Includ-ed, red europea de educación inclusiva

Tatiana Mora represented the European Network of Inclusive Education & Disability at the “11^th EUSE Conference on Supported Employment” - Building an Inclusive Europe through Supported Employment -, organised by the Irish Association of Supported Employment and the European Union of Supported Employment, held in Dublin during 12 and 13 June under the Irish EU Presidency. More than 600 participants from organisations and institutions working on supported employment around the globe were present.

The aim of the conference was to present among experts, institutions and organisations representing people with disabilities, analysis on current trends in the labour market towards supported employment and the market for low qualified people, as well as examples of good practice of supported employment around the world.

The conference was an opportunity to hear from global experts on supporting individuals with disabilities and other marginalised groups into employment.

IncluD-ed introduced itself with the EUSE organisation. Specially, discussions on our objectives were held with Margaret Haddock, President of the organisation. incluD-ed will disseminate some of EUSE’s good practices and publications and keep them informed on our new steps. All efforts aiming at better disseminate inclusive education related to work opportunities for people with disabilities are most welcomed by the EUSE.

During the parallel sessions and thematic working groups incluD-ed presented its latest policy actions and positioned itself with the experts and organisations as a strong exchange platform with the ultimate aim of gathering more best practices. European experts in the field present at the conference such as Augusto Sousa (APEA President), Niamh Byrne (Rehab Group), Dr. Riehle (Zero Project & Project SEARCH) will become part of the incluD-ed virtual community and share best practices. In addition, 50 other contacts were provided by the organisations and experts.

Amongst the many top international speakers were: Dr. Paul Wehman, an internationally esteemed supported employment expert from the USA; Dr. Rachel Perkins OBE, one of the U.K.’s most preeminent experts on mental health and employment; Caroline Casey, Kanchi founder; and Angela Kerins, chief executive of the Rehab Group, an independent international group of charities and commercial companies working with people with disabilities and others who are marginalised.

Workshops were offered across a wide range of topics, including: Broadening the reach for new populations and promoting a culture of change for individuals and organisations; active citizenship; human rights, equality and advocacy; working creatively with employers; models of transitioning; mental health and supported employment; initiatives for individuals with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD); promoting independence in employment through new technologies; personalisation in supported employment.