Open Doors: Improving Awareness and Tolerance, Ukraine

Project name: Open Doors: Improving Awareness and Tolerance

Project location: Ukraine

Website: http://www.dzherelocentre.org.ua/en/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dzherelo/

Project description:

Open Doors: Improving Awareness and Tolerance will teach local communities about awareness and basic education on disabilities and the importance of inclusion in education and socialization. According to UNESCO Declaration of Principles on Tolerance, “Tolerance is respect, acceptance, and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world’s culture’s our forms of expression and ways of being human.” Lacking tolerance and understanding in Ukraine is problematic as it limits access of children to education with a lack of inclusion. Disabled people’s rights and access were non-existent as people were hidden away given reports that some healthy folks never saw a person with disability. Friends often don’t know that families have a person with a disability as they cannot leave the home. Being different is not often discussed or shared. No public transportation is available and sidewalks are often not accessible. Fear needs to be calmed and discussions begun. We aim to change this perspective by developing strategies, changing school climates, and developing reflective techniques.

Historically, special needs children are isolated from others as they cannot physically access the schools, for example there are no ramps or elevators. Once local communities have attended the Open Doors: Improving Awareness and Tolerance course, the curriculum can then be expanded nationally to all of Ukraine. Tolerance can be learned through experience and education, including experiential and didactic sessions. We aim to change perspectives, avoid presumptions, and define positive attitudes. This course is aiming to develop tolerance and inclusion, particularly with schools as more inclusivity laws are being developed.

Open Doors: Improving Awareness and Tolerance course will improve school and community climates by promoting positive behaviors, compassion, and understanding. Dzherelo Centre can assist with developing strategies for overcoming special needs challenges and advocacy. Classroom techniques can be shared through mutual learning exercises, and development of development to improve student success. Reflective teaching strategies can include experiential learning and discussions about empathy.

Open Doors: Improving Awareness and Tolerance course will help to define standards for accessibility and inclusion in Lviv, then Ukraine. By reducing stigma and past superstitions about disabilities occur, cultural change will occur. Change of cultural understanding is necessary to understand that developmental disabilities are not contagious. It can happen to anyone and those with an impairment need to be a part of the whole.
Trainings would include storytelling and education about over-stimulation, needs, and experiential learning (ex: sit in chair assaulted by sensory stimulation), wheelchair training, and discussions on empathy in lieu of sympathy. Various syndromes and how they manifest can be shard as an educational component. The workshops will be designed to include stories, integration strategies, and using appropriate terminology. The course will be designed to give healthy direction and specific ways to interact with those who struggle with impairment.

Open Doors: Improving Awareness and Tolerance will be developed over the course of a few months as curriculum will include: empathy, awareness, and potentially diagnosis information (depends on audience age and needs). The focus will be on acceptance and public teaching of accessibility. The course will be taught to school-aged children and teachers, and/ or parents as a school recommends. There are over 100 schools in Lviv, but the course will initially focus of one city district, then expand to cover the city and eventually Ukraine. Sessions can be catered to children or adults, time limited, and focused on how to interact with those who may be different.

The plan is to hire 6-8 people to teach children how to interact and how to how to socialize with a special needs person, even how to offer help in public. For example, with a person with Down Syndrome, keeping things simple for them helps or with Autistic persons to use calming techniques when overstimulated. There is a financial need for teachers, educational materials, transportation costs, and communications about the program. A screen and projector may be necessary to show videos and videoconference with additional sites.

Goal and purpose of the project:

The concept of the Open Doors: Improving Awareness and Tolerance is to increase understanding, awareness, and tolerance of people with special needs. Recently, a Ukrainian law was enacted to mandate the inclusive education of all children. Until the government enforces change on infrastructure, Dzherelo Centre means to enact progressive steps towards inclusion of all children in education. However, Ukraine’s culture and lack of infrastructure has limited created a culture of isolation for those with mobility or communicative disorders. Dzherelo Centre endeavors to create an awareness training with curriculum to be used in schools and with other parties to begin the discussion of acceptance and tolerance. Through coordinated and targeted projects, Open Doors: Improving Awareness and Tolerance aims to increase awareness and opportunities for people with disabilities. Dzherelo Centre will direct local provision and local support to enhance opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in life within their own communities.

Motivation of the applicant / applicant team:

Open Doors: Improving Awareness and Tolerance is important as children need acceptance. If children are mainstreamed in schools, they will have more acceptance. Consequently, more students will be able to access educational opportunities. If we educate society about special needs, more children will have improved socialization, lessen bullying, and being more comfortable in schools equals more learning. Access to education should be diverse, fulfilling and inclusive for all community members. We encourage all to broaden the range and quality of opportunities for people with disabilities so that they have equal awareness, access, and choice within their community.

Use of prize money:

Open Doors: Improving Awareness and Tolerance will utilize any funds for the creation of this experiential and didactic programming for children and education providers. The funds will be used to develop curriculum resources and educational materials to be distributed. Transportation and salary costs will be included as this is a new program. Budget will include resource materials, mail and/ or phone communications, development of a network of educational providers. The project will last for 6 months, will require 15 thousand euros and will close the schools of Syksivsky district in Lviv.