engleski

Developing general and professional competences through volunteering abroad: Experience from Ireland

Inclusion is the process of involving people with any kind of participation challenges in the community. It is based on the philosophy that all people in the community have the right to be equal and active members of society. While the process of inclusion in Croatia is only beginning, there are organizations in Ireland that have been providing quality support for many years, actively involving people with intellectual disabilities in the community. Through personal and professional journey of one year long volunteering as an occupational therapy student abroad, this presentation is concerned by developing general and professional competences in unique environment. The difference in this type of education is visible in full time participation. The main principle is living together with “clients” in common village, where the client centred approach is replaced with “equity approach” – everyone is equally important and necessary for the community to survive and thrive. The boundaries between “clients” and therapists (volunteers) are vague, because everyone is important and everyone is profiting (learning, doing and becoming) from mutual interaction. Clients are becoming teachers, neighbours, associates, providers, workers and living together as a community is bringing new perspectives into life, empathy, occupations, identity and self-exploration for the participant.

inclusion ; equity approach ; education through participation

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