ABD hosts the mutual learning visit of the European project Educate for Independence in El Prat de Llobregat

On March 12 and 13, the project’s partner entities visited El Prat to learn how ABD implements the project through its Territorial Educational Units (UET), with the active participation of the group of young people involved in the program.

El Prat de Llobregat was the setting for a two-day visit by partner organizations of the Educate for Independence project. The purpose of the visit was to learn firsthand how ABD implements the project in the region through its Territorial Educational Units (UETs). The UETs are a community-based intervention model aimed at young people aged 15 to 29 with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities who are not in education, employment, or training (NEETs). These units integrate learning into real-world, community-based settings to foster the acquisition of everyday and work-related skills in a meaningful and contextualized way.

First stop: La Botiga

The first day began with a welcome reception at La Botiga del Prat, a municipal food security service managed by ABD in partnership with the Espigoladors Foundation, which acts as one of the project’s Territorial Educational Units. The welcome was given by Mireia Munté, Director of ABD’s International Area; Marie Ruiz, coordinator of La Botiga; Teresa Peset, responsible for managing the Educate for Independence project; and Alicia Ordovás, responsible for its implementation in El Prat. Representing the El Prat de Llobregat City Council, Eva Cabanillas, Head of the Reception and Social Services Department, welcomed the participants to the city and conveyed the municipality’s commitment to the project and to the social inclusion of people with disabilities.

Second stop: Contorno Urbano, Cuina de Barri and Fundación Espigoladors

The visit continued at the urban garden run by Contorno Urbano at a school in the Sant Cosme neighborhood, where Jessica Navarro, a technician from the Prat City Council working in the area, joined them. The garden facilitator explained the activities carried out by the youth group in the project and all the knowledge and skills they acquire and develop there. Next, the group moved to the Cuina de Barri community project, where the Educate for Independence youth group participates in specific events, such as November 25th – the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women – as a space for developing everyday skills and community participation, also aiming to increase their visibility in society. In the afternoon, the partner organizations and the ABD team held an internal project management meeting at La Botiga, where they reviewed ongoing activities and next steps. To conclude the day, the consortium visited the Espigoladors Foundation and had the opportunity to learn about its work in food waste management and its model of social and employment inclusion. The Educate group has regularly participated in the harvests organized by the Foundation.

Third stop: Cooperativa Agrícola del Prat, la Forquilla Ecològica and Fundación Rubricatus

The second and final day began with a visit to the UET located at the Prat del Llobregat Agricultural Cooperative in Mercabarna. Four project’ participants accompanied the consortium and explained firsthand the functions they perform there: order picking and preparation, product selection, and warehouse management, among others. Their testimonials allowed the group to understand the real impact of the project on their personal and professional lives. Next, the group traveled to the UET located at the Josep Tarradelles School, where the Forquilla Ecològica team responsible for the school cafeteria presented their project and explained the activities carried out by the UET: setting tables, kitchen assistant duties, and providing support to the cafeteria supervisors in the playground. Also participating in this visit were Montserrat Castells, Social Action Technician for the Prat City Council, Eva Cabanillas, and a representative from the school’s Parents’ Association cafeteria committee. Finally, the visit to El Prat concluded at the Rubricatus Foundation, where the general director, Imma Pérez, and María José Santiago, technical director of the Occupational Center, presented the foundation’s long history of working with people with intellectual disabilities and its various social and labor inclusion initiatives in the territory.

Representatives from the partner organizations of the Educate for Independence project highly valued the comprehensive, community-based, and human rights-driven approach that permeates all the projects and spaces visited. In particular, they highlighted the active and continuous participation of young project participants, who accompanied the group throughout the visit. This aspect, central to the Educate for Independence project’s philosophy, demonstrates that ABD’s approach goes beyond technical training to focus on the genuine empowerment of young people with intellectual disabilities.

About Educate for Independence

Educate for Independence is a european project coordinated by APG23 – Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII (Italy) which aims to promote autonomy and access to the labor market for young people with mild-to-moderate intellectual disabilities who are excluded from the education and labor system. The consortium members are CESIE (Italy), Innovation Hive (Greece), Il Ramo (Italy), InterAktion (Austria), ABD (Spain) and Consorzio Socio Assistenziale del Cuneese (Italy). The project, co-financed by the European Union through the European Commission’s Social Innovations for the Upskilling of Vulnerable Youth (NEET) call, is being implemented over 24 months in Spain, Greece, Italy and Austria, and aims to reach more than 250 young beneficiaries.