The last 15th and 16th of June part of our team from England enjoyed the congress “Lived Inclusion” in Vienna. This journey, born from the collaborative work of our congregation and Brothers of Saint John of God, was a space for sharing experiences whose main objective was to promote social inclusion for the holistic care of people with mental, physical, spiritual and social problems.
This conference brought together professionals and patients from different European countries (France, Portugal, Italy, England, Poland, Germany and Spain) and in which interesting topics were discussed such as the double discrimination suffered by women and victims of gender violence; the necessary inclusion of professionals who master sign language in health consultations; the problems of young people without resources to find a home and the different approaches and methodologies of social inclusion work in Ireland, Germany and France among others topics.
Conference topics:
Throughout the day various topics were discussed under the focus of Social Inclusion among which included innovation, stigmas, art as a vehicle for inclusion, self-determination and inclusion.
The day was spent between talks by professionals and users of our congregation and that of the brothers of Saint John of God. The presentations lasted 20 minutes and dealt with topics of great social importance (such as the exclusion of people with mental problems) and the different methodologies used in the treatment centres.
Learning about the different methodologies from the best experts in each area was very inspiring and rewarding. After the presentations, the posters of each of the centres and the videos that had been prepared, among which was the one from our province of England, could be seen.
To end the day, a round table discussion was held in which the main themes of the congress were compiled and we were encouraged to look to the future to continue working and improving both as congregations and as a society.
THE HOSPITALITY IN EUROPE
The Social Inclusion Congress is being promoted by the Social Inclusion Working Group of the Hospitaller Order of St John of God and the Sisters Hospitallers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The Social Inclusion Working Group is part of the Europe Commission, chaired by Brother Joaquim Erra, General Councillor of the OHSJD. Its mission is to promote the sharing of knowledge, initiatives and joint planning of the European Provinces in the field of social inclusion.
This Working Group understands the commitment to work for social inclusion by means of accompaniment for the purpose of preventing, correcting or alleviating problems relating to the interaction between people, taking into account its two dimensions: their functional autonomy and integration/relationships.
The purpose of this accompaniment must be to foster interaction between people and develop their capacity as agents.
Interaction: a person’s capacity to exercise and maintain their ability to be, belong to to develop in their particular reference group or community as equals in every aspect of life.
Agency: the individual capacity to act and conduct themselves freely and capably in the world.
The Working Group comprises one representative of each European Province of the Hospitaller Order of St John of God (Poland, Bavaria, Austria, France, Lombardy-Veneto, Rome, Spain, Portugal, Western Europe) and two representatives of the Sisters Hospitallers.
Recap of the congress
