14
> Kynnys Inclusive Education in Vocational Education and Training seminar in Jyväskylä
> Fundación ONCE Fundación ONCE organizes the II International Congress on University and Disability
> Rytmus: Rytmus organized a workshop on their “TRANSIT” project
> CSIE: CSIE supported Anti-Bullying Week 2014 focusing on ending disablist bullying
> CSIE: CSIE organizes Disability Awareness Workshops for Pupils
> queraum: queraum coordinates the AEMA project “Adult education made accessible”
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All contributions:
1st European Inclusive Education Week: Inclusive Education in Vocational Education and Training seminar in Jyväskylä
24.11.2014 | Network Secretariat - Kynnys ry | Jyväskylä | Finland
JAMK University of Applied Sciences is organizing an international Inclusion Day on Monday, 24th November, 2014 from 9.00 to 15.30. The seminar day will be held in Lutakko Campus in Jyväskylä. The theme of the seminar is Inclusive education in Vocational Education and Training.
Kynnys, also known as the Threshold Association, participates in the Inclusion Day and will present the IncluD-ed network during the Day with posters and other material.
The Inclusive Education in Vocational Education and Training seminar will be opened by a presentation on the “Index of Inclusion” by Professor Tony Booth from the University of Cambridge. The afternoon programme continues with different kinds of thematic presentations that will introduce inclusive education from different perspectives. Among them presentations on:
- Finnish Experiences on the use of the Roadmap for Inclusion in VET (by Leena Kaikkonen, Head of Research and Development, JAMK University of Applied Sciences Sirkku Purontaus, Principal, Central Ostrobothnia Vocational College)
- Perspectives on inclusion in current vocational education and higher education settings in England (by Dr. Sheena Bell, Senior lecturer, University of Northampton, UK)
- SEN teacher education: Profiling Today’s Special Educational Needs Teachers in Finnish Inclusive Vocational Institutions (by Cheng-Yu Pan, PhD student, University of Jyväskylä)
- Inclusion process in Turkey (by PhD student Ceyhun Servi, İnönü Üniversitesi, Malatya, Türkiye)
More info (in Finish only) at: www.jamk.fi/fi/Tapahtumat/inclusive-education-in-vocational-education-and-training/
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1st European Inclusive Education Week: Fundación ONCE organizes the II International Congress on University and Disability
25.11.2014 | Network Secretariat - Fundación ONCE | Madrid | Spain
On 27 and 28 November 2014, the Fundación ONCE organizes the II International Congress on University and Disability in the city of Madrid.
The Congress will be a reference meeting place for universities and persons with disabilities, teaching and research staff from international universities, administration and service personnel, students, technicians and executives from the disability movement, as well as, experts and those interested in this field will participate in the event. The Congress is co-funded by the European Social Fund.
The general objective of the congress is to learn about and debate experiences and best practices of universities on inclusion and discuss the most relevant investigations, which suppose an advancement in the improvement in the quality of education and the quality of life of persons with disabilities, in accordance with the mandates outlined in the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In short, the congress wants to showcase the opportunities that exist for progress along strategic lines that guarantee inclusion at University.
More information about the Congress can be found on the conference website of Fundación ONCE.
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1st European Inclusive Education Week: Rytmus organized a workshop on their “TRANSIT” project
26.11.2014 | Network Secretariat - Rytmus | Prague | Czech Republic
Rytmus organized already on 14. November 2014 an informative workshop on their “TRANSIT” project. Aim of this workshop was to raise awareness on the program that aims to foster the skills of young people with disabilities as well as their integration into the labour market.
The TRANSIT workshop gathered young people with disabilities that participate in the program and their families, employers (Euorvia, Domov Sue Rider), school teachers as well as representatives of NGOs and the Czech Education Ministry.
The workshop presented the different experiences of the schools, the families and employers as well as students with disabilities themselves. At the end of the day, a vision on how to expand the TRANSIT program in Czech Republic was developed by all participants. Furthermore, a discussion on how to tackle the problems encountered when looking for internships or work was started. Families underlined several times that the TRANSIT program should be integrated in the general Czech school system in the future.
More info on the TRANSIT program on the website www.rytmus.org.
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1st European Inclusive Education Week: CSIE supported Anti-Bullying Week 2014 focusing on ending disablist bullying
26.11.2014 | Network Secretariat - CSIE | Bristol | United Kingdom
The Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education (CSIE), one of the six incluD-ed associated members, works towards promoting equality and eliminate discrimination in education. Next to supporting inclusion through lobbying and campaigning activities, CSIE offers also training and consultancy services and challenges exclusion in the educational context.
