MARGARITA aiming towards the development of its network, the exchange of good practices and innovation in the services provided, is participating actively in European and NSRF programs.

The topics we focus on are:

• Arts, Sports and Other Leisure Activities
• Human Rights
• Independent Living
• Supported Decision Making & Self-advocacy
• Supported Employment
• Technology
• Vocational Training and Certification

We have implemented the following projects:

DAILY CARE CENTER WITH CODE 5002467

The project refers to the funding of the Day Care for a period of three (3) years and for a total number of beneficiaries amounting to 38 persons. The Day Care Center has a total capacity of 77 persons according to the license for its establishment and operation. Throughout its operation, MARGARITA provides services with careful preparation and scientific criteria aiming at the best possible service to people with intellectual disabilities, performing at least the following:

A) The provision of services to persons with disabilities, which include:

The transfer of the beneficiaries to and from the Center.

Their stay and sustenance.

Special Education Programs that are tailored to the needs of each person with disability (occupational therapies, speech therapies, physiotherapy, etc.), based on the individual plan of each beneficiary.

Providing individual and / or group exercise.

Their empowerment in self-service and learning of daily life activities.

Creative occupation and socialization activities.

Their participation in recreational, culture and sports programs. All of the above-mentioned services aim at improving the quality of life of the beneficiaries, their creative occupation and enhancing their socialization and social inclusion.

B) The implementation of networking and cooperation actions with organisations / social service providers, established Community Centers, other similar service structures and the local community in general (e.g. municipalities, sports / cultural or other associations, educational community ), with the aim of creating links to the local community, supporting the inclusion of the service users into it and thereby enhancing social cohesion at a local level.

The Day Care Center operates daily (except Saturdays and Sundays) and provides services to the beneficiary population not exceeding 8 hours daily, including transport to and from the structure.

The project "Make it Work: the road to Work Inclusion" is implemented in the framework of the BUILD programme. "Make it Work" is coordinated by VTC MARGARITA and the Association of Parents, Guardians and Friends of People with Autism of Larissa is the project's partner. BUILD is co-funded by the European Union, through the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme, the Bodossaki Foundation and the NGO Support Centre.

The aim of the project is to strengthen the policy dialogue on Supported Employment for people with intellectual disabilities and autism in Greece, through:

• conducting a survey of employees, employers and special education institutions
• a good practice exchange workshop with the French organisation LADAPT
• a workshop on Supported Employment in Larissa
• an information campaign through social networks
• and open dialogue meetings.

The "Building a robust and democratic civic space" (BUILD) programme aims to protect, promote and widely recognise the fundamental rights of the citizens of Europe.,the rights and values of the EU, through the support of civil society organisations (CSOs) in Greece and Cyprus and the strengthening of their capacities and sustainability. BUILD is co-funded by the European Union, through the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme, the Bodossaki Foundation and the NGO Support Centre Cyprus with a total grant amount of €2.9 million. BUILD is coordinated by the Bodossaki Foundation (Greece) in partnership with the NGO Support Centre (Cyprus).

EASY COOKING, ERASMUS+ Vocational Training

Easy Cooking is a project funded by the European Union and the State Scholarships Foundation (IKY), which was completed on 31/08/2019. The program was coordinated by MARGARITA in collaboration with the Greek partners of Harokopio University, Ploes-Epsyme, Organization Earth and Fundació Ramon Noguera (Spain), ORCHARDVILLE (England) and ARCIL (Portugal). The aim of the program was to develop a cooking guide with easy and healthy recipes in a “easy to read” format so that people with intellectual disabilities can use it. In addition, we have also created a training book for cooking and agriculture seminars for people with intellectual disabilities. More information can be found on the www.easycooking.team website where you can also download the manuals.

