<< Background >>Evaluation of the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 shows that it contributed to promotion of the rights of people with disabilities and put disability high on the EU agenda. However, people with disabilities still face considerable barriers in access to healthcare, education, employment, recreation activities. 87 million people in the EU have some form of disability. 50.8% of them are in employment compared to 75% without disabilities. 28.4% are at risk of poverty or social exclusion compared to 17.8% of persons without disabilities. Only 29.4% of them attain a tertiary degree compared to 43.8% of those without disabilities and 52% of persons with disabilities feel discriminated against. According to our needs analysis, there is a lack of open-access resources and adult education opportunities for skills improvement in the field of provision of training and consultations to people with disabilities. The need for the project is based on the principles of independent living philosophy, which aims to promote autonomy and someone’s full and effective participation in society despite disabilities – the consortium aims to achieve this goal by educating the specialists (including those who have functional diversity) that provide consultations and trainings to people with disabilities (in the proposal referred to as ADULT EDUCATORS). Most people with disabilities attend community care centres, receive consultations in the local employment offices, are involved in the work of various associations of people with disabilities or are otherwise engaged in trainings and non-formal education activities run by employment specialists, career consultants, etc. Taking this into consideration, the goal of promotion of social inclusion of people with fewer opportunities and contribution to creating inclusive environments that foster equity and equality cannot be achieved without engaging adult educators that directly work in the aforementioned settings. By exchanging ideas, know-how, experience and good practices, project is aims to internationally develop and pilot a new non-formal innovative training system for improvement and extending the offer of high-quality learning opportunities for specialists that provide trainings and consultations to people with disabilities.Training program will correspond to 3 main themes sets out in the new strategy: EU rights, Independent living and autonomy, non-discrimination and equal opportunities. Lessons aimed at skills improvement and protection of people with disabilities from abuse and neglect correspond to the idea of protection of EU rights, also there is a separate topic for promotion of independent living and healthy lifestyle; finally by strengthening digital and social skills we will contribute to equal opportunities and inclusion. Training Course will be based on reliable data and collection of Best Practises.NEEDS ADRESSED:- Lack of relevant evidence-based open-access qualification improvement regarding social inclusion and empowerment of people with disabilities resources for the TG (specialists providing trainings and consultations to people with disabilities in the community-based settings).- Lack of E-learning opportunities for the aforementioned TG (relevant in the context of global COVID-19 pandemic);- Lack of digital resources for adult educators to use when conducting trainings for people with disabilities online; - Increased incidence of abuse and neglect of people with disabilities due to lockdown and changed psychosocial environment in many families and communities and lack of training regarding this topic (detection, prevention, coping); lack of healthy lifestyle promotion tools and trainings; lack of digital skills and media literacy improvement tools for people with disabilities;<< Objectives >>OBJECTIVES:- To improve (by provision of up-to-date training materials) the skills and knowledge of adult educators directly providing trainings and consultations to people with various disabilities in order to contribute to their social inclusion and employment. - To create a more innovative teaching method (innovative E-learning platform), that can be used both by adult educators and their trainees (during classroom activities and for individual learning).- To enable participating organisation to enhance and widen their policies and core activities as well as to generate improvements of the knowledge, skills and competences of the staff of partners institutions and of those in their network which will result to improved outcomes in their organizational culture and improvement of the quality of the provided adult education services for people with various disabilities. - To raise the awareness among partners countries and on EU level about the importance of social inclusions and independent living of people with various disabilities. - To foster creation of “centres of excellence” for adult education provision in partner countries and in EU (through cooperation of organizations on local, national and EU level).<< Implementation >>Learning materials will be developed and trainings for adult educators (providers and trainings and consultations) working with people who have various disabilities will be carried out. This in turn will ensure that adult educators (including those who have functional diversity) working with people that have fewer opportunities receive up-to-date knowledge and improve their skills in order to be able to properly respond to the needs of their clients and trainees in the modern environment. Foreseen training activities include 3-day long short-term joint staff training for adult educators that will be conducted once the training material is ready. Once 12 professionals that specialize in provision of trainings to adult educators (specifically those that provide trainings and consultations to people with disabilities) are trained according to the created training materials, they will conduct pilot trainings in each partners’ country. Aforementioned local training events will be based on a blended learning principle – part of the training will be carried out in the classroom and part – online (via the newly developed online learning platform). In total at least 75 people will be trained and will thus improve their skills and competences required to provide high quality trainings and consultations to people with disabilities in their communities. Other important activities: - development of the Interactive E-learning platform containing the created training program; - organization of dissemination conferences in each partners’ country;- project management, communication, monitoring, risk and impact evaluation, quality assurance, dissemination procedures;- transnational partners meeting (3 online and 3 face-to-face)<< Results >>- Open access up-to-date training materials for the improvement of skills and knowledge of adult educators providing trainings and consultations to people with various disabilities. This in turn will strengthen social inclusion and employment of people with disabilities. - Innovative teaching method (innovative E-learning platform), that can be used both by adult educators and their trainees (during classroom activities and for individual learning/revision). Online learning opportunities are especially relevant in the context of global pandemic then it is challenging to carry out face-to-face lessons. This tool will also be beneficial for people with disabilities for whom it is challenging to attended classes outside their house due to poorly adapted environment and/or because of the need for self-isolation during the pandemic. - Widening of the policies and core activities of partner organizations, improvement of knowledge, skills and competences of the staff of partners institutions and of those in their network which will result to improved outcomes in their organizational culture and improvement of the quality of the provided adult education services for people with various disabilities. - Awareness among partners countries and on EU level about the importance of social inclusions and independent living of people with various disabilities raised.- Creation of new “centres of excellence” for adult education provision in partner countries and in EU (through cooperation of organizations that provide trainings and consultations to people with disabilities on a local, regional, national and international level).