Already last week, the CSIE participated in the Anti-bullying Week, a communication campaign organised by the Anti-bullying Alliance, a coalition of organisations and individuals working together to stop bullying and create safe environments in which children and young people can live, grow, play and learn (#AntiBullyingWeek).
The Anti-Bullying Week 2014 focused on ending disablist bullying. CSIE has published on its website a range of answers to frequently asked questions on education for disabled children & young people opposing. CSIE wrote for instance on the belief that disabled children would be teased and bullied in mainstream schools: “research has shown that children with statements of special educational needs for moderate learning difficulties are bullied as much in mainstream as they are in special schools. The same research also found that pupils attending special schools experienced far more bullying outside of school, by other children in their own neighbourhood”.
CSIE underlines that many schools that have included disabled pupils have found that children are far more accommodating than adults had anticipated. In any case, harassment of any student is far less likely to occur in a school which fosters inclusive values. No other form of bullying would prompt a school to exclude children at risk of being bullied, as a way of protecting them.
More information on schooling for disabled children and young people can be found on http://www.csie.org.uk/inclusion/faq.shtml
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1st European Inclusive Education Week: CSIE organizes Disability Awareness Workshops for Pupils
27.11.2014 | Network Secretariat - CSIE | Bristol | United Kingdom
The Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education (CSIE), one of the six incluD-ed associated members, works towards promoting equality and eliminate discrimination in education. Next to supporting inclusion through lobbying and campaigning activities, CSIE offers also training and consultancy services and challenges exclusion in the educational context.
In 2015, CSIE will offer a whole day of Disability Awareness Workshops for groups of pupils throughout schools in the UK. Engaging and thought-provoking, these disability awareness workshops are a must for schools that want to challenge prejudice and promote disability equality.
Workshops will help pupils to:
- learn more about disability and human rights
- be clear on law and policy for disabled children’s education
- hear disabled people’s perspectives
- identify common stereotypes and some of the prejudices disabled people face
- explore a range of views of what disability is, who is disabled and what disables them
- reflect on a range of disability labels
- review language and terminology used and the effect this can have on disabled people’s identities
- ask sensitive questions anonymously
- understand, and respond to, society’s “culture of indifference”
- learn about disabled people who have made a difference
- become advocates for disability equality
Pupils and staff who have taken part in similar workshops said: “Excellent and informative”, “Brilliant”, “Inspirational”, “It certainly made me consider the way I think.”
Cost: Special offer for Disability History Month: price for 2015 bookings confirmed before the end of December 2014: £500+vat plus expenses (normal CSIE price: £800+vat)
To request a booking and take advantage of this offer, please email with the name and address of your school, a contact telephone number, preferred date(s) for workshops and the age(s) of pupils that will take part.
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1st European Inclusive Education Week: queraum coordinates the AEMA project “Adult education made accessible”
28.11.2014 | Network Secretariat - queraum | Vienna | Austria
queraum. Cultural and social research, one of the six incluD-ed associated members, works on the empowerment and participation of socially excluded groups and the inclusion of people with disabilities. Its research work has an important practical orientation as several EU projects queraum led or participated in show (for instance the following projects that can be found as best practices on our website: Trainsition, New Paths to Inclusion, Sign Library).
In 2014, queraum launched together with 11 more organisations from 11 EU Member states a new Grundtvig project “AEMA - Adult Education Made Accessible”. The AEMA project works on establishing a network and information platform on accessibility in adult education since access to adult education is a key factor for inclusion. Data shows that people with disabilities are the group with the lowest rates of participation in post- and upper secondary educational settings, with the evident consequences on employment.
The AEMA Network will work actively to overcome obstacles that hinder people with disability from becoming adult learners. This will be done by implementing an ambitious working programme which takes into consideration both the needs of people with diverse impairments and the situation in adult education provision. The Network will also improve the frameworks and structures for including learners with special needs.
Main outcomes of the project will be:
- Accessibility Check Points: information centres that will be established in eight EU countries and support both people with disabilities in finding appropriate training offers and adult education providers in making their services more accessible.
- Accessibility Quality Badges for Adult Education Providers and Accessibility Competency Badges for experts on Accessibility which will increase the visibility of accessibility practices of institutions and professionals.
- A one-stop information portal which will be used to communicate news, events and results related to openness in Adult Education, spread good practices on the topic and help to develop sustainable networks (both at national and European levels) that help to move the accessibility agenda forward
More information on the AEMA project can be found on www.aemanet.eu.
