• Support to children with disabilities and their families in the Kaliningrad region
• Deafblindness - a distinct disability of combined visual and hearing impairment
• Practice in Nordic Institutions
• Psychological health in the families having a child with disabilities in the Kaliningrad region
• First International Art Festival of the Handicapped of the Kaliningrad region

Support to children with disabilities and their families in the Kaliningrad region

Cooperation sub-programme “Support to children with disabilities and their families in the Kaliningrad region” is being implemented within the framework of the “Knowledge Building and Networking Programme (KNP)”.

The programme is designed to improve the quality of life for children with disabilities and their families, as well as to facilitate their successful social inclusion and equal participation in all spheres of social life.

In order to ensure more efficient coordination within the framework of the sub-programme, a local working group (WG) was set up.  It consists of representatives of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Public Health of the Government of the Kaliningrad region, as well as representatives of the Faculty of Pedagogics and Psychology of the Immanuel Kant State University of Russia and socially-oriented public organizations.

The cooperation began in 2006. The Coordinator of the sub-programme is Marianne Smedegaard, Nordic Centre for Welfare and Social Issues (NVC). The NCM Information in Kaliningrad is a partner of NVC and is responsible for local coordination of the sub-programme in the Kaliningrad region.

Deafblindness - a distinct disability of combined visual and hearing impairment

Project “Deafblindness - a distinct disability of combined visual and hearing impairment” (2008-2009)was initiated by the Nordic Staff Training Centre for Deafblind Services (NUD) in the framework of the programme “Support to children with disabilities and their families in the Kaliningrad region” with financial support of the NCM office in Kaliningrad. 

The principal goal of the project is to develop solutions, provide psychological help and counseling, share knowledge about how to cope with disabilities and help disabled people in their every-day life - in their households, schools and day care centers. The project also aims at raising awareness of this particular disability among the members of the Government of the Kaliningrad Region as well as among NGOs and specialists at all levels.

Practice in Nordic Institutions

Introductory courses on Universal design for Baltic and Russian participants were organized in the framework of the programme “Practice in Nordic Institutions”.

The concept of Universal design means to develop goods, services and the physical environment in such a way that all people, to the largest possible extent, can participate in society without any need for special equipment, adaptation or assistance.

The aim of the course - to exchange knowledge and experiences on the concept of Universal Design between the Nordic, Baltic countries and the regions of the North West Russia. The course highlighted cross-sectoral processes needed to make the society easily accessible and understandable for all citizens.

The course was divided into two parts: 1 part took place on 22-26 March 2010 in  the Nordic School of Public Health (NHV), Gothenburg, Sweden Norwegian Directorate of Health, the Delta Center, Oslo, Norway; 2 part –  10-12 May 2010 in St. Petersburg.

Psychological health in the families having a child with disabilities in the Kaliningrad region

Pilot project “Psychological health in the families having a child with disabilities in the Kaliningrad region” started in June2010.

The aim of the pilot project is to improve the psychological health in in the families having a child with disabilities by close cooperation with some families in order to define which concrete services could help their situation.

The pilot project is not designed to solve concrete problems of the families with a disabled child. It gives those families an opportunity to describe their problems and needs, as well as to suggest solutions to these problems, which could help them.

The Guide book for parents of a disabled child, which is being under preparation at the moment will be used in the pilot project as supporting printed material.

The pilot project and its results will be described during the work-process in a report, which then will be distributed among other countries and regions of Russia.

Lena Birch Christiansen, Section Leader, “Children´s House”, Residential institution for children with severe disabilities, Funen, Denmark, will be manage the project on behalf of the Nordic Centre for Welfare and Social Issues (NVC).

The Nordic Centre for Welfare and Social Issues and its Deputy Director Marianne Smedegaard bears overall responsibility for the project.

Christina Parkhomenko, Project Coordinator, is responsible for the pilot project coordination in the NCM office in Kaliningrad.

The pilot project is initiated in the framework of the programme “Support to children with disabilities and their families in the Kaliningrad region” and is financed by the Nordic Council of Ministers and will run for one year.

First International Art Festival of the Handicapped of the Kaliningrad region

The NCM Information office in Kaliningrad supported the project of the Kaliningrad regional youth organization of the disabled “MARIA” to organize the First International Art Festival of the Handicapped of the Kaliningrad region.

The Festival took place on the 20-22 August 2010 in Kaliningrad.

Participants from the Kaliningrad region, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and Sweden took part in the Festival.

The aim of the project is to get acknowledged with the experience of foreign countries in organization of theatre and art festivals of the disabled; attracting the attention of public, state, private and commercial organizations to the problems of the disabled and providing more efficient and tolerant solutions to their problems; establishing contacts between specialists and disabled people from the Kaliningrad region and foreign countries.

The long-perspective objective of the project is to introduce the UN Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities in the sphere of culture and to broaden the usage of rehabilitation and social adaptation methods of the disabled by means of culture.