In the current situation marked by the pandemic, despite the obstacles and limitations that exist for the organization of face-to-face activities and for international mobility, we are pleased to inform you that, from September 1 to 8, the FCV hosted the international study visit ‘The Barcelona model in establishing a supportive environment for working with students with special educational needs.’
During the visit we have maintained precautionary and prevention measures at all times, without putting anyone’s health at risk and achieving all the planned objectives.
According to the evaluation carried out by the group of teachers who have visited us: 9 teachers of different subjects from a vocational training center dedicated to tourism, from the city of Kazanlak (Bulgaria), headed by his director and management team, who were in Barcelona for a week, motivated by the interest of knowing experiences and practices that can help them to do their job better as teachers, in other words, to offer more comprehensive support to young people with difficulties to complete all the curricular contents of the center (and, therefore, to access a first job) for having a functional diversity, disability, condition or complex personal situation.
From the Ribera to the Eixample districts, from Sant Antoni to the Raval, from Collserola to l’Hospitalet de Llobregat, a week of intense visits allowed the group to meet professionals from various sectors, who shared their experiences of training and social and labour integration for youth with special needs; visiting non-profit social entities such as Mescladís and the Meritxell Adam Educational Association, social and business initiatives with an outstanding trajectory such as the In&Out Hostel or, of more recent creation, such as the Espai Egg, as well as one of the main training centres dedicated to tourism in Barcelona: ECAT Barcelona -Lluïsa Cura School, entities, all of them, to which we thank for their work, welcome and explanations, without which there would have been no other visit than the one made at the FCV.
In addition to visiting these entities, the group had time to participate in two culinary workshops (dedicated to Syrian and Catalan gastronomy), to take a guided tour of the Gothic Quarter, to enjoy a Catalan rumba concert in the Pl Reial and walking through a city very different from the one we know, with practically no tourists.
Despite the necessary physical distancing and the mandatory use of the mask, we are satisfied with the results of the visit due to the excellent evaluation made by the entire group, without exception, both in terms of organization and programming, which encourages us to continue collaborating with the entities we have visited (and with those that answered our call), with other occupational training centers, in Bulgaria and other countries, as well as organizing international study visits for small groups, an activity format that can be carried out successfully despite the pandemic situation and the great uncertainty that it entails.
The activity is a mobility dedicated to providing learning to education professionals, hosted by the FCV within the framework of an association agreement with said vocational training center, carried out with the support of the Erasmus+ program of the European Commission.
For more information about the activity, you can send an email to projectes@catalunyavoluntaria.cat (Lluc).