On Friday, May 11th, the day ‘Volunteering for all: inclusion and accessibility’ took place at the Casa del Mar. It was organized by the Catalan Federation of Social Volunteers (FCVS) and DINCAT, with the aim of achieving a space for learning and reflection on the accessibility criteria for voluntary programs.
As a representative of the Fundació Catalunya Voluntària (FCV), Sergio Leal, volunteer and mentor of the FCV, participated. All of this resulted in a good 5-hour day with debates, lectures, a theatre-forum and a great desire to learn and improve on behalf of the members of the entities.
The day began with formal presentations and interventions of the representations of the Generalitat and the City Council of Barcelona. Then, the debate was opened with a theater-forum, by the social theater group Impacta’t, which did not leave anyone indifferent. Controversial situations were raised, with a sensitizing desire, in which the problems of a person with disabilities were escenificated to access a social volunteer. From these representations, different opinions and doubts arose, which favored the space for debate and reflection on the difficulties and prejudices found in this part of society when it came to participating in voluntary actions.
Everything continued as planned, with a presentation given by the person responsible for accessibility and citizenship of DINCAT on the concept of normality and the right to accessibility. The day ended with the organization of small work groups with technical and volunteer entities, where several aspects were discussed about voluntary inclusion, such as the need for training in this area. It was a good way to finish the session and the moment in which the entities could speak among them and talk about the phases of volunteer management and other aspects that arose during the day.