There was and still is a considerable need to develop educational training for staff and volunteers working with youths with Down syndrome (DS) or intellectual disabilities, especially concerning physical activities. Down syndrome is a common learning disability, and the condition occurs in approximately 1 in 700 births (U.S Department of Health & Human Service, 2017). There is no cure for the condition; instead, interventions are encouraged to promote independence, social inclusion, physical and mental development (European Commission, 2017, European Commission, 2010, Heller et al., 2003). Many individuals with DS already have or will develop physical health problems, however many still have sedentary lifestyles with little physical exercise (Bull, 2011; Bertapelli, et al., 2016; Heller et al., 2003; Tsimaras & Fotiadou, 2004; Balic, Mateos & Blasco, 2000; Esposito et al., 2012). For individuals with DS, one of the primary reasons for participating in activities is the social interaction with peers (Sayers Menear, 2007); however, many people trying or considering including this group are feeling inadequately equipped on how to best support, motivate and include individuals with disabilities as they lack knowledge not only about their needs but also about their skills (Thai & Kingsley, 2017; Sayers Menear, 2007; Jones, 2003; Kozub & Porretta, 1998). However, being aware of needs and strengths can change attitudes and encourage staff to devise an integrational programme that promotes inclusion and engagement (Spencer-Cavaliere et al., 2017; Campbell et al., 2003); this project successfully accomplished this objective. Participation in our society relates to the fundamental rights of EU citizens, including full access to cultural, sports and leisure activities. The project adhered to the European priorities agreed in: a) The European Disability Strategy 2010-2020: A renewed commitment to a barrier-free Europe (November 2010), b) The Declaration of the European Parliament of 18 April 2012 on children with Down syndrome, c) The European Commission Communication 'The European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion' (December 2010) and d) The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which entered into force in the EU in 2011. The outcome was a functional continuing education and training package for organisations that works or are interested in working with individuals with DS or intellectual disabilities. This enhances the possibilities for individuals with DS or intellectual disabilities to participate in sports activities and at the same time have the increased opportunities to become more integrated into our European society, which will contribute to their empowerment. The training course is in a modular form piloted on staff, youth workers, and volunteers in the partner countries that ensured the effectiveness and cultural adaptation. A website was developed that contains all the generated material, reports and outcomes in the partner languages. The project bridged the gap between higher education and user organisations with limited access to knowledge about barriers and variables that may affect participation in physical activities. By having a consortium of health/sport science, psychology and pedagogical experts in accordance with the EQF, ECVET and EQAVET frameworks together with NGOs that work directly with individuals with disabilities, we have ensured that functional training program was delivered as the results of the proposed programme of work. This was verified via pre and post-tests statistically on the 47 pilot participants. The outcome is a functional continuing education and training package for staff and volunteers in organisations who currently work or are interested in working with this target group. The inclusion of people with disabilities is a European-wide problem. By utilising a transnational project approach, we were able to generate training materials that function effectively in the context of European diversity in social and cultural aspects. By increasing knowledge and awareness of how to support and motivate individuals with DS or intellectual disabilities to participate in sports activities, we promote social inclusion and empower individuals to develop life skills and a better quality of life. The Multiplier events reached 185 participants. The developed material included training about equity, diversity and inclusion to combat segregation and discrimination. The longer-term benefits will be a framework of implementation strategies and skillsets for organisations to utilise via a succinct and economically viable training module. All the material developed is an open resource and available to download at the project's website. The dissemination and sustainability plan worked following the plan, reaching at least 18000 stakeholders (conferences, radio, events, TV interviews, newspapers, book chapters, social media).

