The session was kicked off by Chris Gordon from ISEN who introduced Baptiste Vasseur from ENSIE. Baptiste gave an overview of the HELPDESK project. HELPDESK Powerpoint
The HELPDESK is a 2-years project (May 2022 – April 2024) funded by the European Commission which aims to launch the building blocks for a Social Services Helpdesk. The ultimate goal of this project is to increase the use of ESF+ (European Social Fund Plus) and ERDF (the European Regional Development Fund) funding by social services and to make it easier for social service providers to access these funds.
We also heard from Freddy Jussien from the EASPD ( European Association of Service Providers for People with Disabilities). He spoke about the resources available to organisations to develop their online learning capacity. Paricularly noteworthy is the accessability functionality for people with vision impairment
As part of the project a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) has been made available for organisations to help support them in accessing funding. You can access the course here.
Siobhan Cafferty from Pobal gave an overview on how they work on behalf of Government, and in conjunction with communities and local agencies, She spoke particularly about The Employment, Inclusion, Skills and Training Programme, (EIST for short,) is Ireland’s ESF+ programme for the 2021 to 2027 period.
The Programme involves a total investment of over €1.08billion; €508 million from the EU and €573 million from the Government of Ireland.Pobal Presentation
Emma Murtagh from The Wheel’s Access Europe’s project discussed the role they play in assisting organisations in learning about what supports are available and urged attendees to check out the range of supports that can be accessed through the Access Europes website. Her presentation can be accessed here. Access Europe
Finally Jemma Lee from Leargas spoke about her role in assisting organisations in Adult Education with Erasmus + information and assistance. We would urge members to read through the presentation to learn about the opportunities available through ERASMUS + especially the recent inclusion of sporting organisation opportunites. They have an upcoming information session. Leargas Presentation
We are most grateful to all contributors and urge our members to avail of the huge amount of information contained in the above links. Watch the training back and please take the advice of all speakers, they are happy for you to reach out and learn more about funds available.
