ing a booklet ‘Doing So-cial Inclusion’, based on our activities and out-comes of this two year period, which aims to pro-vide inspiration and infor-mation for all people in-volved in projects, pro-grammes, activities work-ing towards social inclu-sion in our communities. A PDF version will be avail-able on the website in the autumn.

Looking forward to the future we will be taking with us the joy and the seriousness that we have found to be essential ele-ments of the process of inclusion. As ELSITO members we will continue to work, both locally but also internationally, to empower social inclusion for all, through economic, social, cultural and civic occupations in our com-munities.

Thank you for your inter-est in our project and we look forward to our future cooperation!!

The ELSiTO Members

ELSITO is the acronym of Empowering Learning for Social Inclusion Through Occupation, aiming to promote the promotion of social inclusion for all vul-nerable groups through occupation.

Since 2009 the three European partners have received funding as a Grundtvig learning part-nership through the Life Long Learning partnership of the EU. In July of 2011

the EU funding pe-riod will be com-pleted, and so we are coming to an end of this particular phase of the ELSITO partnership. It is a time to finalize our results and reports, but particularly to reflect on our ex-periences, identify our learning proc-esses and outcomes,

and to look towards the future.

The learning visits be-tween the partners were at the core of the ELSITO

experience. ELSITO mem-bers (service users and staff) we able to partici-pate in a total of four vis-its, each of four days du-ration. We visited commu-nity projects, organised and participated in work-shops between the mem-bers but also for others, and engaged in our daily activities together, permit-ting a rich exploration of social inclusion, through our own lived experiences, through our reflections and our discussions. On a local level we were able to share our experiences within our local organisa-tions, partners and com-munities.

The results of our experi-ences and details of our activities are available on our website (www.elsito.net). We con-tinue to welcome contribu-tions from organisations, projects and individuals from throughout Europe, and we will continue to maintain and develop the website in the coming years. We are also prepar-

The 4th learning visit was held in Athens, from the

16th to the 20th of March, 2011. Once again we had a full programme of workshops and activi-ties, including a special workshop on making puppets at the Kakogian-

nis foundation and an evening of Greek dancing and music. An important

event during this visit was the one day seminar ‟A Dialogue for Social In-clusion‟, where members

of the public, service us-ers and professionals ex-plored issues around so-cial inclusion. More infor-

mation on all these activi-ties you will find within this

newsletter.

We also had discussions around what we had learnt and how we had learnt it within our ELSITO experi-ences. Through work-shops, games and activi-

ties, we reflected on and discuss these important

questions.

Equality, open communica-tion and trust were em-phasized, but particularly as part of doing to-

gether. We understood that travelling, eating,

walking, working together enabled us all to explore and develop our unique

skills and abilities, in a safe and open space.

I N S I D E

T H I S I S S U E :

Doing to-

gether

1

A recipe for an

inclusion soup

2

The 4th Learn-

ing Visit:

Workshps

3

Seminar: A

dialogue for

social inclusion

4/

5

Participants

reflections

5/

6

4th Learning Visit: Doing together

B U S I N E S S N A M E

ELSITO Empowering Learning for Social

Inclusion through Occupation J U L Y 2 0 1 1 N E W S L E T T E R N O . 4

S P E C I A L

P O I N T S O F

I N T E R E S T :

JOIN US!!!!

Send us your de-

scriptions of your

good practice and

the narratives of

your learners. We

will add them to

our website!

P A G E 2

How to describe the

process of social

inclusion??

What about writing a

RECEIPE??

Here is one written by

Marijke—you will

find another in the

booklet

Hot inclusion-chicken with societal mushrooms (not dried) and a paste

for as many persons as possible

The marinade The inclusion-chicken needs to marinate a very long time, to get over the conse-quences of the severe illness a little bit. This might take some years. Trust and safety are important, but also opportunities to do and fail or succeed. A little bit of healthy stress and challenge must also be in the marinade. Furthermore, it needs an extra marinade of being open to new experiences (not every chicken likes the idea of being hot), getting to know one's self (one's self may be in a mess in the beginning). This marinade must be very strong and put over the entire

inclusion-chicken and rubbed in very intensely. Without knowledge of the (right) self this recipe will be a failure. When the inclusion-chicken is ready for the next stage, it will make that clear to you. It will have a nice and shiny color, and it will be ready for others to look at its face.

