Inclusive education projects, at launch: “The support provided by the Norway Grants, fundamental for the young people in these communities”
Over 1,600 students from disadvantaged communities and at risk of school dropout will have access to quality education through two inclusive education projects financed under the Local Development Programme and officially launched on February 5, 2021. The promoters of these projects are YANA – You Are Not Alone Charitable Foundation and Juvenala Association. The projects aim to increase the chances of social inclusion of children and youth at risk of early school leaving or school dropout and to improve their school performances by promoting some interventions that focus on the needs of the student.
„We Form the Future” – interventions in poor communities from Bacău and Neamţ
The project “We Form the Future”, implemented by YANA – You Are Not Alone Charitable Foundation, in partnership with the Sfântul Ioan Calabria Foundation and Favor Association, aims to support children and youth from 5 disadvantaged communities in Bacău and Neamţ counties by promoting inclusive education in schools, training teachers and specialists in local public institutions, providing additional educational support and counselling to the students in the target groups. The 945 children and young people to whom the project is addressed are between 7 and 24 years old and come from the communes Nicolae Bălcescu, Răcăciuni, Filipeni and Mărgineni in Bacău County, respectively from Roman Municipality in Neamţ County.
During the online project launching event, Gabriela Mateiu, the director of the foundation, stressed the importance of the financial support received under the project: “The support provided by the Norway Grants and, implicitly, by RSDF, is fundamental for the young people in these communities. If they and their families understand how important it is to stay in school, their lives may look completely different. Instead of doing a heavy job at an early age, they can study or learn a trade that will ensure a different future for them”.
“Experiential Pedagogy” – Norwegian expertise for the benefit of Romanian students
The project “Experiential pedagogy” implemented by Juvenala Association aims to positively influence the educational process and social inclusion of children and youth from the target groups, proposing an innovative pedagogical approach. Their endeavour is supported by the Neamţ County School Inspectorate, Scrimă pentru Toţi Foundation in Bucharest and Newschool AS from Norway, project partners, and will be implemented in 11 schools and high schools from Neamţ and Suceava counties. The project activities are addressed to a number of 664 children and young people at risk of early school leaving or with special educational needs and to a number of 170 teachers and educational experts, who will benefit from professional training.
During the launching event, Cătălin Nemţanu, the vice president of Juvenala Association, stressed the importance of involving all decision makers in achieving the objectives assumed under the project. “We propose an inclusive model which is based on involving everyone in increasing the rate of participation in the educational process and social inclusion for 664 children and youth at risk of early school leaving or with SEN, through an innovative experiential approach. The project is implemented for a period of 3 years and will be subsequently supported for another 5 years”.