The international final conference & final evaluation meeting for the project "Enable the cooperation, disable the barriers"

From November 01 to November 08, The International Final Conference & Final Evaluation Meeting for the “Enable the Cooperation, Disable the Barriers” project was held. The conference was organized by 4 NGOs from different countries including Action to the Community Development Institute (ACDC - Vietnam), Perkumpulan Difabel SEHATI Sukoharjo (SEHATI - Indonesia), Zavod za izobrazevanje in inkluzijo ODTIZ (ODTIZ - Slovenia), Development Center Association of Individuals with Disability and Their Families (EBAGEM - Turkey). The project is funded by the Erasmus+ Program of the European Union.

The project review and evaluation conference had the participation of representatives of 04 organizations, outstanding delegates of disabled and non-disabled youth from 04 countries and more than 30 people in Mersin city. Here, the outstanding outcomes of the project implementation in the period of 2019 - 2021 were presented and received much appreciation. This serves as the foundation for assessing and proposing workable solutions to support persons with disabilities, as well as contributing to raising awareness about inclusion in the community. Simultaneously, representatives of the parties also had the chance to introduce organizations, their methods of operation, and initiatives to encourage the inclusion of persons with disabilities in societies.

Furthermore, youth delegates from four countries also attended a youth training program hosted by EBAGEM. The representatives joined together to discuss, contribute, and share reflections on previous local training sessions as well as the current situation of disability in their country. The training content includes topics around social inclusion and youth work activities; levels of youth work participation; designing campaigns to raise awareness about inclusion; participation in interactive games suitable for all. Within the framework of the training, participants were given the opportunity to converse and exchange cultures to strengthen cohesion and cooperation between international organizations.

Ms Widyawwatidyah, a sign language interpreter, and representative of SEHATI (Indonesia) shared her feelings when participating in the training: “Training in Turkey made me more open-minded. Sharing many things that make me more able to tolerate diversity. Because so far I have only lived in Indonesia and now I have the opportunity to meet friends from various countries. It makes me happy to get to know more about many countries through sharing. So…let’s meet again and tell a lot of things, nice to meet you guys.”

In the coming time, following the project's achievements, ACDC will continue to cooperate with international partners to conduct projects aimed at improving the capacity of youth organizations, especially youth with disabilities.