"The main goal of the 3-year project called ""Our story - a real story"" was involvement of intellectually disabled and discriminated because of their origin and economic background children and youth in using on equal terms as their healthy peers, cultural goods and its creation. The project involved cooperation of 9 schools that provide teaching in the area of special and integrated education. The participating schools came from the Czech Republic, Germany, Latvia, Romania, Italy, Portugal, Northern Macedonia, Turkey and Poland. Each year of 3 years long project ended with the production of a specific project product. In the first year it was a series of 9 books with the legends of each of the participating countries. To implement the planned activities in the first year, children and young people attended reading meetings during which they listened to their national, regional and local legends. Then they selected two of the most interesting national legend and one regional and local one. After choosing the legends, they made drawings that illustrated the published books, and developed their own texts. In order to understand the process of creating books, students participated in bookbinding workshops and visited professional printing houses. The result of strenuous work were series of 9 books in a bilingual version (in national language and English). Each partner of the project published a series of books in several or over a dozen copies. They were donated to the local libraries and school libraries to promote the project. The Selected legends were read by the teachers and school staff and recorded in the form of audio books. In the second year of the project were implemented activities related to animated and puppet fairy tales. While watching cartoons students chose their favorite national fairy tales. The two most popular tales from each country were distributed among partners and presented at a specially organized meeting. Then, drawing and puppet workshops were organized, during which students learned the secrets of cartoon characters and puppet tales creation . A trip to the animated film studio was made, where participants learned about the history of animated and puppet cartoons in their country. The ending product of the second year were mascots made by workshop participants, namely the three most beautiful ones were selected in a competition. The third year of project activities focused on puppet theater and actor. While carrying out these tasks, students had the opportunity to participate in puppet theater performances and the actor, where they had the occasion to watch the art of acting.In schools the theater classes were also held for students preparing the final performance, who were the authors of script as well. The main character of each performance was the winning mascot from the second year of the project. All performances were recorded and distributed among the project partners, and then presented during several showings. The prepared performances were the product of the third year, and also the culmination of the entire project. The implementation of various tasks contributed to the development of social and civic competences by increasing their knowledge of art in its broad sense and reducing their belief in being alienated from society. Through international activities, they became acquainted with the diversity of cultures and different perspectives on art. By participating in the workshops, they developed their skills in simple professions that they will be able to perform in the future, which gives them a sense of being needed on the labor market. In an innovative way, their reading competences were strengthened, and the international products of the project, in the form of a series of books with stories and legends of each country donated to libraries, increased motivation to read, not only among the students of partner schools, but also the local environment in which the project was realized. The created series of books and the recorded audio book are permanent evidence of the successfully completed project. In addition, ""Our story - a true story"" contributed to increase the level of language skills among teachers, and established contacts have developed into acquaintances and friendships."

The idea of the project is to implement activities to equip intellectually disabled primary and secondary school students with universal knowledge of traditional cuisine, national music and folk costumes as well as handicrafts of each of the participating countries, i.e. the Czech Republic, Northern Macedonia, Latvia, Turkey, Portugal and Poland. Another important aspect for us is the desire to bring the skills of people with intellectual disabilities to a healthy society by organizing at least 5 exhibitions with photos presenting their skills and a gallery of products made during the workshop of the handicraft technique of partner countries. The target group will be about 250 intellectually disabled young people of school age. Due to the set objectives, the project will be implemented in two planes: 1.WE! - ABOUT US, FOR US!In this part, we plan to organize National Weeks of each country during which each partner will present, using information and communication technologies enabling live coverage, cooking a regional dish, learning national or regional dance steps, regional folk costume, as well as dance music of a given country, at which everyone will be able to have fun at one time. Thanks to the use of existing IT capabilities, disabled students will be able to see and meet each other, as well as hear the sound of foreign languages. On the last day of the National Week presentation, craft workshops proposed by each country will be presented. The interactive method of communication will allow all viewers to participate actively in this meeting and learn new handicraft techniques that will be permanently included in the school's work program during art therapy classes . Model making workshops run by a school from the Czech Republic, ceramics by a school from Turkey, wicker and salt dyeing by a Portuguese school, rug weaving by a Macedonian school, tailoring - weaving by a school from Latvia and scrapbooking by a Polish school. Portfolios will be developed from the National Weeks conducted by each school, which will constitute a compendium of knowledge in the presented field about each of the participating countries. At the same time, a photo course will be organized for students who will learn how to take pictures. The photos they took, documenting their skills and products made with the techniques learned, will be presented in the second part of the project, which will be implemented under the slogan: - 2.WE ! ABOUT US, NOT ONLY FOR US! The activities undertaken in this part will be the organization of a photo exhibition and gallery of handicrafts made with learned techniques. These exhibitions will take place in at least 5 cultural or public institutions that will condition a large flow of people, thus ensuring a large audience. The implementation of the project will help to improve the manual skills of disabled students, which will help them enter the labor market, thanks to which their sense of value and self-acceptance will increase. Participation in the photo course will equip them with skills that will allow them to present their skills and present the world seen through their eyes. Purchased equipment for making handicrafts will remain in school and will be able to be used in subsequent years of working with other youth. Parents of the project participants will feel satisfaction with the skills of their children, and the increased employability after graduation will reduce anxiety about their future. Teachers will improve their language and workshop skills, as well as improve the organization of their own and team work. Contacts and friendly relationships will be strengthened. Prepared exhibitions organized in cultural and public centers will contribute to changing the perception of young people with disabilities in the environment of people with an intellectual norm, which will help them accept their participation on the labor market. The exchange of international handicrafts traditions and information on cooking, music and dance will guarantee mutual knowledge of their cultures and the exchange of European cultural heritage.