Active Community Participation training and resources for people with functional diversity

The ACTIVATE Project arose from the experience of people with functional diversity during the pandemic, with even more reduced mobility and few resources to be able to remain active in their communities. Several studies (such as Effects and consequences of the COVID19 crisis among people with disabilities, by Fundación ONCE) showed the great physical, psychological and emotional deterioration of this group, and the limited resources available to professionals to try to provide them with the necessary support. Although technologies were a great ally, the reality was that both people with disabilities and professionals lacked sufficient skills to be able to stay active in and through the digital world. The Project partners, who represent and provide services to people with functional diversity and their professionals, were direct witnesses of these needs, and therefore decided to contribute to meet them with new resources. ACTIVATE counted with the direct participation of the target groups in its execution, both in the design phase of the results (in-depth interviews) and in the development phase (with piloting and validation activities).

ACTIVATE pursued the following main objectives: 1. To improve the digital skills and competencies of adults with disabilities to overcome the physical barriers that hinder their participation in the community. 2. To promote the active participation of adults with disabilities in their communities. 3. To guarantee their full participation in society on an equal basis with others. 4. To promote a satisfying social life and community participation for adults with disabilities. 5. To maintain the independence and improve the quality of life of persons with disabilities. 6. To provide professionals working with people with disabilities with tools to support their active social participation.

The project has been developed around 4 main work phases, with the following 11 main activities: 1. Preparation phase: A1: Consortium creation activities, including the working meetings (3 transnational) 2. A2: Constitution of the Project Management Team - PMT. A3: Periodic online coordination meetings: 11 of the whole partnership plus bilateral support meetings when necessary. A4: Preparation of the project website. A5: Launch of the sustainability strategy. Implementation phase: A6: Development and piloting of the ACTIVATE Training Course, including the design of the working methodology, interviews with experts and people with disabilities to validate the suitability of the proposed content, the development of the module contents and the programming of the online platform and the contents in SCORM and web format. A7: Development and testing of the ACTIVATE Toolkit with professionals supporting people with functional diversity. 3. Monitoring and evaluation phase: A8: Continuous evaluation to identify risks and areas for improvement. 4. Dissemination phase: A9: Publications on social networks (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and twitter). A10: Communication and dissemination activities.

ACTIVATE has resulted in two main outputs: R1 - Training course on online community action and social participation mechanisms. The Training Course aims to contribute to the improvement of the competencies of people with functional diversity (in particular, with physical disabilities) so that they can take advantage of the digital world for a greater active participation in their communities. It counts on 5 modules, published on an online platform. The Course is openly available and for each module includes the learning objectives, an introductory video and an evaluation quiz to test the acquired knowldege. R2 - Toolkit of practical tools for the promotion of online community participation. The Toolkit aims to provide professionals with tools to raise awareness among the people with functional diversity about the opportunities that digital and online tools can offer them to be active in their communities. It includes: - Practical tools and resources to use with the people they work with, such as videos, successful best practices and active participation dynamics. - Methodological recommendations and instructions so that professionals can adopt the materials in their dynamics with the target group.