During the past three years, over 430 persons with disability have been reached thanks to the Me2 Project. This Project will come to an end in December 2012, and was co-financed by the European Union – European Social Fund, led by the Foundation for Social Welfare Services in collaboration with ETC and KNPD.

During the Project’s closing conference, participants present were provided with an overview of the work carried out by the Me2 Project and the Me2 Cooperative. The Me2 Cooperative is expected to continue operating next year thanks to support from National Funds.

Chris Said, Minister for Justice, Dialogue and the Family, in a message he sent to be read out during the conference, said that the “Me2 Project can indeed be considered a success from which persons with disability, employers and society at large benefited. As happened in the E4L Project, original targets set for this Project were surpassed.

“More than 430 persons with disability participated in training and job exposure, which is almost double the target of 230 as initially forecast, 20 of whom received an unforgettable work experience in Bristol (UK). The Minister remarked that the experience gained by these 430 persons undoubtedly helps to improve their quality of life as well as that of their immediate family.”

In his message, Minister Said referred to the resultant Me2 Cooperative that was set up as part of the Project and Government’s pledge to continue building upon it. In its presentation of next year’s Budget, “Government has already declared that it wants to increase professional staff at the cooperative and wants to introduce the concept of social cooperatives in its laws while giving priority to such cooperatives in public procurement. He also referred to other initiatives mentioned in the Budget for 2013 such as more work opportunities for persons with disability, including with government entities and non-governmental organisations.”

Ms Sina Bugeja, Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation for Social Welfare Services said that thanks to the Me2 Project persons with disability not only showed their abilities but also surprised everyone with their talents. She mentioned that now that the Project came to an end, the Me2 Cooperative will still be working with persons with disability and Agenzija Sapport will continue providing its services.

Mr Stephen Vella, Me2 Project Leader said that the initial phase of the Project was characterised by various challenges, especially that of convincing parents that the Project will be of benefit to their children with disability. However thanks to continuous communication with them we managed to obtain a positive result. Mr Vella expressed his satisfaction that the Project’s targets not only were reached but also exceeded. Finally he, thanked all those who believed in Me2.

The main aim of Me2 was that of helping persons with disability to develop their skills to improve their work opportunities. Thus they would be able to have a better quality of life and be more independent. Another aim was that to work in favour of social inclusion of persons with disability. Thanks to the work carried out by 23 Support workers, 82 persons with disability benefited from job exposure.

Moreover there were 42 companies, of which 18 where public entities and 23 private companies, that offered persons with disability with work experience. 280 beneficiaries received training as part of life long learning and another 50 have found full-time or part-time employment.

Apart from this, thanks to the Me2 project, the Me2 Cooperative has been set up, which will continue the work started by this Project within the disability sector. The Cooperative is currently training and employing persons with disability and is offering services to both the private and public sectors. Currently there are 55 members in this Cooperative which include persons with disability and also parents.

During this conference also partcipated Mr Marcel Pisani, Chief Operations Officer, Agenzija Sapport; Joe Camilleri, Chairperson, KNPD; Ylenia Vella, Senior Executive, ETC; as well as a number of Project beneficiaries and their parents.

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