Trekkify

In Čakovec on 15.-16.10.2022., Health Life Academy has organized the final multiplier event in which project results were showcased by checking out some of the most beautiful sights in Croatia. The event was organized as an outdoor activity in a small city of Čakovec where participants explored the famous city park and checked out the mysteries of the nearby city museum. The event started with the group walk through the beautifull Čakovec in which participants enjoyed the nature, checked out monuments, statues, memorial objects (memorial plaque) and other sculptural works of art and of course took some awesome photos. During the walk organizers presented project results, in particular the Hi-Ability Toolkit, Hi-Ability APP and the Hi-Ability Green Guide. Continuing the walk in the park participants visited the famous Museum of Međimurje Čakovec. The Čakovec park is an integral part of the complex of the Čakovec fortress, which has been in that place since the 13th century, although it has been upgraded and renovated.  The Museum of Međimurje Čakovec is a complex museum of native type, located in the palace of the Old Town of Čakovec. On February 19, 1954, it was founded as the Čakovec City Museum. The museum has around 25,000 objects distributed in 51 museum collections of historical, archaeological, ethnological, technical, natural history and artistic significance. In addition to outdoor activities, group activities and workshops were delivered to participants. Activities were held as fun games on the topic of nature and environmental safety. The participants of the event had a great time with organized activities and showed great interest and satisfaction with the event. Therefore, Health Life Academy decided to organize 1 more event in November in Medulin in collaboration with partner organizations and local authorities.

The Hi- Ability’s Multiplier Event took place in Catania on the 20 November 2022 at Agricolab in Borgo dell’Etna.  The event, in which the association Futuro 21 took part, was sponsored by the City of Catania and gathered 54 participants. The first part of the day was devoted to the presentation of the results of the Hi- Ability project and the paper distribution of the Green Guide in Easy to Read language. Participants were invited to download the Hi-Ability App and we showed them its available functions, commented on it and told the work it took to realise it. On the whole, the App generated a lot of interest as families and adults with ID claimed they had not found any with these functions. Then, some of the participants of the training and mobility in Croatia told the audience about their experience, revealing that in their daily lives they spend some of the skills they acquired during the past months. In the second part of the day, after lunch and taking advantage of a few shy rays of sunshine, we went together for a walk in the nature surrounding the place we were staying. Finding ourselves immersed in an environment that is home to different species of plants, adults with ID explained what biodiversity means and the importance of preserving and protecting it. It was a day of sharing and friendship, which are essential for overcoming obstacles and strengthening interpersonal bonds. We really enjoyed the day but above all we hope that these first results can be the forerunner for even bigger and more inclusive projects. At the seminar “Designing Educational Transformation. Good practices and laboratory practices.” organised by the Department of Education Sciences of the University of Catania, we presented the results of the Erasmus+ Hi-Ability project. The seminar, attended by 60 students, was an opportunity to get the project’s results across to those who do not work directly with adults with intellectual disabilities but who are on a course of study that will possibly lead them to implement inclusive projects for them. The results and, in general, the project idea aroused great curiosity and interest on the part of the students, and we are very happy about this because the success of a project and its results can also be seen in the life it continues to have after its end.

The final multiplier event of the Hi-Ability project organized by TREKKIFY held in Pale on the 15th of October was more than a promotional event for the dissemination of the results. It was conceived and planned as a full day of outdoor activities and inclusion where all the participants had the opportunity to discover the village of Pale and its gems such as the waterfalls, the hermitage and the trekking trails. In addition, environmental workshops were delivered to the participants. ‘Montagne superabili’ (Superable mountains) is the name given to the format of the event: tens of people coming together and spending quality time together no matter what their abilities or disabilities are. The success of the event held on the 15th of October pushed the organizers (local authorities and grassroots organizations together with the project partner Trekkify) to replicate the event on the 26th of November thus involving around 100 participants in total.

On 6/10/22 Epioni organized the Multiplier Event in Athens, Greece. During the event, the Hi-Ability Toolkit for Educators (IO1), the Hi-Ability App (IO2), the Hi-Ability Green Guide (IO3) and the Policy Recommendations and Guidelines for Transferability (IO4) have been presented by Akyllina Despoti, Fokion Dimitriadi,Spyros Zorbas, Ariadni Dinou and Spyros Katsaris. After that on Saturday 5/11/2022, at the venue Epos Fylis was organized a workshop, where the results of the Hi-Ability project were presented. More specifically, the presenters spoke about the programme, its philosophy, its purpose and objectives, the results, the achievements and the experiences of the face-to-face meetings. Krina Anagnostopoulou, Drosos Trapezaris, Maria Spyridaki, Lola Mathianaki and Manolis Fountoulakis did the presentations. The event was honored with the presence of the deputy mayor of the Municipality of Phyllis, Mr. Vassilis Georgiadis, trainers and members of the Hellenic Society of Emergency Prehospital Care (E.E.E.P.F.) as well as members and friends of Epos Fylis and Epioni. The event was followed by a discussion and exchange of views on issues related to disability, inclusion and the important role of outdoor activities in the lives of everyone, especially people with disabilities.

Interested in learning more about the piloting of the Hi-Ability Toolkit? The piloting report is online! The report gives an overview and makes an analysis of the pilot actions implemented in three partner countries: Italy, Croatia and Greece from February to May 2022. A total of 30 participants and 9 educators (previously trained in C1) took part in the training activities aimed to test the Hi-Ability Toolkit. Participants liked the atmosphere and working in groups, especially when outdoor in nature. During the hiking they often discussed and talked to each other which benefited greatly to the aspect of socialization. As far as trainees’ needs, walking, hiking and bike riding was certainly stimulating for their general health and well-being.

It was five days of exchange, learning, teaching, and getting to know each other. Around 30 people from partner organizations from Italy, Greece, Belgium and Croatia attended the event and it was a great success. The partnership had the opportunity to test in the field the results achieved so far and in particular to put into practice the learning material produced with the Hi-Ability Toolkit and the mobile app. For five days, from the 16th to the 20th of May, we took part in group activities, face-to-face lessons, outdoor training and visits, cultural and culinary discoveries! We started with some theoretical lessons on outdoor and environmental education and risk management aimed at getting ready and equipped for the following trekking and outdoor activities. The Hi-Ability participants took part in some practical workshops that were an excellent opportunity to test the learning activities designed in the Toolkit and consider any room for improvement. The group was lucky to stay in a facility just outside the city center where we could take advantage of the park and nearby woods thus implementing also the theoretical sessions in the outdoor. After urban trekking in the city and some training at the city stadium, from day 3 of the training, the real outdoor experience began! We had the chance to visit the Šijana forest and trek among the astonishing nature of the park including cork oaks and Turkish pines that stand out in the forest. During the five days, project partners had also the change to meeting for the management meeting and plan the last six months of the project. Although the piloting experience it is now over, the Hi-Ability project has still a lot ahead: in October we will officially launch the Hi-Ability App and we will publish the guide of accessible trail. Moreover, the Consortium will elaborate the Policy Recommendations and Guidelines aimed at maximizing the impact of the Hi-Ability experience and transfer it to other fields and contexts.

Our Greek partners, EPIONI and EPOS Fylis, conducted 36 hours of training for 10 participants from April till May in outdoor activities skills. Also, two hiking trails took place in Kaisariani, Attica for people with mental illness, caregivers, trainers, and members of the associations had the chance to experience nature and hiking. In addition, a training was organized at the bouldering walls of EPOS Fylis, where participants had the opportunity to be trained in climbing skills.