Due to the social stigma surrounding their pathology, People with mental illness (PWMI) still experience social exclusion and are especially vulnerable to have their basic Human Rights violated in different spheres of their lives. Contrary to what one may think, the violation can take place in the framework of health and social care services- such as community service centers, day care centers or physicians’ offices, among others- either because of paternalism, prejudice or ignorance of the service providers. Organizations and health and social service professionals (HSSP)- but also family members and individuals affected by mental health condition- may consider as valid some decisions and actions that imply violation of rights, because they often don’t realize that certain practices actually abuse basic human rights.When it comes to vulnerable groups, such as people with mental disability, the mere contemplation of Human Right principles in our countries’ legislation doesn’t itself assure their observance in the practice. What DOES assure it, are well trained and sensitized professionals who put Human Rights in practice.BE RIGHT project consortium- composed of 6 organizations referent in Research/ Health and Social Services Provision/ VET Education delivery from 5 EU countries- joined forces to together develop the first sector specific training course in Human Rights of PWMI applied to the context of health and social services provision. The course is addressed at health and social services professionals working with persons living with mental illness. It is composed of 15 theoretical-practical training units with a double focus, on the one hand, equipping the professionals with baseline knowledge about human rights in context of social and health services and, on the other hand, addressing practical application of the human rights approach in the context of provision of services to PWMI. The objective is for Health and Social Service Professionals (HSSP) to be introduced to, sensitized and finally able to put in practice the human rights based approach in their working context. The course has been designed in co-production between service users- experts by experience- and professionals in the field of Mental Health, VET training and Human Rights from 5 European organizations. Thanks to its e-learning format the final version of the training course is available free of charge in 6 languages to any professional or organization interested in offering the training course to its professionals at https://training.beright-mh.eu/?lang=enBE RIGHT project partners believe that the extreme vulnerability of PWMI against their human rights violation can be stopped only if they themselves know their rights and are aware of which treatment received is correct and which is not only not correct but also reportable. Considering the specific conditions of PWMI- whose concentration and learning ability is often limited due to the illness symptoms and/or as side effect of the medication- BE RIGHT project developed a tailor made, accessible educational board game that- in an easy and fun way- helps to provide the PWMI with empowering knowledge about their Human Rights as citizens, patients and service users. All the materials necessary to assemble and play the game- the board, activity cards with questions/tasks, instructions and answers book- are available for download and printing in 6 languages, free of charge, on the Be Right project website: http://www.beright-mh.eu/index.php/educational-board-game/The main innovative aspect and the added value of the BE RIGHT project lies in the fact that the project’s consortium created a bottom up working context within the project, where the two target groups- people with first-hand experience of mental illness and professionals providing health and social services- worked hand in hand, together with the partner organizations at all stages (co-production): needs analysis, educational tools development, pedagogical test of the pilot version of the tools, developing the final version of the tools.

