DP Substract:
 
Together with its 9 national partners "OPEN DOORS" pursues the goal to purposefully effect the labour as well as the education market in order to successfully promote the training of disabled people.

We especially pay attention to the transition process from school and further education in special institutions to the general.

The whole DP and most of its national project-partners are led by disabled experts.

"OPEN DOORS" takes part in two transnational partnerships:
TSW - including partners from Austria, The Netherlands, Czech Republic and Germany

EQUALity - including partners from Austria and Italy

One of  the national partners of  "OPEN DOORS" - the Berlin Centre for self-determined living BZSL - is hosting the TSW-website

The main objectives of the DP OPEN DOORS are:

Putting together and implementing an ability-mainstreaming concept

Disseminating and anchoring of the ability-mainstreaming concept in such key areas as education, labour and politics

Training core skills for mobility and individual internships for disabled people

New job profiles for disabled people, setting positive examples in the social economy

Sensitizing and training of employers, especially travel agencies and education facilities

Avoiding dependency on institutions and long-term unemployment

Co-operating in creating new laws/legislation and their implementation through pilot projects

Creating new service instruments and training on how to use these new service instruments, e.g. Work Assistance

Reduction of discrimination and synergetic networking

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Rationale for the Development Partnership:

Within the European Union people now for a number of years have had the right to choose their place of work. However, in many areas people with disabilities have been denied this right.

Disabled people still face numerous barriers which are almost impossible to overcome. Looking at the basic education and training possibilities it becomes clear that in Europe even the access to the work force disproportionately is limited for disabled people.

Inclusive education for disabled children and teenagers is an exception. In general schools are part of segregated and special institutions. There children and teenagers often depend on institutional help. This institutional help prepares them for a life and work in special institutions rather than teaching them skills which will help them to integrate into the regular work force and assert themselves there.

The transition from school to work causes lots of problems. The problems continue and turn out to also be the central theme in all kinds of adult education areas.

Existing deficits in the areas of general education and career education need to be reduced by further developing already proven and new educational methods.

On the one hand mobility as well as communication barriers have to be reduced while at the same time the markets of general education, career education and the labour market have to open up.

On the other hand disabled people have to be able to develop and try out key qualifications for their individual career plans as well as necessary mobility and flexibility issues.

In Germany as well as some other European countries the system often times specified on institutional help. This led to a strengthening of special institutions. In the past years it however has become clearer and clearer that these institutions can hardly keep up with the dynamic demands of the general labour and education market.

Disabled people need individual aids which they can control themselves as well as instruments, such as "Work Assistance", and skills to use assistance effectively which will help them to integrate. Only with these aids and instruments on hand disabled people will be able to move around and away from the limiting special lives ment for them. They will be able to orient themselves and become more flexible in their working lives. From early on disabled people have to be enabled to work against hindrances (the experiences to depend on the institution, help, care taking). Disabled people also have to be enabled to try out their rights to equal opportunities and participation and to put both into practice.

It is necessary that disabled people become empowered. All important people to whom a disabled person is closest (parents, teachers, helpers, career advisers, etc.) as well as the people responsible for arranging the basic conditions have to be included in this necessary empowerment process. This is important as these people may also have to change their perspectives and roles (from care takers to assistants). This way they can take an active part in the success as well as in the corresponding change / further development of the basic conditions (de-institutionalising, more flexibility).

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Website:

Website of the German Partnership "OPEN DOORS - core skills and equal opportunities for people with disabilities"
In German language only

www.open-doors.info

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