CONTEXT/BACKGROUND OF PROJECT; CIT CCAD has worked in close collaboration from Cork City Council and Crawford Art Gallery to develop work that contributes to the development of the field of creative inclusive educational practices with adult learners/ artists with intellectual disabilities. Work so far has resulted in production of a publication and an exhibition engaging over 32000 visitors, a seminar and public engagement events. The work to date has benefited from international engagement. This proposal will build on the outcomes of this work to date but aims for a much broader impact and dissemination an ambitious but achievable objected to develop an MA programme for practioners aiming to develop their practice in this field with support from the Head of the school for the development of this programme. The project benefits from commitment of local city council and Corks municipal art gallery, the Crawford Art Gallery. The partnership with between a third level institutes and 3 organisations also involved in innovative practice directly engaging the target group makes for a project with strong impacts, potential and results.OBJECTIVES OF YOUR PROJECT; • To exchange, examine and inspire, test, innovate, analyze, highlight and develop creative and inclusive arts education and pedagogical approaches for practice with Adult learners with intellectual disabilities through: -action based research-interactive online exchange platform-large scale international exhibition-seminar-international workshops-public engagement programme.The project will focus in quality learning experience and relevant personalized and inclusive approaches.• To explore the relationship of a marginalized group(s) within a 3rd level higher educational institutes and increase learning and progression opportunities for adult learners with intellectual disabilities.• To support development of a career paths as artists or facilitators and entreprenuership opportunities for adult learners.• To support and model good practice in relationship of creative adult learners with intellectual disabilities and cultural institutions • To develop curriculum and pedagogical approaches that support the learning opportunities of adult learners with intellectual disabilities and to find tools for recognition of learning and achievement.• To support skills development of art educators/mentors through development of MA level curriculum and pedagogical approaches for artists/ educators who wish to engage in creative learning opportunities for adult with intellectual disabilities. • to support integration and recognition in society of creative adult learners with intellectual disabilities as active citizens contributing to the cultural ad civic life of the community • To provide learning in inclusive creative practices that are transferable across formal and non formal learning sectors and across range of age profilesNUMBER AND PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS; International workshops: 54 participantsOnline platform: 15 Staff/ facilitators, adult learners from partner organisations. Interaction and content comments from 30 other stakeholders beyond partnership.Target number of visits to website during project duration: 1000Public engagement with adult learners with intellectual disabilities/ artists: 160Seminar: 70 participants day one &50 day two for workshop formatInputs to publication: 15 Stake holders.Public engagement with exhibition: 35000 people.DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES & METHODOLOGY Research, analysis, development and sharing of creative inclusive education practices through-• Development and implementation of 3 international workshops• Development of a publishing of a book• Development of an online platform for exchange of practice and researchDevelopment of accredited creative programmes for adult learners with intellectual disabilitiesDevelopment of an MA programme for educators / arts practicioners in creative inclusive education practices.Development and recommendation for creative inclusive education practices to link with a range of art college programmes.Curation and presentation of an exhibition Engagement with stakeholders through dissemination of outcomes and seminarEngagement with public through workshops A SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE RESULTS AND IMPACT ENVISAGED AND FINALLY THE POTENTIAL LONGER TERM BENEFITS.Increased learning and progression opportunities for adult learners with intellectual disabilitiesDevelopment of career as artists and entreprenuership opportunities for adult learners with intellectual disabilitiesSkills development of art educators/mentors practicing in field of creative inclusive learning.Integration and recognition in society for creative adult learners adult learners with intellectual disabilitiesDevelopment of meaningful partnerships with cultural institutions

Adults with developmental disabilities face many challenges. Although some individuals are able to work and are relatively self-sufficient, others are not. There is a variety of activities that can help adults with developmental disabilities to socialize, express their feelings and stay healthier. Activities for the developmentally disabled are most successful when based on an individual’s skills, interests, physical abilities, level of socialization and therapeutic benefits.Music is such a helpful tool for adults with developmental disabilities, as most individuals respond favorably. Music training triggers and requires contacting multiple stimuli resulting in activating specific brain regions that are important for our growth. It is therefore a multi-sensory experience that affects the mental, psycho-emotional, functional and kinetic aspects of a person's activity. Regarding people with learning disabilities, all the aforementioned constitute the aid and development fields to improve quality of life. More specifically, music education enhances specific cognitive and perceptual skills, such as observation, attention, concentration, memory