Education training and
youth
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Education |
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Training |
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Youth |
The Community actions for the support of people with disabilities
are developed within in the framework of general measures and within the
programmes themselves.
The SOCRATES Programme aims to develop the European dimension in education, to promote improved knowledge of European languages, to foster exchanges of information on educational systems and policy, to promote the intercultural dimension of education, to enhance the quality of education by means of European co-operation, and to promote mobility of teaching staff and students. For the period 1995-1999 a sum of 850 MECU has been allocated.
The Commission and the National Agencies, with respect to the Actions under which they are respectively responsible for taking the selection decisions, take into account the need to ensure that the SOCRATES programme contributes actively to the implementation of Community policies of a transversal nature. These include notably initiatives for the promotion of equal opportunities for women and men, and for the integration of disabled persons respectively, as well as the promotion of social and economic cohesion across the regions of the EU Member States.
The inclusive approach requires the principle of integration to become a significant additional priority when selecting projects for all Actions of the SOCRATES programme. The measures planned by project co-ordinators to promote the integration of disabled persons and to meet special educational needs are analysed attentively.
The needs of these persons are also taken into account, in as far as budgetary constraints allow, in calculating the amount of Community financial support to be granted.
In order to facilitate the task of the co-ordinators and the National Agencies, who have an important role to play in this context, in particular in the decentralised actions of the programme, a certain amount of supporting information is available, in particular from the SOCRATES and YOUTH Technical Assistance Office and from the National Agencies.
This includes in particular:
for hosting and advising disabled students in universities and higher education institutions: a list of special educational needs and a reference guide to hosting and advisory services;
the results of the work of the 13 thematic groups set up under Helios II, summarised in the form of multi-lingual thematic brochures; the Luxembourg Charter adopted in November 1996, which emphasises principles aimed at promoting a genuine integration of disabled people in education;
an OECD/UNESCO study on international indicators for special needs education;reports produced by the European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education
The LEONARDO DA VINCI Programme aims to promote new approaches in initial and continuing vocational training policies and practices in the Member States, with particular emphasis on the quality and innovative capacity of vocational training methods and products. It covers the period from 1 January 1995 to 31 December 1999 and has been allocated a budget of 620 MECU.
The Council decision on Leonardo da Vinci (OJ L340 of 29 December
1994) determines a common framework of objectives. Of these 19 objectives,
two refer specifically to disabled people:
- (promoting equality of access to initial and continuing training for persons disadvantaged by socio-economic, geographical or ethnic factors or by physical or mental disabilities; special attention must be given to persons affected by several risk factors likely to cause their social and economic exclusion; »
-
promoting equality of opportunity as regards access for migrant workers
and their children and the handicapped to vocational training and their effective
participation therein; ».
In its first three years of existence, from 1995 to 1997, 59 projects for the benefit of disabled people have been supported through the Leonardo da Vinci programme, allocating a budget of 8.5 MECU . These projects are principally seeking to improve the access of handicapped people to vocational training and to enhance their employability, through the development of innovative training programmes and/or specific targetted information, or through the development of programmes aiming at professionals in the field of professional or social reintegration.
The projects are dealing with particular issues such as the development of Multimedia World Wide Web for distance learning; Tele-education and vocational training for disabled people; socio-professional integration of young adults suffering from autism; improvement of the employability of disabled people in sectors of communication industries, information design and telematics; autism specific interactive learning software packages; the development of vocational training for voluntary workers in NGOs assisting disabled people, etc.
A second phase for the Leonardo da Vinci programme covering the period 2000 – 2006 is currently under preparation. In the proposal for the second phase (Common position of the Council of 4 December 1998, JO C49 of 22 February 1999), specific reference to disabled people is made in Whereas No. 7: „Whereas measures under this programme should serve the purpose of developing quality, fostering innovation and promoting the European dimension in vocational training systems and practices with a view to encouraging life-long learning; whereas, in the implementation of this programme, attention should be paid to fighting exclusion in all its forms, including racism and xenophobia; whereas special attention should be focused on removing all forms of discrimination and inequality, inter alia for people with a disability, and on promoting equal opportunities for women and men;“.
The Youth for Europe Programme, the main objective of which is to contribute to the education of young people outside school systems, provided support for projects involving more than 70 000 young people in 1997, at a cost of ECU 24.9 million.
Youth for Europe constitutes an important measure for the promotion of a policy for co-operation in the field of youth; the objective is to contribute to the educational process of young people. This contribution take the form particularly of exchanges, both intra-Community and with third countries, by encouraging youth actions at local level and facilitating access of disadvantaged young people to the Programme's activities.
Youth for Europe itself is in keeping with a general framework of measures taken by the Member States for young people, and which aim to achieve all or part of the following: promoting an awareness of the dangers relating to exclusion, including racism and xenophobia, through socio-educational measures for and by young people; encouraging young people to find out about, become aware of, and recognise the intrinsic value of cultural diversity.
European Voluntary Service is a programme open to all young people aged, in principle, between 18 and 25, who are legally resident in a country eligible to participate in the programme (15 EU Member States + Norway & Iceland). EVS aims to promote the mobility of young people in Europe and, through an informal educational experience, which is closely linked to their host community, help develop their aptitudes and skills in an intercultural context, whilst promoting the concepts of a common European identity and active citizenship. EVS activities carried out in the host project can be in either the social, cultural, artistic, environment, heritage or sports sectors.
During the Pilot Action to establish a European Voluntary service for young people in 1996/97, the main emphasis was on developing long-term voluntary service, a period of between 6-12 months. Whilst any young person can opt for long-term voluntary service, it is felt that a young person with special needs might find it difficult to commit themselves to such a long period of time away from home. Therefore, to widen the scope of opportunities available, particularly, to young people with disabilities, the Commission is continuing to develop short-term voluntary service activities of between 3 weeks and 3 months, which may be better suited to special category target groups, such as young people with physical or mental disabilities. These short-term projects may involve either group, ‘buddy’, or individual mobility, depending on the specific individual needs of the volunteers themselves.
With this objective in mind, the Commission , in consultation with a number of actors, who have relevant experience in running short-term activities for young people, has launched a series of pilot projects in 1999. The aim is to explore the possibilities of providing a wide range of choices for those who wish to take part in the EVS on a short-term basis and perhaps use it as a stepping-stone to longer-term voluntary service.
