Get assured, we manage the risks!

Background We applied for this project because we recognized the barriers faced by young people with impairments and chronic health conditions in participating in international learning mobilities. We understood that these individuals often hesitated to apply due to concerns about their special needs not being adequately met and the lack of risk management plans. Similarly, youth organizations may have been hesitant to invite young people with impairments and chronic health conditions into their projects due to perceived extra risks and a lack of preparedness in managing those risks. Through this project, we aimed to develop guidelines and tools/methods for risk assessment, risk management, and crisis intervention specifically tailored for youth mobility projects that included individuals with impairments and chronic illnesses. By supporting youth organizations in setting up and communicating risk assessment and management plans, we hoped to significantly reduce access barriers to international learning mobilities, particularly under Erasmus+ and ESC. We wanted to encourage both young people and youth organizations to include more individuals with impairments and chronic health conditions in these opportunities, ultimately contributing to the goal of "International Mobility for All." This strategic partnership consisted of organizations from 7 countries (planned 8), covering various fields such as sports, non-formal education, arts, therapy, and volunteering. Importantly, the project followed the principle of "nothing about us without us" by including individuals with impairments and chronic health conditions in its activities and collaborating with self-organizations and care centers for this target group. The project's results, including guidelines and tools, suposed to be shared and made accessible through the SALTO toolbox and our organizations' websites. We did not impose any copyrights or limitations on the use of this material, hoping that other organizations would utilize it for the benefit of ensuring equal access to international learning mobilities for young people with impairments and chronic illnesses. Objectives The project aimed to achieve the following: - Conduct extensive research on existing risk assessment, risk management, and crisis intervention plans in international learning mobility activities, and collect all relevant inputs. - Address various impairments and chronic illnesses, including sensory impairments, motoric impairments, chronic illnesses, cognitive impairments, and psychic disorders. - Develop guidelines and a toolbox to enhance the quality and safety of future projects involving young people with disabilities and chronic health conditions. - Provide training activities to improve the competencies of youth workers, leaders, managers, and assistants in risk management and crisis intervention for working with young people with disabilities and chronic health conditions in international mobility projects. - Involve at least 10 local organizations working with people with disabilities and chronic health conditions in the project. - Engage 10 different stakeholders, such as institutions, NGOs, campaigns, and national bodies, to support the visibility and dissemination of the project results. - Include at least 100 young people with disabilities and health problems from local organizations in project activities to gather their inputs, needs, experiences, and suggestions for improvement. - Develop and implement at least three additional youth projects under the Erasmus+ program that include young people with disabilities and chronic conditions, serving as a testing ground for the methodology and tools collected and adapted within the project. - Address the barriers faced by young people with impairments and chronic health conditions in applying for international learning mobilities, by supporting youth organizations in setting up risk assessment and risk management plans and effectively communicating them to the target group. - Achieve long-term impacts, including higher quality international youth work and projects that include young people with disabilities and chronic health conditions, increased participation of organizations in organizing mixed-ability projects, sustainability of the network through new collaborations and projects, and the empowerment and support of young people with disabilities and chronic health conditions in their personal and professional development, particularly through international mobility and non-formal education. Implementation Within our project, we have: - organized 7 online meetings - Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we were unable to meet in person at the beginning, so we conducted the project start online. - organized 7 TPMs - At each meeting, we met and spoke with at least one local group of people with disabilities or chronic illnesses. - conducted a training for group leaders for inclusive international projects. - Since we created a guidebook, we also organized 4 international youth exchanges (not funded by this project) to test and improve our guidebook in the end. Achievements As results, we have: - Guidebook and methods manual that we created together. - Uploaded information about our project and the guidebook to the internet. - Improved the work of the organizations whose participants were involved in this project. - More than 500 people whom we encountered and with whom we spoke about the topic and who were involved in the project. - More than 21 trained group leaders with a focus on groups with people with disabilities and chronic illnesses. -4 youth exchnage which we organised