Previously loved items deserve a second chance to inspire us again; people with mental health problems deserve a second chance to take control of their life. In today's throw-away society it seems that nothing is valuable, that we can change our clothes or even the people around us in the blink of an eye. We want people to return to valuing what is all around them; show them that creativity, lifelong learning and empathy are powerful tools than can change the world!Chic&Craft is an on-line training course specially designed for people with mental health issues which aims to re-use and recycle second-hand clothes and waste materials, creating a unique European fashion brand where hand-craft designs and original creations play a major role. Hand-craft is a therapeutic activity; through crafts, people can express themselves in a safe, non-threatening manner, which may be easier than sharing their internal feelings verbally. Inspired by this way of understanding the world, a complete set of training modules have been created including creative ideas to implement with vulnerable training groups. 63 people with mental illness have been trained in Spain, Slovenia, Germany, Greece and Lithuania during six months. Feedback from these experiences helped us to improve the quality of the teaching materials developed and, hopefully, will inspire other organizations to reproduce it in the future.The key innovative factor in this training course lies in the methodology of peer learning which complements the recycling textiles technical knowledge. The figure of the peer mentor has been created to help the trainees to realise their hidden abilities and commit with their own learning process. Peer learning is mutually beneficial and involves the sharing of knowledge, ideas and experience between the participants. Through practical experiences, trainees achieved to develop skills in organizing activities, working with others in a collaborative way, giving and receiving feedback and assessing their own learning process. A practical toolkit is available on the platform, including tips and suggestions to apply peer learning to empower people with mental illness, being applicable also to other training courses.Chic&Craft is an explosive mix of creativity, imagination, artistic expression, responsibility, recovery, communication, team building and autonomy. Their hands, their willingness to learn and work, together with some support, is all they need to change their world.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Las prendas que un día nos enamoraron merecen una segunda oportunidad para volver a inspirarnos; del mismo modo las personas con malestar psíquico merecen una segunda oportunidad para tomar de nuevo el control sobre sus vidas. En nuestra sociedad actual todo es desechable, parece que nada tenga valor, que podamos cambiar nuestra ropa e incluso las personas a nuestro alrededor en un abrir y cerrar de ojos. Queremos volver a valorar lo que nos rodea ¡demostrar que la creatividad, las ganas de aprender y la empatía son armas poderosas que pueden cambiar el mundo!Chic & Craft es un curso formativo on-line diseñado para que personas con malestar psíquico aprendan a reutilizar y reciclar prendas de segunda mano y materiales de desecho, creando una marca textil europea en la que juegan un papel relevante los diseños artesanales y las creaciones originales. La artesanía ha demostrado ser una actividad terapéutica con la que podemos expresarnos de forma segura y más fácilmente que de forma verbal. Inspirados por esta forma de entender el mundo, hemos desarrollado unos módulos formativos sobre cómo diseñar prendas creativas, teniendo en cuenta las necesidades especiales de las personas con malestar psíquico. Un total de 63 personas con enfermedad mental se han formado en España, Eslovenia, Alemania, Grecia y Lituania durante seis meses. Lo aprendido durante esta fase nos ha ayudado a mejorar la calidad de los materiales didácticos y esperamos que el ejemplo inspire a otras organizaciones para que en el futuro implementen el curso. El factor innovador radica en la metodológica basada en el aprendizaje de pares que complementa los conocimientos sobre reciclaje y transformación de textiles. Se ha creado la figura del mentor para ayudar a los alumnos durante la formación y aumentar su motivación. El aprendizaje entre iguales beneficia a ambas partes y conlleva que los participantes compartan conocimientos, ideas y experiencias. A través de ejercicios prácticos, se han entrenado distintas capacidades para comunicar, trabajar con otras personas, escuchar y evaluar su propio proceso de aprendizaje. Esta guía incluye además consejos para aplicar el apoyo de pares a la hora de capacitar personas con enfermedad mental que pueden ser aplicables a cualquier otro tipo de curso formativo.Chic & Craft es una mezcla explosiva de creatividad, imaginación, expresión artística, responsabilidad, recuperación, comunicación y autonomía.