At this point, be aware that this is not always an easy process: psychiatric illnesses are very mean, they will do all they can, to prevent inclusion-chickens becoming hot. They are always busy taking over the personality and don‟t always give that entirely back. So it's a bit of an art to look at the service-user and know where the

illness might be hidden, always there waiting to do her dirty job.

Innovative delicious cooking!!

This is the important stage of ’trust’. This stage is a bit peculiar and active, because we are going to throw the inclusion-chicken to each other!

There are a lot of professionals involved on the long road to inclusion. Each of them is doing his utmost best to make the inclusion-chicken ready for the final heating. Everybody knows the issue of asking advice from people; everybody looks totally differently at the same subject. Getting different advice all the time drives everybody crazy. By throwing the inclusion-chicken to each other we will express this phenomenon. Every professional involved has to tune towards each other carefully while throwing the inclusion-chicken. Otherwise the inclusion-chicken will fall, which will spoil some years of marinating.

Important tip: While practicing at throwing the chickens, each part, the service users and the professionals should keep in mind that the aim is to communicate well with each other. This is the only way to make the recipe tasteful. The more the one tune in to the other, the tastier the flavor will be!! After the successful throwing, there is one more thing that should take place: bring the inclusion-chicken in contact with other inclusion-chickens, they will make this recipe a success. They can practice capacities, roles and exchange important knowledge with each other. The societal mushrooms Society is a wonderful phenomenon because we all are society. There is one very simple rule in society: we all love each other as soon as we get to know each other. When we look at others without knowing them at all, then we don't like each other. So, it's easy: we must connect! Certainly we need societal mushrooms in this recipe but we must not think they are key ingredients. We pick them, they don't pick us. The paste We must stick together, so to enjoy our delightful meal, cooked by us with a lot of creativity and ongoing energy and motivation. Recipe from Marijke

Making puppets “φτου ξελευτεπία”

P A G E 3 N E W S L E T T E R N O . 4

On the occasion of World Pup-petry Day we had a workshop where we had the chance to learn how to make puppets by using recycled materials. Al-

though, that at first I thought that it would be difficult, the method was very simple and I followed the steps easily. This activity gave me the op-portunity to experiment with differ-ent materials, I could freely use my imagination and finally I had a very good result. It helped me to concen-trate and in the same time to relax and have fun. I was fascinated with the result; all the puppets were dif-ferent and original and everyone gave to the puppet his personal style.

During the second part of the activity we could play with the puppets in a group. I really liked it because you could give life to the puppet and play short stories. It was a very good way to express yourself and you could

communicate with others in a very pleasant and meaningful way. The coordinators of the ac-tivity had a lot of experience and they easily guided us to be ac-tively involved. When we finished I was relaxed and I had a very good mood. I really enjoyed every minute of this workshop and I learned new skills.

Eva

This workshop was organized and led by Ftouxelefteria Puppetry, http://omadaftouxelefteria.blogspot.com/

We would like to thank them for generously sharing with us their time, knowledge and creativity

sion, another to dis-cuss the competences that we are develop-ing, and another to further develop our

booklet.

The whole group met again in a large area where we were able to try out some basic steps of Greek dances while lis-tening to music and then put the

steps into the circle and dance together. Clapping our hands, enjoying being together and hav-ing fun while trying out traditional

dances were the core elements of this workshop! The evening came, and then we tasted

a barbeque meal cooked at the scene, and at the same time listen-ing to traditional music by a group

of musicians. These rituals empow-ered in us the feeling of inclusion through our lived experiences.

Ive and Ioanna

Nice and warm weather and a relaxing walk through the park near EPIPSY was the starting point for the third day of the visit. Then, all to-

gether using Post-it notes, we recorded what we had lived and what we had learned though the ELSITO experience, and analyzed what it meant for us and really learnt through it.

The group then divided into small groups, one to mingle the ingredients for a nice in-clusion recipe, another to

have an interesting conversa-tion aiming at pointing out the core elements of inclu-

Experiential workshops

“together with the

Union of users of

mental health

services “Self-

representation” and

the Association

against prejudice of

Mental Illness „The

Renaissance‟‟

Organising a seminar

One of the most important activi-ties during this mobility was the one-day seminar of ELSITO at the Munici-pality of Iraklio of Attica- Athens.

