Promoting inclusion in international youth work

To conclude the project, Karina Chupina (expert and trainer for inclusion and diversity, Russia), Marie-Luise Dreber (Director of IJAB, Germany), Elżbieta Kosek (Kreisau-Initiative e.V., Germany/Poland), Florian Kufner (German Deaf Youth), Milanka Nikolic (activist, Serbia) and Katrin Rosenthal (Aktion Mensch, Germany) joined experts from the plenary to highlight what they believe are the most significant hallmarks of successful inclusion, and not just in international youth work:

• Everyone needs to understand that accessibility is not the same as inclusion. In addition, we should get used to having open discussions about uncomfortable subjects, too.
• Organisations need to make an official commitment to inclusion. Although much progress has been made in recent years, there still needs to be a clear commitment to inclusion if things are to change (i.e., someone needs to take responsibility).
• As the VISION:INCLUSiON project has shown, networking and regular communication are incredibly important.
• Practitioners, in particular, need COURAGE to embrace inclusion. Even small steps are valuable! Plus, organisations need allies. This requires them to actively reach out to potential new partners such as disability community organisations and special-needs schools.
• We need to paint clear a picture of what an inclusive society can look like, and we need to talk more openly with each other. We need to teach children from a very early age how they can support and show respect to each other. This is the only way to allow everyone to feel they belong. Mixed-ability groups are an important part of this.
• More than before, inclusion needs to be mainstreamed structurally. We need public-sector organisations to collect and disseminate expertise.
• We need much more data. Having reliable information is crucial when it comes to including people with disabilities in programmes and policies.
• We need more capacity building for young people with a disability or impairment! Training courses for experts and the teams themselves need to be more diverse!
• We should not forget that the situation may vary from country to country. In Germany, thanks to projects like VISION:INCLUSiON we are in a relatively good place, but what about our partner countries?
• If inclusion is to be made mainstream, it needs greater visibility! To make this happen, all organisations and individuals working in this field need to use social media more consistently.

• The concluding “fishbowl” discussion was the last point on the very dynamic and engaging digital agenda. In closing, all participants emphasised how important it was to keep this new international network alive. And of course they expressed their gratitude to the VISION:INCLUSiON team Ulrike Werner, Claudia Mierzowski and Christoph Bruners from IJAB. “Without you none of this would have happened!!!! You are the heart and soul of VISION:INCLUSiON!”

We are pleased to announce that the team is currently working on a MOOC (massive open online course) on the training modules. This way, as many individuals and organisations as possible can learn about inclusion whenever and wherever it suits them.