Bread Houses Network is happy to share with you one of the newest projects which we are implementing together with 7 other partners from all over Europe. Its name is VIVA – ‘Visually Impaired youth with Vested Autonomy’ and its aim is to provide visually impaired young people with opportunities for better professional and personal development via social entrepreneurial skills. The project is funded by the European Commission and has a duration of 2 years (from 01.03.2019 till 28.02.2021).
The main objective of VIVA project is to develop an innovative social entrepreneurship training programme to be applied in the youth sector, addressing the needs of young persons with visual impairment, for improved social inclusion and employment opportunities. The program will incorporate a unique delivery approach, i.e. young people with visual impairment will receive a training focused on leadership, entrepreneurial and intercultural skills, transforming them into autonomous members of society and able multipliers of the approach – trainers and motivators of other young people with visual impairment.
Based on the overall experiences of the partners, visually impaired are the experts on their conditions, which means that they should be the ones talking, explaining, empowering others. Hence the main approach to be followed would be – “empower to empower”. The main planned outcomes of the training for the target group (youth with v.i. aged 18 to 30) would be: increased self-confidence, motivation for learning and employment, social entrepreneurial skills, self efficacy and intercultural communication skills. The overall effect would be: raising awareness and revealing participants’ full potential for their personal and professional development.
Partners of the project:
- Asociatia Ofensiva Tinerilor (Romania) – Applicant / Coordinator
- Foundation For Development of the Cultural and Business Potential of Civil Society (Bulgaria) – Partner Organisation
- International council for cultural centers (Bulgaria) – Partner Organisation
- National Rehabilitation Centre for Blind (Bulgaria) – Partner Organisation
- ARTEVELDEHOGESCHOOL (Belgium) – Partner Organisation
- National Institute for the Blind (Iceland) – Partner Organisation
- University of Thessaly – UTH (Greece) – Partner Organisation
- Unione Italiana Ciechi ed Ipovedenti Sezione Provinciale di Firenze (Italy) – Partner organisation
You can find more information about the project activities HERE!