The aim of the EU Projects Department within Aġenzija Sapport is to tap into various EU funding programmes made available by the European Commission (EC), for the benefit of service users and employees. This is deeper than simply a financial contribution or support through which projects may be realised.

 

Through these opportunities, Aġenzija Sapport strives to develop projects that aim at fostering the below objectives, in line with Key Action 1 and Key Action 2 Priorities:

 

  • Upskilling and providing opportunities to staff working within the Agency
  • Enhancing client autonomy & independent living
  • Delivering and ensuring a high-quality service of excellence
  • Integrity, respect, equity, empathy and co-production

 

 

Current projects

 

 

Key Action 1 Projects:

 

  1. Ongoing Growth and Continued Commitment to Excellence

Following the success of previous KA1 Mobility Projects, Aġenzija Sapport was awarded Erasmus+ accreditation in 2023, securing stable funding and streamlined application processes through 2027.

 

In the 2023/2024 call (Project ID: 2023-1-MT01-KA121-ADU-000138619), 70 professionals from Aġenzija Sapport benefited from mobility opportunities across various European countries. These experiences continue to enable staff to participate in international training and job shadowing, exchange best practices, and develop new skills aimed at enhancing the quality and effectiveness of the Agency’s services.

 

Currently, the Agency is implementing its 2024/2025 project (Project ID: 2024-1-MT01-KA121-ADU-000227683) and the 2025/2026 project (Project ID: 2025-1-MT01-KA121-ADU-000336046). To date, around 10 mobility activities have been completed, with 44 participants gaining valuable international experience and professional growth. Staff members have acquired knowledge on a range of topics, including upskilling in communication and teamwork, employment support, trauma-informed best practices, sign language interpretation, assistive technology, and augmentative and alternative communication, among others.

 

  1. Youth Exchanges

Aġenzija Sapport is partnering up with youth organizations around Europe to offer mobility experiences to young people with disabilities. It is an opportunity for service users to travel abroad and engage with other young people around Europe as a community in different thematic workshops, cultural activities using non formal methods of learning. Participants are provided with a Youthpass for their learning outcomes.

 

 

Key Action 2 Projects:

 

 

  1. Hybrid Learning for disadvantaged adults

This project seeks solutions of hybrid learning for disadvantaged adults including migrants, the elderly and persons with disability. The project is led by OU Vestifex, Estonia, and has also included seven European partners. In this project, Aġenzija Sapport is mainly responsible for the creation of a hybrid toolkit which will serve as an online resource for adult learners. The Agency will also host the partners for a week-long study visit and it is also responsible for the evaluation of the project.

 

  1. Beyond Disability

This project aims to bring together experience and expertise from across Europe to create a training programme aimed at professionals (namely Psychologists, Psychotherapists and Counsellors) in becoming better acquainted with the concept of disability and working with persons with different abilities. The partnership for this project consists of Aġenzija Sapport, as applicant, Relate Ability Centre in Ireland and Igor Vitale International srl in Italy.

 

  1. Inclusive Practices in Education – The emergence of the European Forum of Inclusion Practitioners

An initiative focused on inclusion practice, where schools, NGOs and other organisations can collaborate and share best practices. This project will enable professionals at Aġenzija Sapport to collaborate with inclusion experts across Europe and strengthen their international network through the European Forum of the International Forums of Inclusion Practitioners (IFIP). The project is led by the Union of Consultants Scandinavia AB in Sweden and it includes a number of European partners from Malta, Spain, Netherlands, UK and Hungary with professional backgrounds in teaching, speech therapy, physiotherapy, administration, school leadership and NGO.

 

  1. It Starts with Me!

This project is a strategic partnership between Sweden, Spain, Malta, Italy, Slovenia and Greece. The aim is to create inclusion, solidarity and to challenge society’s preconceived notions, as well as create a creative space for active citizenship and social entrepreneurship by developing an interactive online questionnaire, for better accessibility to research and activities involving young people with functional variations, for increased visibility. The main purpose of the project is to give greater opportunity to people with functional variations to participate in the entire process. In this regard, the project will see to involve young people with disabilities (48 people, 8 per country) throughout the project process.

 

  1. Let’s talk about IT!

The project revolves around the creation of accredited training to assist professionals to provide sex education to persons with disability. The project sees partners from Italy, Greece and Malta. Organisations still meet sexual related behaviours of concern regularly, hence there is not enough education given both in the disability aspect and in the mainstream. It is also clear that locally there is no real expertise in how to deal with sexual education specific to persons with disability. The mechanics of sex and sexual exploration may be the same but the realities as to how to communicate, and the methodologies applicable are vastly different. The chosen partners in this project, on the other hand, have teams that are either professional in the field of psychology, psychiatry and sexology or have direct experience in working with persons with disability in relation to sexual education. The importation of this expertise is essential since locally such expertise is not available.

 

  1. Same Chance Employment – Creating Employment Opportunities for Autistic Persons Factoring in Co-occurring Conditions

The aim of this project is to create vocational training resources that address a well-identified need both within the European Union and in individual countries. Specifically, the project focuses on tackling the employment gap faced by people with disabilities, with a particular emphasis on individuals with autism.

 

This project addresses an important social issue that remains inaccessible to some groups due to social barriers. Among these groups are disabled individuals, many of whom are classified as NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training). To overcome these challenges, the project will develop specialized and easy-to-understand educational resources designed for both employers and employees.

 

The primary goal of the project is to increase the number of autistic individuals—taking into account any related conditions—who secure meaningful employment and are able to maintain these jobs over time. The project leverages the strengths and insights of its partners to create a program aimed at expanding employment opportunities and improving job retention for people within this group.

 

Designed to be modular, informed by key stakeholders, and sustainable, the project seeks to effectively bridge this gap. Its key outcomes include creating tailored content for potential employers, developing a train-the-trainer program, and establishing an e-learning platform.

 

 

European Solidarity Corps Project

 

This is a European Volunteering Project through which Aġenzija Sapport can host two European volunteers for a period of one year to support its services. The project is led by the Agency’s Sharing Lives Service, and thus, the volunteers will be supporting the Sharing Lives team and allowing it to potentially expand it operations.

 

Click this link for more information on Sharing Lives European Solidarity Corps volunteers