Training Kit on Social Inclusion

Although it’s a few years old now, the Training Kit (often referred to as a T-Kit) on the theme of Social Inclusion, produced by the Council of Europe in partnership with the European Commission, is still very relevant.

For associations seeking to become more socially inclusive, the T-Kit covers a lot of theory and research, as well as some practical exercises that you could run in your own association when looking at the issue of social inclusion.

From the introduction, you can see that the T-Kit is particularly concerned with excluded or marginalised youth:

The notion of participation of young people in society, particularly in the civil and political organisation of society, is developing. Participation in this context means more than mere consultation with young people about changes and initiatives that will affect their lives and shape their futures. We are talking about the participation of young people who are really representing, and representative of, a faithful cross section of European youth. It is this last point that brings us to the crux of the matter.

For society to really benefit from the engagement of young people, all young people must be given the means and the opportunities to take up their right to participate. It is essential that young people with fewer opportunities, indeed with the fewest opportunities, can get involved and make their contribution felt, not least because it is their fundamental right as much as any other young person.

But it is not only a matter of the intrinsic ethical value of preventing exclusion or of recognising the richness of diversity. The participation of young people with fewer opportunities is a barometer of the underlying health of our democracies and societies. It is imperative that the voice of the most vulnerable and marginalised young people is heard because their contribution, their perspective and their knowledge is invaluable and unique in the effort to forge a better society for tomorrow, for everyone. Young people who have the most difficult lives and the most uncertain futures can really teach us about the meaning of, and the path towards, a Europe of equality, justice and peace.

But these young people must first have the possibility to participate.

T-Kit – Social Inclusion

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