The project TOPSIDE+ aimed at enlarging and enriching the existing TOPSIDE peer training and to support the development of policies for peer support and peer training. Peer-to-Peer activities have proven to be very useful to support the development of skills of persons with intellectual disabilities because they create unique opportunities to facilitate the transmission of skills due to the more similar life-experiences of trainer and trainee compared to a professional trainer. From 2011 to 2013, the project TOPSIDE (518166-LLP-1-2011-1-BE-GRUNDTVIG-GMP/2011-4039) developed indeed a new type of inclusive curriculum to train people with intellectual disabilities to become Peer Supporters. These results are available in 11 EU languages at www.Peer-Support.eu.Recently, the General Comment on Article 12 on legal capacity of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has created more possibilities and potential support for Peer Support and Peer Training. There is therefore a world-wide need to define and gain more experience on peer support and peer training and to disseminate concrete and practical good practices in this field to support people with intellectual disabilities to take control over their own lives.The TOPSIDE+ project therefore had the following specific objectives:• Further validation of the peer support and peer training concept in new environments and in new countries: France, Germany, Lithuania and Portugal• Extend the know-how and the teaching material available for peer support, including teaching material specifically for peer trainers with intellectual disabilities• Promote the concept of peer support and peer training among national and European stakeholders and policy-makers, including in an easy-to-understand way for people with intellectual disabilities• Develop policy recommendations at national and EU level to support the development and implementation of Peer Support for people with intellectual disabilities.TOPSIDE+ addressed mainly people with intellectual disabilities who are the main beneficiaries of the TOPSIDE+ outputs. The Peer Support training enabled the trainees with intellectual disabilities to provide support to peers who have the same disability. This is the reason why the target group itself was included actively in the development work of TOPSIDE+. In addition to the four co-trainers with intellectual disabilities, more than 36 persons with intellectual disabilities were trained to become Peer Supporters. Some project outputs were also designed for adult education professionals who are working with people with intellectual disabilities. These professional trainers were part of the team as well. Finally, some project outputs are primarily designed for a larger group of stakeholders who need to be acquainted with the concept of peer support: people with intellectual disabilities, family members and professionals, who are working with people with intellectual disabilities, but also policy-makers, who need to understand the role of peer support.The TOPSIDE+ project successfully organised the following main activities:1. Translate, adapt, test and publish the TOPSIDE Curriculum in German, French, Lithuanian and Portuguese, using a pilot training course during which the material was verified by users with intellectual disabilities from the partner countries. 2. Translate and adapt the TOPSIDE Guidelines for Trainers and Mentors 3. Enhance the TOPSIDE outputs by developing new exercises and an easy-to-read TOPSIDE curriculum, which were verified by users with intellectual disabilities also by employing the pilot training course. 4. Define national and European strategies and policies on Peer Support.5. Train-the-trainers at national level 6. DisseminationIn the development phase, the partners developed their plans for the TOPSIDE+ peer supporters, which guarantees the sustainability of the project results and the effective implementation of the TOPSIDE+ project. In the second phase of the project, the TOPSIDE+ partners disseminated the TOPSIDE+ results and the concept of peer support among national and European stakeholders. The training of Peer Supporters for people with intellectual disability during the project took place at local and/or regional level. As described above, this had a positive impact on the lives of the direct participants, but also helped to promote Peer Support at local and/or regional level. The European Policy Recommendations and their launch at an event in the European Parliament ensured a large impact at European level. The long-term benefits of the project are potentially huge because TOPSIDE has the potential to become a world-wide reference on Peer Support for all the countries that have ratified the Convention and for the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

<< Objectives >>The main objective is to create a comprehensive training programme focusing on the management of the deinstitutionalisation (DI) process which will reflect the current trends in social care across Europe.Specific objectives:1) To establish an international platform focusing on the management of the DI process and the exchange and transfer of best practices 2) To create methodical guidelines focusing on the DI management 3) To create a training programme focusing on the management of DI<< Implementation >>1) Establishment of the DI Platform as a place for exchange and transfer of best practices regarding the DI2) creation of the DI Management Guide, i.e. comprehensive methodological guidelines for management of the DI process3) preparation of the DI Management Training Programme incl. the training for future trainers of the programme4) Pilot testing of the training for trainers and of the DI Management Training Programme itself5) Evaluation and finalisation of the DI Guide and the Training<< Results >>Direct results:1) DI Management Platform established2) DI Management Guide (methodological guidelines)

The DECIDER project aims to cover the lack of IT educational and training resources of staff working in the disability sector, on implementing Supported Decisions Making (SDM) as a support service for people with disabilities that enhances their autonomy and Quality of Life.The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (hereinafter referred as ‘UNCRPD’) and in particular its article 12: Equal recognition before the law on an equal basis with others. It means a real shift towards a human rights approach of legal capacity. SDM has been proven as an efficient mechanism to implement legal capacity but no country has reached a satisfactory level of structural implementation. One barrier to achieve it is represented by the lack of knowledge, mechanisms and professional resources to make feasible the change of paradigm. The European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 defines objectives and concrete actions for an effective implementation of the UNCRPD across the EU and identifies Education and Training as one of the eight key areas of action.The DECIDER project partnership is made up of six expert organizations in different areas of knowledge related to the field of disability, such as IT, the provision of support services for people with intellectual disabilities, a self-help organization, and educators and trainers, both people with disabilities and support professionals. The diverse typology of profiles in the partnership allows a comprehensive approach to the main objective of providing a set of innovative, ICT-based and fully accessible educational tools that allow the implementation of decision-making methodologies supported by support systems for persons with disabilities.The co-productive work methodology, in which people with disabilities are included in the different activities carried out at DECIDER, ensures greater efficacy in products and quick results. Thus, as a first activity, a Qualitative Handbook on SDM (O1) about the state of play of SDM will be elaborated. It will be based on a series of semi-structured interviews aimed at persons with disability, their parents and families, therapists and trainers. The results of this phase are used as input to carry out the other activities. Specifically, an IT tool, called DECIDER App (O2), will be built to facilitate decision-making for people with disabilities and their environment. A Multimedia Package (O3) will also be developed that addresses the main spheres of life where decisions are made, such as health or personal economy.To contextualize Decision Support, the DECIDER project also produces a Brochure in digital version, easy to read and to understand, which contains the basic information on what is support decision making, its impact on the quality of life of people with disabilities and will include information about decision process, gaining knowledge, taking responsibility, asking for support and a specific section on how DECIDER App (O2) can be used.With the outputs of the previous activities, an ICT based Methodology (O5) will be designed for the implementation of SDM in organizations and in the environment of people with disabilities. The Methodology will be carried out both in a universal version and in a local version that takes into account the legal, structural and cultural factors of each of the participating countries. The Methodology, prepared in digital format and easily accessible, will be made available to organizations, individuals and families of people with disabilities on the project website. To increase transferability, a Pedagogical manual will be elaborated, which explains the analysis and implementation of the knowledge and IT tools produced. In order to prove and improve the quality of products obtained, a Piloting phase (O6) focusing on the implementation of the ICT based Methodology will be carried out in each of the participating countries, which will obtain the final version of all the outputs produced in DECIDER.For professionals, the central impact of the DECIDER project involves increased awareness, updated knowledge and implementing SDM Rights-based services directly to persons with disabilities (PWDs). It will be the first opportunity to benefit from a set of learning outcomes designed specifically around Supported Decision Making. As a mid-long term impact the DECIDER project will facilitate the shift of organizations to a supported decision-making approach service.Main envisaged impact for persons with disabilities is the increase on their level of autonomy and carrying out decisions, involving important benefits for them, such as enlarged self-esteem and increased quality of life.As a horizontal benefit, policy makers could adopt the DECIDER Project approach as providing an up-to-date and more sustainable social policy agenda, in line with the current needs of the EU Member States.

