The Consortium

Fundatia de Sprijin Comunitar – FSC

A non-profit Romanian organisation registered in 1997 in Bacau, NE Romania; FSC has no political or religious affiliation and has a public utility status.

Organisational vision: to create a world where human rights are respected and people have access to adequate, high quality services provided by professionals in their own community.

Organisational mission:

• to support the most vulnerable people in the community through social, medical and educational programmes;
• to raise the public awareness towards those people’s needs;
• to promote local communities’ development;
• to encourage partnerships between the governmental, NGO and private sectors.

Organisational values:

• honesty
• accountability
• respect for the beneficiaries
• altruistic approach

With a team of 130 employees and 250 volunteers we serve yearly over 5,000 people through medical, social and educational services,

We provide:

Integrated services for the elderly:

• Home care services in rural areas: 10 communities located on the east of Bacau County
• Home care services: Bacau city
• Dr.StefanCiobanu (“Speranta”) day care centre for the active seniors
• Milly’s Village of the Seniors

Integrated services for disadvantaged children and families

• “Club with Glue”: day centres, medical, social and educational services in rural areas
• “Mosaic centre” Bacau: Support of the families – social services for the impoverished families and their children
• IMPART – community art therapy through combined arts
• Volunteering programme – we work with 250 high-school young people in community services

Fundatia de Sprijin Comunitar (FSC) is an accredited service provider for services for vulnerable children and dependent older population. FSC is also a licensed training provider for “home care”, social work and combined arts for special needs. We also hold an accreditation for counseling and employment service provider.

IASIS

IASIS is non-governmental, non-profit organization active in the field of Social Inclusion, Mental Health and Deinstitutionalization, which actively participates in the psychiatric reform promoted by the Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity and the European Union. IASIS has an official registration as Private Non-Profit Organization. Τhe organization’s main objective is to provide psychosocial support and education to people who either belong into the range of or are at risk of exclusion and to adult professionals in the humanitarian field.

IASIS began its preparatory actions in 2005. The first housing structure, a boarding house for 15 people with mental disabilities, started to operate in 2006 and a 2nd boarding house with another 15 people started to operate in 2018. In 2008, IASIS NGO’s activities in the field of de-institutionalization were extended with a Day Centre for people with psychosocial problems (80 people each year), and 2 Sheltered Apartments hosting 4 tenants each with mental health issues. The organizational cycle of de-institutionalization culminated in 2014 with the creation of Social Cooperative in 7th Psychiatric Sector, named “Archipelagos”.

In the following years, IASIS NGO expanded its activities offering services to other vulnerable groups:

1. Homeless people (60 protected houses offered for accommodation of homeless people, counselling services and on the job training, with the support of DIKEOMA social enterprise)
2. Asylum Seekers/ Refugees (70 families, Host Unit for 350 asylum seekers, Hostel for 20 unaccompanied teenagers,

Psychosocial Support Service of 2.500 persons)

3. Children at risk (Hostel for 100 children / victims of war)
4. Abused Women (Support of 200 women)
5. Unemployed people (Support for 90 persons)
6. Youngsters at Social Exclusion Risk/Young Offenders (CONNECT YOUR CITY Youth Centres, Anti-bullying Work Group “Ailios”).

The organization has also developed a strong network across Europe, through which there have been designed and implemented dozens of Research & Educational Programs in the context of European and national frameworks (Erasmus+, Life Long Learning, EAA Grants, EFM etc.). The last step to establish IASIS NGO as integrated Center for Psychosocial Education & Training is its certification as a VET Centre by the Greek National Accreditation Organization, a process that warrants the organization as an institution for professional development of both beneficiaries and professionals.

IASIS has been involved in a number of European projects aiming at the development of capacity for the organization itself, for the staff and volunteers and for the beneficiaries. Moreover, we have been involved in a number of European projects in order to support youth workers and staff to develop their professional competence and become skilled enough to deal with challenges in youth work.