The project is based on the NLQAVET model of Quality in VET which emphases the interdependency of quality system, quality culture, quality awareness and quality behaviour as fundament for sustainable implementation of improvements actions.The key factors for quality in VET can been seen from 2 different perspectives: The visible factors which include the quality system and the quality behaviour of staff, and the non-visible factors: the quality awareness of staff and the quality culture of the VET provider. The project will emphasis these non-visible factors for the development of high quality work through systematic comparing, exchanging and learning from day-to-day practices between Specialised VET providers and Regular VET providers in national and International settings.The EU policy on VET is encouraging INCLUSIVE Education and Training for All. The policy is encouraging partnerships and close cooperation between special VET providers and regular VET providers that creates the basis for a more inclusive approach on education and training.The project is based on using capacities of specialized and mainstream VET providers in creating valuable learning arrangements that results in improving current the performances and to explore opportunities for inclusive education for all. The area of quality therefore is introduced a common areas for better understanding of their practices and way of working. The project therefore has the following objectives:1. Improving the overall quality performance and quality culture (performance of Quality culture assessment tool) of special and regular VET providers by systematic benchmarking and bench learning.2. Contributing to inclusive education by creating sustainable partnerships between specialized VET providers and regular VET providers for the benefits of all learners.Prior to the project, a comprehensive needs assessment of quality culture aspects and Eqavet aspects will be carried out by all partners. The needs assessment will carried out with a questionnaire on Quality Culture aspect (Quality Culture survey) and a questionnaire that collect information of needs of the project partner on the building blocks of the Eqavet model: management culture, approaches that reflect provider circumstances, culture of self-assessment, support to training of staff and using feedback and data for improvement. Based on the needs assessment, all partners will identify and carry out two improvement initiatives: one initiative to improve quality Culture and one initiative to improve performance on EQAVET building blocks.In 8 transnational project meetings (= learning arrangements) of three days each will be organized. The topics for these learning arrangements will be derived from the needs assessment that is carried out prior to the project and linked to the improvement initiatives of the project partners. At these learning arrangements three main activities will be carried out:1. Systematic bench marking on agreed quality culture aspects and on aspect of the Eqavet model2. Bench learning activities: exchange of information, performance, interventions and daily practices with the aim of improving current performance and current practice3. Additional training by experts on quality cultural aspects and on identified aspects of the Eqavet building blocks.Expected results:1. Successful implementation of an improvement initiative related to one aspect of Quality Culture. (total 10 improvement initiatives)2. Successful implementation of an improvement initiative related to one of the EQAVET building blocks (total 10 improvement initiatives)3. Methodology on systematic benchmarking and bench learning.4. Curriculum of specific training modules related to Quality Culture Aspects and Eqavet building blocks.5. Signed agreement for sustainable partnership (continuation of cooperation) at national and/or national level to explore the feasibility and conditions for Inclusive education for all.

The EU promotes the active inclusion and full participation of people with disabilities in society, in line with the EU's approach to human rights for disability, this means that disability is a problem of rights and not an issue of discretion. This approach is also the core of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), to which the Through cultural life and the arts, people and their communities express their specific identity and the meaning they give to their existence and configure a vision of the world that represents their encounter with the external forces that affect their lives.The right to participate fully in cultural life has three dimensions interrelated with the priority actions mentioned above, and that also reinforce each other:- Access, by which people are given the opportunity to experience cultural and artistic life and to acquire knowledge about a broad spectrum of different forms of expression;- Participation, which requires that concrete, individual or collective opportunities be offered, to express oneself freely, communicate, act and participate in creative activities, with a view to achieving the full development of the personality;- The contribution to cultural life, which includes the right to contribute to the spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional expressions of culture and the arts, thus promoting the development and transformation of the society to which it belongs.To achieve the participation of people with disabilities as generators and consumers of culture it is required the development of a focused approach on them, to encourage their creations and expose them, and to make them participate also in the structure and programs offered.With the Artability+ project, this is precisely what is intended: to offer training opportunities that allow adults with disabilities to improve their participation/social inclusion through the generation/creation of artistic expressions and/or the consumption of culture in standardized environments.To this end, in addition to offering them a training opportunity focused on the artistic field, cross-curricular learning of a transversal nature is contemplated in their curriculum, focused on improving their autonomy, so that each participant will have specific objectives agreed with him/her in this sense.Specific objectives to achieve:- Design and develop a training curriculum focused on the teaching/learning of artistic techniques and that includes the introduction of transversal contents focused on the promotion of the autonomy of people with disabilities.- Start up the training experience of the curriculum designed with an average of 12 participants per country, and that these pass from being students to trainers of their own experience.- Achieve the transit of participation by people with disabilities from specific environments to standardized environments.The main tangible result of this project is the design and implementation of an intellectual product based on the development of training, innovative and transferable contents both to other entities working in the disability sector as to other entities that work with people in situations or risk of exclusion. Indicate that part of these contents will be designed by the persons with disabilities themselves who will participate throughout the project as experimental students and will guide the process itself to a better adjust to their real needs. Among the training contents will be developed content related to artistic techniques, how to produce low-cost support products to ensure accessibility, how to set up an exhibition and how to guide it, and a methodological guide that includes how to work on aspects related to the empowerment of people with disabilities, how to boost their autonomous development, main lines of action with the environment and everything related to the evaluation of the training process.In addition, as tangible result is intended to create a virtual exhibition, in an app format.Other tangible results of the project will be those related to dissemination, a collection of good practices in the environment, the establishment of collaborations with environmental entities and/or the web and/or blog and/or social networks of the project.Finally, it should be noted that once the project has been finalized, the results will remain over time (those of the target group themselves and the tangible results), which will allow both the replicability of the experience as the partner organizations to continue working with this developed methodology.