Bucharest in Romania was the host of the second edition of the Inclusion and Diversity Forum. The three-day international conference was co-organised by the Romanian Erasmus+ agency and SALTO Inclusion and Diversity (Youth) with the aim of creation of greater visibility for inclusion and diversity and building bridges between stakeholders active in different EU mobility programmes. Among over 120 attendees were organisations and participants from the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes, as well as youth workers, educators, social workers, youth practitioners, mentors and representatives from Erasmus+ agencies.
The opening speeches were delivered by Sophia Eriksson Waterschoot from the European Commission (Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture) and Monica Calotã from the Romanian Erasmus+ agency. The agenda was a combination of presentations, workshops, field visits and interactive sessions that offered space for working on different issues related to the topic of inclusion and diversity and enabled participants to acquire new information, inspiration, methods and partners. During the ID Connections and ID Stories sessions, SALTO Inclusion and Diversity (Education and Training) representative Josip Luša showcased the work done by the resource centre thus far and delivered talks on opportunities offered by the Erasmus+ programme, as well as on ways of motivating, encouraging and supporting participants of various backgrounds.
“Our SALTO resource centre develops tools and resources that can help implementation of inclusive-minded projects and activities across Europe. We are particularly targeting individuals and groups that face various barriers and are otherwise difficult to reach. For them, participation in Erasmus+ is not only an opportunity to take part in international mobility, it is very often a life-changing experience.”
The event was funded by the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes and coordinated by SALTO Inclusion and Diversity (Youth).