The organization provides services to young people who face psycho-social and educational difficulties with several symptoms, such as:

1. Drop Outs: Youngsters who leave school.
2. Young offenders: Young people turn themselves in to illegal activities. IASIS is collaborating the last years with the Greek Juvenile Probation Office in order to support the rehabilitation of young offenders, dealing with issues such as: Depression, Anger-Conflict management, Low Self-esteem, Professional Orientation problems.

The experience that IASIS has gained through EU projects led to the creation of IASIS VET Centre, with a view to offer their knowledge to the public through training programs.

Activities and projects that offers opportunities for learners with special educational needs are:

1. The “Connect Your City” Youth Centers under the auspices of IASIS, as a voluntary organization whose main purpose is to offer opportunities for creative VET courses, employment orientation and socialization among young people aged 15 to 30, most of them with special socioeducational needs.
2. The YOUROTRIP Project aims at fostering youth participation in democratic life and capacity building of youth workers to support youth engagement.
3. The AMORAY Project, which proposes a training and development program for Youth Workers, aiming to recognize their role in the mental health provision to Young Migrants, Refugees and Asylum seekers.
4. The APOFEU 2.0 Project that focuses on one of the EU’s greatest challenges: achieving the integration of Migrant and Minority Youth.

ANZIANI E NON SOLO SOCIETA COOPERATIVA SOCIALE

Anziani e Non Solo is a non-profit organization working since 2004 in the field of social innovation, with a specific focus on management of projects and realization of services and products in the field of welfare and social inclusion.

The activities carried out by Anziani e Non Solo concern different social domains, such as:

– Support and empowerment of disadvantaged young persons: skills development, social inclusion and school to work transition

– Support to employability and to social inclusion of disadvantaged groups

– Active ageing, intergenerational activities and support to frail and dependent elderly ANS competences include:

– Social project management

– Social research

– Pilot projects in the social field

– Training and e-learning

– Validation of informally acquired skills

– Counselling

Within its activities ANS has promoted several projects at local, National and European level developing strong networking capacities with local and regional authorities, foundations, NGO’s, trade unions, job centres and social cooperatives. ANS is a member several European and national networks which can support dissemination and exploitation of project results. Among these AGE Platform Europe which is the largest EU network active in the field of ageing. ANS is also registered as: as a recruitment agency at the Italian Ministry of Labour, as a lifelong and continuous learning provider in Sardinia Region, as a training provider at the Italian National Board of Social Workers, as a social research institution. Finally, ANS is a Rickter Scale® (personal development and counselling method) associate and authorized training

provider. ANS employs a statutory staff of ten including psychologists, social educators, sociologists, experts of community development and can rely on a network of external professionals who are regularly involved in the provision of services and programmes.

ANS and its staff members allocated to the project have a solid experience in areas related to the project and can therefore bring an added value to the partnership:

– ANS has an extensive experience in working in informal education and support programs for young persons, including programs based on the use of Philosophy for Community and visual art-based techniques, for this reason ANS also has a strong network of professional relations with organizations working with and for youth in Italy, which also supports our access to the target group.

– ANS has experience and skills in informal and non formal education methods, including how to integrate philosophical and creative-based techniques in education. In this regard, ANS has been for example involved in: CREATYV, a project which used creative drama to promote intergenerational techniques; EPYC, which used narration and photography to support young carers; YEIP, which aimed to prevent youth violent radicalization through educational activities; T4L which applied the Socratic questioning to the training of care professionals.

– ANS has an ICT and e-learning department that has all the skills to develop e-learning courses, MOOCs and other openeducational resources including videos; animations; comics and pod-casts.

EDRA

‘Social Cooperative Activities for Vulnerable Groups – EDRA’ is a Non-Profit Organisation, operating in the fields of mental health and mental retardation since 2001, aiming at the promotion of mental health, defending the rights of vulnerable groups and raising awareness in matters concerning mental health.

