The idea of starting an alliance to increase the international mobility of students with disabilities in ERASMUS+ became a reality during a meeting at the European Parliament in connection with the 2017 European Day of Persons with Disabilities, in which the involved stakeholders agreed to bring it into existence.
The Alliance has a varied partnership: associations and foundations of young people and university students, higher education institutions, and organisations of people with disabilities. With a joint action, the European Blind Union and the Italian Union of the Blind and Partially Sighted are both represented in the Alliance and EBU activities in the educational field were highly valued by partners.
Thanks to the Erasmus Student Network engagement, the funds of the Flemish National Agency and with the support of Damiano Zoffoli and Luigi Morgano MEPs the Inclusive Mobility Alliance fulfilled, in a little more than one year, a number of objectives: gathering in a “toolbox” the existing resources and research papers about the inclusion of students and young people with disabilities in Erasmus+, drafting cross-sectoral recommendations for the Higher Education and Youth fields on how to make the next Erasmus+ programme more inclusive and, finally, establishing a long-lasting alliance to further work on the common goal of youth inclusive mobility in various fields.
On 22 January 2019, EBU/UICI representative Francesca Sbianchi attended the meeting at the European Parliament where the IMA recommendations for a truly inclusive Erasmus+ were officially launched and MEPs, EC Officers and stakeholders signed the Inclusive Mobility Alliance declaration. These texts, as well the toolbox of resource materials can be downloaded from the IMA website. Please do not hesitate to disseminate information about them and use them to promote youth inclusive mobility!