ICALL: Inclusive Communities for All

ICALL aims to create the tools needed to develop inclusive communities where persons with disabilities can live a full and social life.

The ICALL project aims to create the tools needed to develop and sustain inclusive local communities where persons with disabilities (PwD) can live a full social life and access all services offered to the public.

Context

Persons with disabilities have an equal right to live independently and be included in the community, with choices equal to those of others about their place of residence as well as with whom and how they live. When it comes to the right to live independently, although much remains to be done to respect and implement the principles of the UNCRPD (Article 19) and the EU Strategy, the way forward is clear. However, there is less understanding on what inclusion in the community of persons with disabilities means more broadly. In the majority of cases key professionals (serving in municipalities, local NGOs or companies) in the community lack competences and knowledge on how to build and consolidate inclusive communities through different practices and approaches. For this reason, there is a current demand for a more comprehensive overview and learning material on what community inclusion - considering the specific context of persons with disabilities - means.

Aims

Raise the awareness and build the capacity of key stakeholders (including local authorities) to build inclusive communities for persons with disabilities. To do so the project will develop a training curriculum that equips them with practical skills and competencies on the subject. The training materials will be designed for the adult learners belonging to local authorities, service providers, local stakeholders, and other learners in the field of inclusion and community development.
Pilot the training and offer a Massive Open Online Course focused on the strategies, principles, and steps needed to organise communities in a way that they are inclusive, welcoming, and engage with persons with disabilities.
Build an informal community of practice and multistakeholder collaboration in the field of inclusive communities and deliver policy recommendations to build the commitment of local and national authorities to inclusive community-building efforts.

Main target groups

Staff of local authorities, service providers, local stakeholders, and other learners in the field of inclusion and community development.

Project activites and results

Research on Inclusive Communities: state of play in EU countries, key challenges and promising practices

Report on the state of play of inclusive communities in Europe
Collection of promising practices of inclusive communities

Development of a training curriculum and MOOC on how to create and sustain inclusive communities

Training Manual on how to create and sustain inclusive communities
Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)

Development of policy recommendations on inclusive communities for local and national authorities (including national round tables for promotion of recommendations among key stakeholders)

Key recommendations for national and local authorities on how to promote inclusion of persons with disabilities in local communities
National roundtables for promotion of recommendations among key stakeholders