It is a member of the Transparency Register of the European Union, the National Register of Organisations of Civil Society of the Private Sector, the Special Register of Voluntary non-governmental organisations and the Register of Cultural Organisations of the Ministry of Culture. It is also a member of distinguished networks such as the European Network of Active Living for Mental Health, currently serving as President of the Board, the European Federation of People with Mental Illness, “ARGO” the Federation of organisations for the Psycho-social Rehabilitation and Mental Health in Greece and the Federation of Voluntary Non-governmental Organisations of Greece. In order to ensure the quality and the efficiency of the provided services, the organisation is employed with more than 130 staff members, who are specialized in their operating field and share the culture and values which stem from its vision. Since the commencement of its operation, EDRA has provided services to more than 1800 beneficiaries. The organisation has adopted a holistic approach which has now become the dominant model as regards active mental health policies in the European Union:

– In terms of content, it includes comprehensive systems which focus on prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and social integration (tackling social stigma).

– An inter-sectoral approach which is considered necessary, as Arts, Sports, Employment, Advocacy, Patient Rights, Regional Development etc., are meant to contribute in a decisive way.

– At an operational level, a holistic approach is produced and provided by the context of synergies among national health systems (central government), Community (local government), the Scientific Community, Private Sector, Civil Society and of course mental health services users and their families.

EDRA operates in the following sectors:

1. Mental Health, operating two Units of psycho-social rehabilitation (Boarding Houses) and a supported apartments programme with two shelter houses of semi autonomous accommodation
2. Mental Retardation, operating the “Nefeli” Supported Living Residence for people with Down syndrome and moderate or severe intellectual disabilities co-occurring with signs of autism.
3. Child and Family, operating six centres for children and adolescents with learning difficulties aged between 3 and 17 years all across Attica region.
4. Vulnerable Social groups, implementing the national programmes “Social Structures against Poverty” & “Housing and Reintegration”.

It is also very active in EU projects, having coordinated multiple large- scale projects under Erasmus+ (KA2, Sport) and Creative Europe (Culture) Programmes and also having participated in numerous projects as partner. The priorities of these projects primarily concern:

• The prevention of Mental Illness as well as the therapy and rehabilitation of people suffering from Mental Illness through various means (Sports, Culture, Digital Skills etc.)
• The inclusion of socially excluded and marginalized groups into our societies and their integration into local communities through various means.
• The mitigation of inequalities in education, by providing vulnerable groups the chance to acquire necessary skills and competences to enter the labour market. EDRA has also a vast experience when it comes to training as it operates a Lifelong Education Centre. Over the years, it has offered its services to many hundreds of trainees, running courses for professionals of Mental health field, social workers, artists, Educators for Adults, IT professionals, Speech and Occupational Therapists, wannabe social entrepreneurs and many others.

EDRA has an extensive experience in managing and coordinating projects at national and EU level, focusing on the support of various disadvantaged groups, including low skilled people, people with disabilities, NEETs, migrants and people belonging to minority ethnic groups, as regards the building/improvement of their skills and capacities, their employability and therefore their social inclusion and integration into the labour market and the society. It also has experience in youth exchange programmes as it has implemented multiple ones in the European Voluntary Service and Erasmus+ KA1 Sectors. The persons involved in this project will bring valuable expertise, as they have coordinated large-scale projects under various frameworks (KA2, Erasmus+ Sport, Creative Europe, REC, etc.) and are familiar with the mechanism and the necessities of the procedures. In addition, they have the scientific background needed in connection to the proposal’s aims at national and European level.

HABILITAS Association

HABILITAS Association is a NGO created in 2007 with the aim to contribute to the development of adults education. Habilitas delivers professional adult training and implements projects and programs in education and social innovation, at national and European levels. Habilitas is continuously developing training programs for young people in difficult situations, older persons, young and adult family carers, young and adult professional careworkers, volunteers, disadvantaged persons, according to their identified needs (volunteering, personal development, improving practice, communications skills, improvement of personal skills, human rights, combating Hate Speech, identifying and preventing elder abuse) and has participated in developing several public policies (in the field of volunteering and in the field of public social services). AsociatiaHabilitas CRFP works in projects focused on enhancing quality of life of different population categories, on stimulating socio-professional integration of vulnerable and marginalized persons, and on raising awareness on social issues. In a continuous development, Habilitas has implemented several projects at local, National and European level and it has established strong collaboration and partnerships with local and national public authorities, other NGOs, trade unions, volunteering centers, employment agencies. Habilitas implemented projects in the field of social inclusion of disadvantaged youth (C.R.E.A.T.Y.V. and Care to Entrepreneurship), aiming at empowering vulnerable young people in getting involved in community actions, volunteering, and social entrepreneurship.