and understanding, as well as the development of interpersonal relations and socialization.In M.E.L.O.S. we developed and tested an innovative, needs-tailored, inclusive learning music process, based on the creation of activities among project partners and target groups, that would enable the development of a certified training course. The project consortium created a specific methodology, usable video tutors, teaching tools and demonstration activities in order to increase the skills and abilities of both the learners and teachers/trainers through a common on-line platform. Our consortium was headed «To Ergastiri» and Dr. Ioannis Makris Phd. To Ergastiri» is a non-profit organization that aims to assist in the social integration and general wellbeing of adults with learning disabilities.The Jaunuoliu Dienos Centras (Lithuania) is a social service institution that provides day activities for disabled youngsters with severe and moderate physical and intellectual impairment over 18 years of age. Their activities include small work tasks, drama, art, sport, IT and informal education. Aliaga Ozel Egitim Uygulama Merkezi ve Is Uygulama Merkezi (Izmir, Turkey) is a non-profit public school that provides academic and job training to mentally challenged individuals between the ages of seven to 21, that is from primary and secondary to high school.Cope Foundation (Ireland) is an institution in service for people with intellectual disabilities and autism. The Arts Department of the Foundation holds responsibility for the development of the arts (music, dance, drama, film, visual arts, and arts therapies etc.), hosting local, national and international arts festivals for people with disabilities. While their activities perfectly match the scope of this Project, more importantly, the Cope Foundation holds a significant experience in running similar projects and in taking part in European partnerships. Finally, it has been a delight to being able to cooperate with OmegaTech, a company that invests in research, web applications and development and internet solutions. OmegaTech will provide the on-line platform for the distance learning method and will implement the relevant website.The method applied has already been successfully piloted by Dr. Ioannis Makris, PhD (music conductor/development leader in the present project) under the title 'M.E.L.O.S'- Musical Education Light and Optical Stimuli. The piloting has been taking place in the past year in the facilities of ERGASTHRI, through which an ad hoc orchestra has been created, by trainees with intellectual disabilities. Throughout the development and piloting of the method it has been proven that in a very short period of time the trainees were able to participate energetically in an orchestra and play music as a group. The project consortium focused on training and education needs of the target group aiming to achieve:The simultaneous enhancement and the development of cognitive, perceptual and kinetic skills through an enjoyable, creative and interactive learning experienceLearning a musical instrument is addressed to everyone regardless of the degree of functionality and disability, so that no one is excluded from the process of learning. This implies the coexistence, rather than the separation, of people with different degrees of functionality.An indirect approach of other skills and functions in social and psycho-emotional level, for example participation in a group, accountability, self-limitation, role commutation, coexistence, etc.Combination of music education with pure entertainment and relaxationFurthermore, it can be applied by a qualified therapist as part of a therapeutic process, by utilizing information obtained from the educational process that occurs in an individual and group level.

"One in six people in the EU has a disability, representing 80 million people who, as a result are often prevented from fully and equally participating in society and contributing to the economy. In 2006, the U.N. published the Convention on the Rights of Persons with a Disability (UNCRPD). This universal, legally binding standard recognised that every person must be empowered to participate in society and live life to their fullest potential. This was the ethos that drove this project from its conception right through to its completion. A recently published study on 'Culture, Cities and Identity in Europe” (2016) by the EESC recognises that culture is a tool for integration and inclusiveness for people who have ""special needs"". The partners that came together to drive this project are all exemplars in their own countries for taking actions to ensure that people with disabilities (PWD) are given the opportunities to explore and fulfill their potential in the arts. They all share the vision that the arts is an important means of inclusion and expression for people with disabilities. The Council of Europe’s Disability Action Plan, the EU Disability Strategy 2010-2020, The Charter of Fundamental Rights, and the EU Convention on Human Rights also gave a framework for this project. The consortium was made up of six partners from four European Countries all of whom brought a complementary skill set that was essential to the delivery of this project, most of whom also had significant experience in delivering European Project work. The organisations these partners came from were EASPD, ENCC, L’ADAPT, Scuolo Viva and CIT. The Project took place over 24 months, with 5 Transnational Meetings, 2 multiplier events and one Teacher/Training Learning (TTL) event resulting in 4 outputs. At the time of application we had proposed to complete 5 outputs, however one of these was not approved.Our aim was to innovate and implement joint initiatives with PWD, promoting cooperation, peer learning and exchanges of experience at a European level, with a focus on the horizontal priority of social inclusion for adult learners with a disability. It also prioritised extending and developing educators' competences and improved and extended the supply of high