I DECIDE, ERASMUS+ Adult Training

The I DECIDE project is funded by the European Union and the Spanish national Agency or ERASMUS+. I DECIDE will be completed in March 2020. The project coordinator is Fundació Tutelar (Spain), which collaborates with MARGARITA, EASPD (Brussels), KVPS (Finland), CAMPUS ARNAU (Spain), SOCIAL CARE TRAINING (England). The aim of the project is to develop Guides for Supported Decision Making that aim at improving the skills of people with intellectual disabilities (literacy, numeracy, computer skills) in the areas of financial management, health and consumer rights. For more information, please contact research.development@eeamargarita.gr.

EQUALVET, ERASMUS+ Support for policy reform

EQUALVET is funded by the European Union. It will be completed on 31/01/2022. The project is coordinated by MARGARITA in collaboration with EASPD (Brussels), FUNDACIO RAMON NOGUERA (Spain), PRIMAVERA 85 (Italy), University de Girona (Spain) and TUV HELLAS. The purpose of the project is to develop a vocational training program for people with intellectual disabilities, alongside with an evaluation system and a certification protocol for three professions: chef's assistant, gardener's assistant and cleaner. More information can be found on the project’s website www.equalvet.eu.

INCLUDNET, ERASMUS+ Adult Training

The INCLUDNET project is funded by the European Union and the Italian national Agency. The project coordinator is CADIAI (Italy) and collaborates with MARGARITA, ARFIE (Brussels), Fundació Ampans (Spain), CECD MIRA SINTRA (Portugal), AMADIPESMENT (Spain). The project will end in 2021. The aim of the project is to exchange good practices for developing entrepreneurial skills in people with intellectual disabilities. For more information, please contact research.development@eeamargarita.gr.

CAN BE FAIR, ERASMUS+ Mobility

CAN BE FAIR project is funded by the European Union and the Italian national Agency. The coordinator was EX DUCO LAB (Italy). During the program, beneficiaries and trainers of the organizations traveled to Italy to present the advantages and disadvantages of special education and inclusive education. For more information, please contact research.development@eeamargarita.gr.

Remove All Obstacles through Sport! ERASMUS+ Mobility

Remove All Obstacles through Sport! was funded by the European Union and the Turkish national authority. The project was coordinated by TALKING HANDS (Turkey), with the following organizations: MARGARITA, Young Men’s Christian Association Parthenope (Italy), Latvijas Neredzigo Biedriba (Latvia), Asociación Multideportiva Euexia (Spain), Ikkaido Ltd . During the program, beneficiaries and trainers from the participating organizations traveled to Turkey to participate in sports activities and discuss how sports have a positive impact on their lives. For more information, please contact research.development@eeamargarita.gr.

SLIDEWIKI, HORIZON 2020

MARGARITA participated as an external partner in the SLIDEWIKI project. SLIDEWIKI is a web-based slideshow tool that provides users with the opportunity to create and collaborate on slides, reviews and educational content. MARGARITA together with a group of service users evaluated the platform's usability and accessibility while they also created their own training materials on the basic use of computers.

Valorising Employment for people with Disability, ERASMUS+ Adult Training

The project is funded by the European Union and the Belgian national authority. The project’s coordinator is MPC Sint-Franciscus (Belgium) and partners: MARGARITA / ARFIE (Belgium), De Lork (Belgium), Ampans (Spain), Cadiai (Italy), Saint Vrach (Bulgaria), Genêt D'or (France), Piksl (Germany). The aim of the project is to review and exchange good practices for providing supported employment services to people with intellectual disabilities and how the labor market is benefitted by integrating people with intellectual disabilities into the workforce of a business. For more information, please contact research.development@eeamargarita.gr.

ALIVE & KICKING, ERASMUS+ SPORTS

ALIVE & KICKING is an EU funded project. which will be completed at the end of 2019. Ploes-Epsyme, the coordinator of the project has collaborated with MARGARITA, ALMA, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, Universite de Lorraine (France), Fundacion General de la Universidad Europea de Madrid (Spain), Associacao para a Recuperacao de Cidadaos Inadaptados da Lousa (France) and Amfidromo Chorotheatro (Cyprus). The aim of the program was to develop the internal motivation of the participants with intellectual disabilities for sport. More information can be found on the program's website at https://alive-kicking.org/.