Habilitas has been involved in a number of European projects in order to support young people and staff to develop their professional competence and become skilled enough to deal with challenges in youth work.

Activities and experience that are relevant for this project:

1. Creative Drama for Training Young Volunteers in Intergenerational Learning Environments (C.R.E.A.T.Y.V.), an Erasmus+ project coordinated by Habilitas. The aim of CREA.T.Y.V.project was to provide non-formal learning opportunities to young people (18-25 years old) with fewer opportunities through a mentoring / intergenerational training program in the volunteering field, using creative drama, and in this way enhancing young people civic engagement and social inclusion. Also, it developed civic skills and social inclusion of young people through education on volunteering and blended mobilities of young people as well as educators’ competence in the field. Finally, it contributed to policies for training youth in volunteering field
2. Care to Entrepeneurship (C2E): C2E was a youth-led, transnational project that developed, tested and implemented innovative practices in a much neglected area in the field of youth support. Responding to the priorities of the Lisbon agenda and the Europe 2020 strategy treating entrepreneurship as a key component of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, C2E targeted young carers aged 18-30 with particular focus on women from low-income families. It adopted a youth-led methodology which constructed and implemented evidence-based, well-tested and replicable educational and training curricula to develop young carers’ practical, creative and entrepreneurial skills to enable them to become confident and successful young entrepreneurs.

Centre for Drama in Education and Art CEDEUM

Centre for Drama in Education and Art CEDEUM was founded in 1999 as a non-governmental and non-profit association aiming at implementing and supporting projects and initiatives in the field of creative education , drama and art that have as its goal the development of our country and region as a free, open and democratic society, where human rights are respected in every segment. It consists of an efficient and well organized team of multitasking experts in drama, psychology

and social studies, and a large body of volunteers interested in helping in the implementation of our programs and thus achieving new skills and practices.

During the last years we have grown into a platform and network involving thousands of young people who have passed out programs and projects, including their teachers and mentors, empowering them into becoming strong bearers of change and tolerance. CEDEUM has been known to support drama educational and artistic activities in in local communities as models of good practices of mutual engagement and mobilizing all the stakeholders into the implementation, follow public needs in the programs of public interest in the fields of education, culture and social care, promotion of human and minority rights and sustainable development.

Our goal is to create ties with other associations of theatre artists and other experts with the purpose of exchanging experiences and immediate collaborative work and practice, and we have been deeply involved with education of theatre artists and other experts for the application of drama in their immediate professional engagement, and particularly with children and young people. We have been involved in public advocacy for systematic upgrading of the role and position of innovative, creative and participatory activities and methods of work in the fields of education, culture and other social areas.

CSO Centre for Drama in Education and Art CEDEUM was founded on October 29th 1999, but its founders have been continually working as promoters of innovative, creative and participatory approaches in the field of drama/theatre and education for more than thirty years. CEDEUM sprung up from a drama program which was implemented and developed in the Cultural Centre Stari Grad in Belgrade.

CEDEUM is an association which gathers theatre artists, drama pedagogues, teachers, as well as cultural workers, psychologists, social workers and other artists and experts with an interest in the collaborative work and exchange of experiences on national, regional and international levels. CEDEUM has a widespread network of associates, both from Belgrade and the whole country.

The specific context of working in the field of drama and dance education is that both of the fields are not accepted as a cirruculum subject, and it is implemented by teachers in schoold who usually teach Serbianlanguge and English, sometimes History. There are drama groups in schools led by these teachers. Artists are also involved in the field of drama and dance education, but more project to project bases, in the field of art for social change, as non formal aspects of education. We do have specialised high schools for music, dance and visual art.

