This project is funded by the T.R. Ministry of Foreign Affairs EU Directorate with the support of European Union within the scope of Civil Society Dialogue Programme VI with the cooperation between Elazig Schizophrenia Solidarity Association ( as coordinator ) and Cerebral Palsy Association Coimbra ( as co-applicant ).
Elazig Schizophrenia Solidarity Association
Elazig Schizophrenia Solidarity Association is an organization that has been operating for disabled people in Elazig since April 2007. It organizes activities in order to increase the participation of the disabled people in the local area of Elazig, to raise awareness of the people with disabilities, and in this context, it carries out projects to ensure the social participation of the disabled.
Elazig Schizophrenia Solidarity Association was established by families with disabilities in the local area of Elazig to prevent discrimination and hate speech towards people with disabilities and to enable disabled people to lead a better life. Our association organizes activities with local hospitals, special education centers and organizations providing services for the disabled and provides services for the disabled.
There are 2 project managers and more than 50 volunteers working actively in our institution, and we support the activities we implement in our local area and activities are carried out to increase the visibility of the disabled in the society.
The aims of our association are;
- To increase the visibility of the disabled in the society by cooperating with the institutions providing services for the disabled.
- To contribute to the personal development of disabled people by establishing social and cultural activities for disabled people.
- To ensure the participation of disabled people in local policy making processes by acting as a solidarity network among people with disabilities
- To organize educational activities for schizophrenia patients in particular, and for all disabled individuals in general.
In addition, our association is a member of the Turkish Disabled Federation, Turkish Schizophrenia Associations Federation networks, and in this context, it contributes to the execution of advocacy work in shaping national policies and national practices.
APCC ( Associação de Paralisia Cerebral de Coimbra )
The APCC – Associação de Paralisia Cerebral de Coimbra (Cerebral Palsy Center of Coimbra) is a non-profit / non-governmental organization created in 1975, based in Coimbra but with regional impact. The mission of the organization is to promote the social inclusion of disadvantaged people, especially those with disabilities. The organization´s range of work involves those with cerebral palsy, neurological problems and various other disabilities.
APCC has an integrated intervention program implemented by interdisciplinary teams. The organization supports more than 2,000 clientes (babies, children, youth and adults), has 323 collaborators, and has a base of 70 volunteers, both national and european.
APCC services are facilitated in three areas:
1) The Rehabilitation Center, where APCC has specialized services: Medical Assistance, Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Psychology, Social Services, Psychomotricity, Nursing, Snoezelen Therapy, Low Vision, Hydrotherapy, Education (kindergarten and primary school), the Toy Library and Resource Center and also Sports and Recreation.
2) The farm ”Quinta da Conraria”, where APCC develops vocational training and social integration in the job market. APCC facilitates occupational therapies, family support and counseling, educational support, as well as several activities open to the community, such as: an Organic Farm, that promotes the respect of nature and helps people acquire social and vocational skills; an Adventure Farm, with various activities for youth, such as all-terrain biking, canoeing and orientation hiking, paintball, climbing, and various other activities; a Riding Center, including activities like hippotherapy/rehabilitation through horse riding, vocational training for equestrians, and adapted horse riding; a Learning Farm.
3) Residences, which house a variety of APCC´s clients. Within The Conraria Farm there is a weekly residence for clients that participate in professional formation. The Residence Eça de Queirós houses a wide range of clients with more demanding daily needs. The most recent residence, the Lar Integrado, has the mission to “Grow Old Together”, and houses adult clients and their parents, who may also need domiciliary assistance as the family ages together.
Civil Society Dialogue Programme
Civil Society Dialogue is a programme bringing together civil society organisations from Turkey and the EU around common topics, to exchange knowledge and experience, and to build a sustained conversation between the organisations.
The Programme is co-financed by the European Union and the Republic of Turkey under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA). The Ministry for European Union Affairs is the responsible institution for the technical implementation of the programme, while the Central Finance and Contracts Unit is the contracting authority.
Since its launch in 2008, the Civil Society Dialogue Programme has supported over 600 dialogue partnerships through 350 projects in many different fields, witnessing hundreds of activities to bring EU and Turkish communities closer together and create a greater mutual understanding amongst them. To date through the first three phase, a total of 42.5 million euros has funded these activities.
The catalogue of the projects of Civil Society Dialogue VI can be reached from here.