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Case Studies |
Examples from Partners
Scotland
Inverurie
Inverurie has a number of initiatives associated with equal opportunity and inclusion, for example:
- Voluntary sector forums (see ‘good practice guide’)
- Youth forums
- Proposals for an initiative to help migrant workers and their families integrate
(See Dialogue and Engagement component)
Sweden
Kungälv
Kungälv VIDA-Partnership for lower unemployment, Kungälv Sweden
Poland
Hel
‘The Stork’s nest’ – afterschool classes for troubled youngsters
In some areas, children grow up in dysfunctional families, often with insufficient parental care, and are exposed to various dangers. In small towns the range of activities for youth is limited. Traditional school activities do not provide solutions to this problem, and children often associate school with obligatory classes and do not want to stay in the building after-hours. Therefore, Hel’s town authorities in cooperation with a local NGO have organised activities for young people in the premises of the NGO. The project is called ‘Stork’s nest’. The idea is to provide a safe and comfortable place where young people spend their time after classes. The following activities are offered: Therapy; Intellectual development; Housekeeping; Art; Technical; Cooking; Theatrical; Dancing; and Sports. Personnel are highly qualified – e.g. psychologist - and participates in regular courses and conferences on childcare. The Nest is accessible for everyone and supports local integration of young people from different social backgrounds.
Lębork
Female Entrepreneurship Meetings (FEM) In The Baltic Sea Region.
FEM is a Baltic Sea Region Interreg III B project, part-financed by the EU Regional Development Fund. The aim of FEM is to strengthen the structures that support women’s entrepreneurship through co-operation and the exchange of knowledge and best practices in the participating countries. FEM began in August 2004 and ended 14.08.2007. The participating countries are Finland, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (Lębork among other six communities).
The project was directed to the women who are to a great extent still affected by unemployment after 1990’s in the transition countries of Eastern Europe. The aim was to reinforce a structure for the support for Resource centres for women by cooperation, exchange the experience, and women’s active participation. In Lębork, such a Resource Centre was established in Lębork in cooperation with local Employment Office. The Centre is networking with other such centres in the countries of the project through mentoring, coaching and organising ‘exchange of experience’ workshop meetings. Various courses and seminars were conducted, aiming to prepare the women from local area to set up their own businesses (business plans, accountancy, computer courses, foreign language in business, self motivation, setting goals, etc.). The women participating in the project set up an association to support themselves in their efforts. Several women set up their own businesses, mainly in tourism sector. The project also conducted studies on gender equality and women entrepreneurship in participating countries in order to provide guidance to local, regional and national authorities in participating countries. Micro-grants were offered to women who started their own businesses.
www.feminfo.net (ENGLISH)
Puck
Athletic Meeting for Disabled Youth
Integration of disabled people still presents important problem in each community. One example of such action an event created by partnership of town council of Puck with Pomeranian Region Governor and PFRON (National Fund for Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons). These partners decided to organize a three-day sports event for young people and their peers with mobility disabilities. During the event following activities were organized: Visit in the museum of Puck; sailing courses; sports competitions in integrated teams (e.g. relay runs, target-shooting, bowling, quizzes); workshops for teachers and psychologists working in integration classes; Evening integration performances; Regatta in mixed teams; Various workshops such as pottery, beekeeping, snuff producing, painting, embroidering.
The Athletic Meeting has become a regular event in Puck in September. See
www.glowna.wtzpuck.pl/news.php
Examples from Elsewhere
Brumunddal, Norway (population 8,440)
Acceptance through Ignorance
The small town of Brumunddal experienced a prolonged period of racially and politically motivated violent attacks, which began in 1986. The attacks began as harassment, and progressed to more violent attacks eventually resulting in a large-scale riot in 1991. These activities were linked to a growing nationalist movement, which was made up primarily of younger members of the population. As these individual attacks took place, there was a misunderstanding between the local government and police as to who was responsible for resolving the situation. Throughout this period, very little action was taken against the movement by any form of authority. This gave the local community the sense that the attacks were somehow acceptable or that the stories about them were being exaggerated. Protest came from the rest of the country, and in 1991 the arrival of several busloads of anti-racist demonstrators to the town led to a brawl with up to 200 local youths. Following this event, the local government responded with an ambitions three-year political action plan to reduce the impact of racism with positive results.
