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Final Transnational Meeting in Panevėžys, Lithuania

STELLA was a transnational, two-year project executed within the framework of the ERASMUS+ program.

Partners from ten different countries formed a strategic alliance, cooperating for innovative changes within prioritized fields of practice; social inclusion, diversity and the education of staff.

The participating partners are organizations based in France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

The organizations worked on developing practical methods for- and with people with special needs in social abilities, such as: Organizational skills, Social Behavior, Team Ability, Analytical Thinking, Communication Skills and Technical Skills.

People with special needs were invited to take an active role as experts in the various fields of activity addressed in this project. The final product will be a handbook for Understanding and Improving the Fundamental Competences of People with Special Needs.

Courtesy of JDC, Lithuania

Key facts:

Duration: 24 Months

Start: 1. November 2017

Kick-Off-Meeting: 08. to 10. November 2017 in Oberursel

Final product: Handbook for „Understanding and Improving the Fundamental Competences of People with Disabilities“

AGREEMENT n°2017-1-DE02-KA204-004167

The project consortium is totally committed to the key statement of the Erasmus+ action proclaiming that the investment in knowledge, skills and competences should benefit individuals, institutions, organizations and society by contributing to growth and ensuring equity, prosperity and social inclusion in Europe and beyond.

The participating organizations have gathered years of precious work experience with people with special and individual needs. Furthermore, the partners are well connected through their membership in the international network of Caravan 2000.

Through previously completed projects, most of the consortium partners have established trustworthy and reliable working relationships which are essential for effective work on the high-quality, innovative outcomes. As well as reaching the objectives of this project.

Kick Off Meeting in Oberursel, Germany

The project STELLA addresses the agenda for new skills and jobs included in the Europe 2020 Strategy, as well as the intended Erasmus+ contribution to support implementation of the European policy agenda for individual and organizational growth, jobs, equity and social inclusion and the Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations.

Based on the information previously gathered as well as on individual experiences,there is a  strong demand by people with special needs for independent living opportunities. The partners are producing a needs analysis to identify the required competences which would support people with disabilities on their way to independent living. These would improve their professional chances drastically.  The competences required include areas such as social behavior (including behavior on social media), self-esteem, the development of abilities in critical and analytical thinking, emotional control, team work, as well as technical and communication skills.

STELLA targets these competences and work products practicably, as an innovative output in the form of a handbook for staff, trainers, human resource managers and educators on “How to improve the basic work skills of people with special needs”. The needs analysis is based on lessons learned in former projects performed by different European countries. It is not limited to any particular areas of professionalism. Therefore, the innovative output is transferable and applicable to every field of the labor market and on an international level.

The project is also exercised in an innovative way: During the project implementation people with special needs act as staff members on the work package teams.

Kick Off Meeting, Oberursel

The main objective of the project is the production of the handbook which provides information and methods on how to improve basic work skills of people with special needs for everyone who operates in an inclusive work environment.

Additional objectives are to raise awareness of working in an inclusive team, to strengthen the digital era competences of the staff by working in virtual teams, to foster intercultural competences, to foster the EU citizenship, to include people with disabilities in all aspects of the implementation of the project and to improve the opportunities and conditions for people with disabilities for an independent living.  Furthermore, the partners target a perceivable progress in terms of organizational learning by using project management methods based on the competence base line of the International Project Management Association (IPMA).

STELLA activities are executed on a national level (group discussions, workshops, role playing exercises, job shadowing and video analysis). On a transnational level, four meetings, in Germany, Greece, Turkey and Lithuania, are predefined in a milestone plan during the project span of 24 months. Further activities address project marketing aspects, e.g. open houses and discussion rounds, to raise the project acceptance among the direct and indirect target groups and other stakeholders.

The project consortium believes that STELLA  will have a huge overall impact. Approximately

9 000 people are currently employed by the project partners and their associated partners. In addition, 1 000 trainers and educators can be reached directly through the network of Caravan 2000, to which the partners are committed. Therefore, the results of the project will have a potential impact on a total of 10 000 staff members. Ar present, the partners assist and train almost 6 000 people with special needs in ten different European countries, so the potential for long term benefits are impressive. Thousands of people with special needs can be trained to improve their basic work skills and consequently be socially integrated and included professionally.