From 17 to 19 September in Brussels took place the training for trainers of the project “GUIDE – Supporting Guardians of Unaccompanied Children”, led by EASPD (European Association of Service providers for Persons with Disabilities) and implemented by a consortium of several organisations: National Network for Children partnered with Eurochild, TENENET – Slovakia, Save the Children – Poland, Imago Foundation – Poland, IASIS – Greece, Cesie – Italy.
The trainers for Bulgaria are experts with many years of practice working directly with unaccompanied refugee children – Antoaneta Yabanozova – Director of the Secretariat of the Regional Council of the Bulgarian Red Cross – Ruse, Diana Dimova – Executive Director of the Mission Wings Foundation, Dilyana Giteva – lawyer from the National Network for Children, accompanied by Bella Damyanova – Coordinator of Policies for Children at the National Network for Children.
The aim of the training was to involve experts with experience in the field of direct work with unaccompanied refugee children in the areas of legal representative, child participation, social work and psychological support with priority given to work with children with disabilities. The expert trainers, together with EASPD and Eurochild, will be responsible for the development of a transnational training of trainers programme and a transnational manual on the care of migrant children with disabilities aimed at legal representatives and professionals. The programme will build on existing training materials on the topic and on the findings of studies carried out on the legislative framework in Bulgaria and other project partner countries, tailored to the needs of the target groups and the national context. The training manual will be designed for GUIDE trainers who will deliver a series of trainings to legal representatives and professionals working directly with unaccompanied refugee children. The content will provide trainers with the information and tools they need to conduct trainings in project countries.
The training in Brussels was the initial preparation for the development and implementation of pilot training workshops for legal representatives and social professionals working directly in the field. Experts from FRA, EUAA, Belgian Guardianship Authorities and the European Disability Forum participated in the training as guest speakers. The trainees were invited to contribute and share their own experience and expertise during the event, which consisted of case studies, discussions, searching for optimal solutions to complex and challenging cases and sharing their own experiences.
The macro areas of the training were:
- interactive learning skills to effectively transfer the knowledge from the training package and related activities;
- current guardianship arrangements in EU Member States;
- the role, responsibilities and support of the unaccompanied children’s representative;
- child participation and children’s rights;
- psychological support for children coming from conflict areas, forced displacement and violence;
- concrete steps for the placement of unaccompanied children and form of legal support;
- community-based and empowering approach to unaccompanied minors with disabilities and/or with/at risk of developmental delays.
Each partner organization, together with its nationally trained trainers, will develop a national manual adapted to each national context and needs. The national manuals will include specifics of national legal frameworks, national support services for unaccompanied children, specific needs of unaccompanied children present in the country, including disability-related needs.
A series of trainings are to be organised in Bulgaria in early 2025 and will be implemented by the trained trainers of the project with the support of NNC. The training will take place as a series of workshops. A total of 250 professionals working directly with unaccompanied children in Europe will be trained for the project.