There is compelling evidence that people with intellectual disabilities and mental health problems are at risk of social exclusion. This is due to causes like the fact that intellectually disabled people (IDP) often experience difficulties and psychological barriers in accessing public places and that communities demonstrates low levels of attention to the idea of inclusiveness when referred to IDP (while there has been more focus on accessibility referred to physical disability). This is especially true in the current context generated by the global COVID pandemic, which increased social exclusion for IDP. At the same time there is an increasing need for their educators, therapists and social workers to integrate ICT-based supports in their daily work and to increase their competences in this field. Starting form this, MIND INCLUSION 2.0 leveraged from an idea of a local Italian project named “Dovevado.eu” started in 2015, and created new ways to foster social inclusion through the use of ICT.The main objective of MIND INCLUSION 2.0 was to foster competencies of educators of IDP across Europe to promote the participative co-creation and use of an innovative Smartphone APP supported by the definition of a solid facilitation methodology which can contribute to the sustainable and inclusive involvement of disabled people in the society (available here: https://www.mindinclusion.eu/). Based on EU’s Europe 2020 goal to create smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, the Article 26 of EU Charter, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Erasmus plus KA2 objectives in the field of adult education the project aimed at:- Enhancing cooperation and sharing experience among organizations working with IDP in EU;- Improving digital competences of IDP and their educators fostering the use of the web platform and an independent and inclusive life style;- Developing and sharing successful methodologies and practices (including co-design approach with IDP) to define and build inclusive communities across Europe.The project involved 22 educators and 61 people with disabilities across 4 countries (Italy, Spain, Lithuania and France), touching approximately 300 stakeholder. The main activities included:- The realization of two intensive trainings for social workers: one in Spain about co-design of accessible web-tools and, and another online about the promotion of community inclusiveness through the use of the Mind Inclusion Methodology.- The co-design and development, at European level, of an Android based APP fully accessible by people with intellectual disabilities, which allows gathering information about public places that are keen and sensible to IDP and their caregivers. Such information is gathered with a user-generated content approach, where the target group and their caregivers can directly feed the APP contents with personal experience and reviews.- The development of a facilitation methodology (composed by a Theoretical and an Operational Manual/guidelines, plus related tools) to support the usage of the APP for IDP as well as their inclusion process at community level, and the promotion of inclusive communities.- The promotion of activities, results and outcomes at international level through dissemination activities.The innovation relied on the use of a participatory approach and the adoption of agile methodologies for a truly user-centred co-design process that involved all the potential stakeholders in the design, development and testing/pilot stages of the APP and the methodology. This was possible thanks to the construction of a network of active stakeholders (or local action groups) that supported the participatory design through a set of small scale sessions. Moreover, they participated in promoting the APP and the methodology implementation.The project had strong impacts on participants’ educators in terms of increased competences related to ICT skills and the ability to foster social inclusion. At the same time involved IDP had the possibility to increase their ICT skills, as well as their relational competencies. Moreover, the project promoted their empowerment increasing their quality of life. Involved organizations had a great possibility to develop and disseminate new innovative approaches for addressing people with intellectual disability and favour training of their educators, reinforcing at the same time cooperation and management skills.Finally, even if the COVID pandemic limited our pilot activities, we observed an increase in the inclusion levels of IDP in their communities, thanks to the involvement of owners of public places (Bars, restaurants, etc.), educators, and volunteers. While at the national and international level the project is now trying to influence public authorities, increasing their awareness on the issue of disability and promoting the rights of IDP and the adoption of new innovative policies.