(www.abo.fi/~tivirtan)
A Small Town, New Zealand (population 5,000)
Sexual Harassment shaping Employment Opportunities
A study carried out in an unnamed small town in New Zealand found that sexually discriminatory practices were limiting the employment opportunities of local women. The study looked at the experience of women in different employment environments as well as within the wider community. The forms of discrimination were generally related to the types of relationships experienced within employment environment. For example, in local shops the majority of both the employee and customer base were women. As a result, women working in the local shops said they experienced little or no sexual discrimination while at work. However, at the meat works plant, the majority of the employees were men. Those women who did work at the plant reported very high levels of sexual discrimination and harassment both in the workplace and in the community. The reasons for such high levels were related to discriminatory practices, including the lack of female toilets and female changing facilities. Such practices deterred women from wanting to work at the plant in the first place, and reduced quality of life for those women who chose to work in spite of discrimination.
(Handy 2006)
Warwickshire Rural Enterprise Network
Putting Women in Business
Warwickshire Rural Enterprise Network (WREN) was established in 1991 to address the causes of economic deprivation within the Warwickshire area. One of the key issues facing the community was the relative lack of skills and low education levels. In order to overcome the barriers of women gaining employment in the business sector, a number of initiatives were taken to address their specific training needs. The 12-week ‘Rural Women Back to Business’ course was started to address the growing number of women who were untrained and had been unemployed for a year or longer. The course enabled women to develop their business skills, including IT and computer training, management skills training and support for business start-up. Over the first 2 years, 44 women took part in the course, resulting in the creation of 18 new businesses. In addition, 13 found employment, 4 went on to further education and 9 became involved in voluntary or family farm work. Another programme, ‘On the Road to Employment’, included a mobile unit that provided assertiveness training and job search skills. In addition to addressing women’s specific education needs, the mobile unit reduced the levels of inaccessibility felt by those women who did not have access to private transport. WREN also provided childcare facilities for women to use while they were attending courses.
www.ruralnetuk.org
Marjala, Finland (population 3,000)
IT-Supported Development
Marjala is a newly established, purpose-built community north-east of Helsinki. Like many small towns, a large proportion of Marjala’s residents spend 24 hours a day within the immediate area. For this reason, it is important for the right kinds of services to be available locally. In order to ensure that every member of the community had the opportunity to participate in the decision-making process, local authorities developed a technology-based Multiservice channel – PALVELUELLI – in 1993. This channel was accessible via the internet from home computers or from the Multiservice centre located within the town. The technology was designed to reduce the barriers faced by residents with limited mobility, especially disabled and elderly residents. A full-time Services Manager has been employed to train and assist residents using the technology. Through the channel, residents could access various local services, from doing their shopping to gaining information about mental and physical health providers. They could also communicate with other members of their community, private developers and government officials about the quality of services they were receiving. PALVELUELLI was successful in achieving three key aspects of equal opportunity and inclusion. It assisted residents with limited mobility to maintain their independence and quality of life by continuing to live in their own homes. It allowed residents who were normally considered hard-to-reach to play an active role in the decisions being made in their community.
www.education.edean.org
www.unesco.org/most/westeur2.htm
English Heritage
Inclusive Design for Historic Built and Natural Environments
‘Inclusive Design’ refers to the design of buildings and services that are accessible to all users regardless of age, sense-impairment, disability, class, etc. One of the key changes to UK disability legislation in recent years has required physical changes to buildings. This requires that property owners make buildings more accessible to people in wheelchairs or with otherwise limited mobility. Often it is difficult to physically convert buildings or landscapes to provide access for users with disabilities. Ramps or lifts are usually criticised as reducing the site’s visual attraction. To overcome this, English Heritage has published guidance to assist in conversion process. This includes consideration as where and how people enter or leave buildings or landscapes, how they move about within it, and how they access information while inside. An important part of the process is to identify the barriers. Often this is overlooked, as consultation tends to involve those who are already using the site. It is therefore important to include users who do NOT use the site, and uncover the reasons why. Only then can the barriers be appropriately addressed and reversed.
Principal Contacts
European Design for All e-Accessibility Network (EDeAN): www.education.edean.org
English Heritage - www.english-heritage.org.uk
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