THE PANHELLENIC ASSOCIATION OF ADAPTED ACTIVITIES ALMA is a non-profitable non-governmental association founded in 1996 by professionals working in the field of learning disability. ALMA is officially registered in the National data base of the non governmental organisations under the supervision of the Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity.

It also has Managerial Capability (no 2815/01.03.2011) for projects run by the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF).Our philosophy emphasises on the abilities of people with learning disabilities (mental retardation and autism) and on their full and dignified participation in the community.

Our basic purpose is to present disabled people with opportunities for creative use of their spare time through a variety of integrated sport, cultural and leisure activities. One of our goals is to sensitize the community whereas comforting and supporting the families.

Polish Association for People with Intellectual Disability (PSOUU) is the country wide parental organisation with local branches established in 1991, founded on the ground of the parental movement dating back to the sixties of the XX century. All branches are legally and financially independent. The mission of the association is:

• to protect human dignity, a place in the family and society and the quality of life of people with intellectual disability

• to lead them to active participation in social life

• to support them to become accepted and independent in their daily lives.

Gdansk branch of PSOUU has 270 members and operates as a social service provider as well as the mutual support grass-root organisation. Authorities of the Association: General Assembly, Executive Board – 8 people, Control Commission – 3 people

Executive board establishes the institutions run by the association, the chairperson of the board also serves the position of the general director. Each institution has its own general manager who is in charge of all programmes realised in it. Administration and book keeping is separate for the whole association. 136 people are employed. The annual budget is over 9 mln PLN (about 4 mln€). PSOUU Gdansk is registered as an adult education institution.

Medis5 is a sheltered working place, established 1998, for people with minor intellectual disabilities, people with disabilities, working with culture. Medis5 is situated in central Stockholm, Sweden. Medis5 is a part of Sensus, an NGO working with adult education. Medis5 is financed by the Swedish state.

At Medis5 the participants produce theatre, music, art, photo, film, poetry and workshops. Medis5 performs all around the country with shows, exhibitions and workshops. Medis5 also has two websites, www.medis5.se and www.teatersurra.se. The staff, consisting of seven people, at Medis5 has degrees in various disciplines in art, photography, film, IT and music.

At Medis5 there are 21 people with disabilities working. Medis5 is being administered by Sensus, an NGO for adult education and financed by the municipality of Stockholm.

Our main strength is to be serious and professional about the work the people with disabilities and leaders are doing at medis5.

Every newcomer to Medis5 gets an thorough introduction and apart from working with various culture projects a great deal of time is spent on practising how to present the “business“ to visitors, how to have a proper meeting and how to act as leaders of workshops in (at the moment) theatre, spinning and creative writing.