The seminar was co-organised by

two self-representative organisations of mental health service-users in Greece, „Anagennisi‟ &

„Aftoekprosopisi‟, the ELSITO mem-bers, the Hellenic Association of Oc-cupational Therapists ( H.A.O.T.) and the Occupational Therapy Centre of

the Municipality of Iraklio of Attica. The seminar opened with a welcome by the Mayor of Iraklio Mr. Vlas-sopoulos and the President of the H.A.O.T. Mrs. Keramiotou. The gen-eral coordination of the seminar had the Head of the Occupational Ther-

apy Centre of Iraklio of Attica Mrs,

Karabetsou, who is also an ELSITO mem-ber.

The Coordinator of the

ELSITO partnership, Sarah, pre-sented the activities and the prelimi-nary findings of ELSITO, and was followed by presentations of the work and aims of the two self-

representative associations of service users, by their representatives Yian-nis and Leonardos. Presentations of

four projects were then made: “Sport‟s for All” and “Going on Holi-day” of the Dutch mental health or-ganisation “Actenz Van GGZ In

Geest‟, presented by Tjerk and Marion, and from Belgium “Pol Parol Cafe” presented by Luc, Lieve and Tony and the “Art in the Scaffolding” project presented by Bart, Katrien and Lieve (more information on the website).

The second part of the seminar was

a workshop lead by members of EL-SITO. In this part a more experiential way of understanding social inclusion was achieved through discussion and activities.

the city council, representatives from the Greek Ministry of Health and So-

cial Affairs and representatives from mental health services (day centres, sheltered houses). In total almost

100 people participated in the semi-nar. Comments of participants in-cluded:

“what I'll keep with me is that social

inclusion is a feeling”, “we didn't hear just theories but real examples”, “it made think of activities to promote in my class for social inclusion” and “I found it very important that service

users participated and presented”.

Theo

The Greek ELSiTO members had a lot of

work to prepare for this seminar: arranging the schedule of the seminar and the workshop activi-

ties; making the posters, invitations, and the announcement for all the stakeholders; booking the congress room, arranging and checking the sound system; keeping a priority list for the participants, arranging the groups and the leader of the groups

for the seminar; creating and printing the programme, certificates and

evaluation forms; arranging press releases; translating all the presenta-tions (bilingual presentation: English and Greek) and creating the neces-sary PowerPoint presentations; and

of course arranging the catering (prepared by a local social enter-prise). Of course, a great help in the organisation was our previous experi-ence in the Hogeschool University of Brussels with the international stu-dents. All the preparations started

two months earlier with intensive work.

Invited participants included the Vice-Mayors and other members of

Dialogue on Social Inclusion P A G E 4

E L S I T O

“The difference of

this seminar from oth-

ers is that service

users participated n

the organisation and

in the presentations.

They shared the ac-

tivities of their pro-

grammes and also

their personal experi-

ences of social inclu-

sion and exclusion”

The workshop

P A G E 5 N E W S L E T T E R N O . 4

The second part of the seminar was a workshop lead by ELSiTO members (both service-users and professionals). In this part we aimed to give participants a more experiential way of understanding social inclusion. 30 people at-tended as well as members of EL-SiTO and the service user associa-tions. We started off with a game “musical chairs” – a lively move-ment game where one quickly ex-periences exclusion as one „is out‟. Soon everyone was laughing, shouting encouragement, included in the fun, regardless of age or role. We then split into small groups with a variety of activities: collage, dance, fairy tales and drawing. We closed with the “general assembly” where all the groups shared their results and experiences.

Comments from the evaluation of the workshop included:

“I found it realistic, feeling exclu-sion and inclusion”, “the dance group was a powerful experience”, “it helped me understand the ways and methods of social inclusion” and “we had the opportunity to ex-press ourselves and feelings”.

Suggestions for improvement in-cluded: “we needed more time”, “I would like to participate in two groups instead of one”, “I needed to be informed of the content of the seminar in more detail before the actual time” and “more people should have the opportunity to par-ticipate”. The seminar was a very important experience for us all, we were not only able to present information about the ELSiTO partnership and the local projects, but also to facili-tate the participants to experience social inclusion as lived. We believe that this was a useful experience in opening a dialogue between all in-volved and interested in this mu-nicipality.

