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AGENCY eBULLETIN July 2014
Dear Readers,
This issue is the first eBulletin to feature news directly from our member countries. Find out about events and developments in the Country news section below.
Participants from all Agency member countries took part in the new Raising Achievement of All Learners in Inclusive Education project kick-off meeting. Raising the achievement of all learners is a priority for member countries and the meeting provided a good basis for further project activities.
New publications, such as the second outcome of the Agency’s recent International Conference on Inclusive Education in Europe, are also available on the Agency website. In our continuous efforts to provide information that is accessible to everyone, now there is an easy to read section explaining key concepts and Agency activities to a wider audience.
Thank you for following our news on the Agency website and on my Director’s Blog launched this spring.
Cor J.W. Meijer
Director
European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education
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Official Start of the Raising Achievement of All Learners in Inclusive Education Project
The kick-off meeting for the Agency’s new project Raising the Achievement of all Learners in Inclusive Education was held in Athens on 17–19 June. The project will build on the Agency’s 2012 previous project work on Raising Achievement for all Learners.
The keynote speech was given by Dan Habib from the University of New Hampshire USA. Dan, best known for his film ‘Including Samuel’ talked about the Schoolwide Integrated Framework for Transformation (SWIFT) project, which focuses on helping schools to engage in a collaborative process of transformation to achieve both equity and excellence. A ‘SWIFT IN 60’ film which illustrated key domains and features of SWIFT schools had its world premiere at the conference.
Other inputs were provided by Petra Goran from the European Commission (Unit B1 School Policy), Bengt Persson, Project Consultant from the University of Borås in Sweden, and Agency Director Cor J.W. Meijer.
The project kick-off meeting was held under the Greek Presidency of the EU, where a number of additional participants from Greece joined project experts, including researchers and school leaders from the following 28 countries: Austria, Belgium (Flemish and French speaking communities), Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales).
In addition to opportunities for networking and discussing the project plan and future activities, participants joined workshops on key themes:
- Including Samuel – a personal perspective of the cultural and systemic barriers to inclusion;
- Organisation of Provision to Support Inclusive Education – key findings from the Agency project;
- ICT for Inclusion – implications of recent ICT4I Agency project findings, and
- Inclusive Leadership – challenges and perspectives from the European Policy Network on School Leadership.
Overall, the meeting has provided a good basis for moving forward with project activities during 2015 and 2016. Three ‘learning communities’ from different countries will be supported by the Agency and project experts to investigate key factors in raising the achievement of all learners in inclusive settings, with a particular focus on inclusive pedagogy and school leadership.
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Reflections from Researchers at the International Conference: Inclusive Education in Europe
Inclusive Education on Europe – a conference addressing how to put theory into practice – has yielded a second result, which is now available on the Agency website.
The International Conference (Brussels, November 2013) involved decision-makers, researchers, practitioners, people with disabilities and their families. The messages and statements provided by the stakeholders at this conference are available in the First results from the International Conference report.
The new report compiles reflections from researchers on early intervention, initial teacher education for inclusion, support systems and funding mechanisms, data collection, main challenges of inclusion and the evolution of human rights and its implications for inclusive education. The articles are prefaced by a paper on key messages and outlook from Cor J.W. Meijer, Agency Director’s point of view, highlighting key points from the Agency’s activities in the past 15 years and an outline of future developments.
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Easy to Read Information on the Agency Website
A new ‘Easy to Read Information’ section has been developed for About Us web area on the Agency website. The information is provided in clear sections using pictograms, and it describes in simple English topics such as the organisation and its activities, the role of Agency member countries, and information on how to contact country representatives.
The aim of this section is to provide key information on the Agency and its work in as simple and easy to understand way as possible.
The underlying principle behind this development is the Agency’s commitment to support the accessibility to information and communication, a priority identified in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities adopted by the United Nations in 2006.
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Brussels Office Move
The Agency’s Brussels Office has moved at the beginning of June. The new premises are in the office building of the Representation of the State of Hessen (Germany) to the European Union.
The new address is Rue Montoyer 21, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
+32 2 213 62 80
brussels.office@european-agency.org
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