THE PROJECT
The project in short
The Disability Leaders of Tomorrow (D-Lot) project was a project developed by EASPD to support professionals from the service provision sector in promoting and coordinating real and sustainable change in service delivery in 15 Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries.
The D- LoT project, implemented between 2015 and 2017, was generously supported by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.
Main objectives
The project implemented practical and customised support to professionals in service providing organisations on how to apply the paradigm shift as embodied in the United Nation Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) principles in their specific environment and daily practice by achieving the following objectives:
- Increasing the knowledge of UN CRPD and the innovation process in the disability service provision
- Increasing the capacity of service providers for implementing models of good proactive and sustainable development
- Increasing the know-how and cooperation among disability organisations at local, national and European level
Main activities
The activities developed within the project were targeted at the 15 mentors and 15 mentees selected from the 15 CEE countries. The relationship mentors-mentees was based on active interaction and participation in the following activities:
- E-Learning hub which included the D-LoT course of 10 training modules covering the most important learning outcomes for managerial positions in the disability service provision sector. In addition, the platform hosts a Knowledge Centre with useful information. This was the basis for the construction of the current EASPD e-learning Hub.
- Webinars: both mentors and mentees had the opportunity to learn and discuss recent developments in international and European policies, to find out funding opportunities and to get up to speed with latest trends in the sector
- Job shadowing which offered the opportunity not only to learn, but also to experience and personally apply the approaches used in the day-to-day practice. The mentor hosted the mentee in his/her organisation for a one week placement, where the mentees explored how to implement the acquired knowledge
- Pass it On projects: upon completion of the above activities, the mentees organised a similar set of training activities at local level. The mentors assisted their mentees in the design of those activities and advised them on how to best pass on the acquired knowledge.
If you want to learn more about the results of the D-LoT project or you are interested in replicating it please contact us.