quality learning opportunities tailored to the needs of the individual. This project developed innovative outputs to support all stakeholders to develop a more integrated, inclusive Europe. The project has achieved its objectives of improving and increasing awareness of obligations, rights, policy, law and practice. It addressed the identified gaps by improving access to education and connecting learners with more opportunities. The project addressed these priorities in three key areas:1) Information and Research:This was done through the collation of general text and accessible information on European policy, law, frameworks and examples of good practice on inclusive arts education at an EU level (3.2 IO2 Development of good practices Guidelines). This resulted in the development of Good Practice Guidelines for arts organisations, arts educators, cultural centres and service providers. Signatories to these guidelines were acknowledged with an ""accreditation logo"" (1.1.2 CIAE Certification). The accreditation process was overseen by three of our partner organisations post project completion.2) Publication and Dissemination This was done through the population and development of a newly created Knowledge Centre on Inclusive Arts in the D-Lot platform (3.3 IO3 Development of Knowledge Centre) which was a pre-existing accessible platform that is maintained by EASPD, the dissemination of Good Practice Guidelines through D-Lot and other existing networks and the development of an EASY READ TOOLKIT to support access and engagement of PWD.3) Innovation and ParticipationThis was done through the development of the EASY READ Toolkit (3.4 IO4 Development of Easy Read Toolkit) which supported the connection between PWD, educators, arts organisations, service providers and cultural centres. This helped bridge the gap between education and employment. This project led to improved opportunities for adult learners with disabilities, improved diversity of those engaging with arts education leading to further diversity and opportunity in the workplace. The project was an innovative, transversal and integrated approach to addressing social inclusion, enhancing access, participation and learning performance of disadvantaged learners."

"The project ""Field Aperture : Inclusion in Society by the Arts"" (ISA) intends to act on: - professionnal practices - communication by the arts and culture - the way to deliver training and scholl' contents to young people and adults In an other way, the 6 members of the consortium intend: - to change the perception of the Society - to impact the education and training systems on the perception of people with disabilities - to improve impowerment of people with disabilities - to promote the UNCRPD The 6 members of the consortium are LADAPT (France - coordinator of ISA), Cope Foundation (Ireland), EASPD (Belgium), Horizon 2000 asbl (Belgium), NASO (Bulgaria), Kézenfogva Alapítvány (Hungary). Those service providers are delivering quality services to PWD and in society awareness in the fields of education, work, arts, culture, housing, training, health, etc. The partners have a very high level of expertise and efficient networks. The members of the consortium are clearly engaged in the european political and economical envronnments, as well as at a national level. The ISA project is built around 3 issues and the production of 5 deliverables: Issue 1, to work with cinema, advertising and theatre scools and universities to developp an inclusive and respectuous implementation of the UNCRPD's articles 8 and 30: # O1 - Guide of the european good practices in matter of inclusion by the arts (deliverable 1) # O2 - Tool box ""Inclusion by the arts"" for the teachers and professors working at school and universities (deliverable 2) Issue 2, to act on the schooling environment to adapt the contents and, by this way, promote inclusion by the arts # O3 - Guide to sustain teachers and professors to promote art as an inclusive pedagogy (déliverable 3) # O4 - Inquiries of experience feedback with the students (deliverable 4) Issue 3, to promote Field Aperture on the ground. Each consortium member will organise at least one Field Aperture event a year, using the following method: # O5 - Process guide ""Field Aperture"" (deliverable 5). 3 events / conferences will be carried out during all the programme. They will be organised as follows: - in the morning, international dissemination conference - in the afternoon, Field Aperture event The 3 events are: # E1 - France (june 2018) # E2 - Hungary (march 2019) # E3 - Belgium (june 2020) closing conference. About the method: we have decided for a participative way. Each member of the consortium is the pilot of one of the intellectual production and the linked deliverables. In an other way, each member is responsible for animation on the ground of the stakeholders. It has to create and implement efficient networks which whom they will promote on the ground the programme. The service providers and the stakeholders are associated to promote and improve their service offering. By the way, we absolutely want to work with partners which are efficient in the artistic area and events production. To measure results and impacts, we will produce deliverables all along the programme, which will be experimented during the 3 years. Due to our quality engagements, we will be carefull to improve our actions and offers. To us, the targets and the long term benefits are: - to involve schools and universities in a long term partnership - the improvement of the contents delivered to adults and youngs - a change about the perception concerning the use of arts as an efficient way to contribute to improve inclusion for PWD - the influence of arts in the communication to improve non discrimination - the participation of the creation of a european network about Field Aperture - the creation of Field Aperture european events - the development of a real long-term strategy turned to the mainstream"

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