The expertise of the staff includes:

-Organization and implementation of Festival, Symposiums and showcases of good practices in the realm of art education

-Training skills and grass root work with pupils and children and youth on drama and dance education and creation

-Developing projects and fundraising activities

-Training skills for teacher, artists and others in the field of art, and also team building, peace, inclusion, diversity

-Specific Knowledge in the area of Arts and Creativity in Education.

– Collaboration with universities on post-graduate courses.

-Developing, implementing and researching new methodologies in the field of drama and dance education.

-Advising pupils, teachers, parents and Policy Makers.

Redial

Redial is an innovative and forward thinking voluntary and community sector organisation working in the field of socialinclusion based in Dublin and working within different communities in Ireland.

REDIAL is a collective of practitioners who have come together to share and maximise their wealth of experience, utilize their skills and collaborate together to develop, implement and evaluate innovative projects and methodologies withinlearning, employability, entrepreneurship, active citizenship, migration, community development and social cohesion.Our expert team engage and support individuals to develop skills and realise their potential and support organisations tobuild their capacity, continuously improve their practice, and open up new income streams from grassroots to European level.

Our multi-skilled delivery team is drawn from a diverse background and includes careers and employment advice,community education, training, health and wellbeing, social workers, psychologists, sociologists, business start-up and theprivate sector and equality and diversity and is underpinned by sound project and financial management.REDIAL’s vision is to create inclusive learning communities which empower learners from every background to developskills, overcome barriers to inclusion, and realise their potential.

At EU and local level, REDIAL’s staff and volunteers have a wealth of experience in supporting individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds to participate fully in society through learning.

Staff members have experience of runningvolunteer mentoring programmes supporting members of the community including ethnic minorities, isolated individuals,

people with mental health issues, and ex-offenders to develop their skills and competence in employment and selfemployment.

Our team have developed and led a variety of programmes supporting excluded individuals to reach theirpotential in the labour market. REDIAL staff have strong experience in transnational project working – experience includes

• Mentoring programmes specifically around employment and enterprise.
• Supporting Refugees and migrants through art and creative resettlement support.
• Health and Wellbeing community learning including active ageing.
• Promoting gender equality and diversity,
• Promotion of innovative practices within the resettlement and support of ex-offenders both in custodial and communitysetting
• Training and validation for disadvantaged learners
• Career guidance and counselling.
• Workforce development and organizational capacity building.

Though REDIAL is a new organization, our staff have existing strong EU partnerships and experience of developing andadapting innovative learning programmes and associated materials. We design our programmes to empower people fromdisadvantaged backgrounds to achieve their potential through learning.

The REDIAL team have developed and implemented community learning and participation programmes which focus on thepersonal and social development of individuals as well as the development of the community that they live. We understandthe importance of developing the capacity of community members for the good of the whole community.

 Redial projects aim to raise the voice of those who are often underrepresented in decision-making, and at risk of social exclusion. We aim to empower people and enable them to make informed choices to live meaningful lives. Whether through participation in EU-wide projects, or through local partnerships, we endeavor to cement the social needs of people in Ireland and in Europe, notably those in vulnerable situations.

The REDIAL team have a vast amount of experience of both participating and leading transnational partnerships within the field of learning and social inclusion.

We strongly encourage people to participate in their communities through both learning and volunteering, in order for them broader their horizons, develop their skills or realise their potential through employment and enterprise. We are passionate about the impact of inclusive lifelong learning and understand the importance that education, employment and being connected to a community has on a person’s wellbeing and inclusion.

We embed this ethos and philosophy through our co-production methods which we use throughout our work to produce training and learning modules, research and consultation reports, policy recommendations, and online and physical training and learning methodologies and platforms. For us, co-production means bringing both learners, educational practitioners, and other stakeholders together and finding common solutions as equal partners in the process.