After the talks we played a very enjoyable game (musical chairs). We did that in order to relax and have fun all together, as we all joined in: professionals and service users. After that game we split up into groups of eight and each group did an activity (art, collage, making stories etc.). In my group we drew a picture of a place where we feel comfortable and at home. Some drew just with lines and other people made more artistic creations. I drew a seaside where I feel good and safe. When we had finished we each presented our work and said something about it. It was a very interesting ac-tivity concerned with social inclusion. At

the end of the workshop, each group tried to draw some con-clusions regarding their par-ticipation in the activities and generally regarding social ex-clusion and inclusion. I then had the opportunity to repre-sent my group and with a mi-crophone to present these conclusions… I think it was a particularly constructive day from which I learnt a lot. The whole atmos-phere helped me to feel ac-cepted, to estimate better my participation and to come, with other people, to useful conclusions, which I then had the opportunity to announce to others. I feel very fortunate that I was able to participate in this experience”.

Stefanos

“Saturday 19th March 2011 was a very good day for me as I had the opportunity to speak at a seminar on the subject of social inclusion. Apart from my own talk there were others, e.g. by the Mayor of Iraklion and the president of the Hellenic As-sociation of Occupational Therapists. I met some inter-esting people, particularly the Belgian and Dutch visitors, who were the same age as me and very interesting peo-ple. It was a big experience for me to speak at a seminar. From the preparation of the presentation, which was a creative job without particu-lar anxiety, up to the day that I spoke, with more anxi-ety this time, I was very pleased with my involvement in this group.

Experiences of the seminar

“I felt an active

and equal

member of the

group, increased

good mood and

self-value and

generally the

whole

atmosphere of

the seminar

helped me to feel

accepted”

“In the seminar I was in-formed about the programmes for the social inclusion of persons who experience mental health prob-lems in Holland and Belgium, as well as for the programme EL-SITO. Unfortunately in our coun-try the problems of mental illness plague many families who try to cope with the problems behind „closed doors‟, leading to the mar-ginalisation of both the person and their family. In this seminar I experi-enced the exact opposite. In addi-tion to the information from the programme leaders, service users, reconciled with their situation, with humour, ease and self-confidence, presented their ex-periences of participating in pro-grammes for inclusion and their development process through those. In the 2nd part, the expe-riential workshop, coordinators of the groups were professionals but also service users. Through open communication, we shared parts of our lives and emotions, and we came closer to each other. The experience of equal participation without discrimina-tion and segregation was unique and I hope such meetings will

“The social exclusion of per-sons with mental illness is multi-dimensional and concerns not only the economic field but mainly the lack of opportunities for social inclusion, the creation of a family and inclusion in the community. Persons with men-tal illness, as a result, not only of the effects of the illness but of social stigma are marginalised and excluded from the wider society. Through my participation in the seminar, I appreciated that: -One of the most important guidelines for the rehabilitation of persons with mental illness is to use the potential of pyscho-social interventions, in or-der for individuals to achieve both the maximum possible level of independ-ence and satisfaction with the quality of their life -ELSITO promotes social inclusion, supporting respect for the human ex-istence and the equality as citizens of persons with mental health problems, through the collaboration of profes-sionals and service users and utilizing the possibilities of experiential work-shops. I believe that the exploration, the deepening and the further utiliza-tion of these experiences are essen-tial for achieving the social inclusion of our fellows, with the creation of appropriate services in our municipal-ity” Leontari, Vasiliki Executive of the Department for Men-tal Health, Ministry of Health and Social Support, Greece

happen more frequently to allow participation, information, reflec-tion and awareness for as many people as possible. I also think that the ideas, knowledge and experiences of the professionals participating in the European programme EL-SITO could be used by the mu-nicipalities, creating spaces with activities aimed at professionals, mental health service users, and other vulnerable social groups, their families and the wider com-munity”. Eleni Papageorgiou Vice-head, Department of Munici-pal Revenue, Municipality of Irak-lio Attikis

Contact:

Sarah Kantartzis

Hellenic Association of

Occupational Therapists

Phone: +30 6944 410 963

Email: skanta@ath.forthnet.gr

More experiences of the seminar... We’re on the Web!

example.com

Check out the website at

www.elsito.net

More information is being

added all the time

Hellenic Association of

Occupational Therapists

Collaborating Partners

Universtat de Vic (Fundació Universi-

taria Balmes) with Salvador Simó.

The University of Ruse, Bulgaria with

Liliya Todorova.

The University of Teesside, UK, with

Claire Smith

The European Network of Occupa-

tional Therapy in Higher Education

(ENOTHE)

Local Partners

In Greece: The Municipality of Irak-

lio Attikis

Pan-Hellenic Association for Psycho-

logical Rehabilitation and Work Inte-

gration (PEPSAEE)

This project has been funded with sup-port from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission can-not be held responsible for any use