Promoting Inclusion through Social Innovation Education for (SIE4P.Inc)

The SIE4P.Inc project (website here) seeks to address the problem of the lack of opportunities for empowering students with AEN (Additional Educational Needs) to become agents of change by creating the first-ever framework, resources, and training for inclusive Social Innovation Education (SIE). The project’s target groups (young people with AEN, teachers, and youth volunteers) will benefit from the inclusive framework, the training, and the resources that are going to be developed during the life of the project.

Social Innovation Education 101

Social Innovation Education (SIE) is a collaborative and collective learning process for the empowerment of socio/political activation of students to drive social change no matter their professional pathways.

SIE is different to existing initiatives because it encourages students’ commitment, engagement and participation through the co-creation of ideas to address social issues:

It builds their competences to identify opportunities for social value creation, to form collaborations and build social relationships and take innovative action for a more democratic and sustainable society.

SIE and Sustainability

Social and sustainability issues such as climate change, inequality and social exclusion desperately need tackling, and everyone should have the opportunity to play an active part in this. Taking part in social action can help young people with Additional Educational Needs (AEN) develop transversal skills such as problem solving, empathy and resilience that can help them in their professional lives and their personal lives by creating a support network and developing independence and confidence.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The Sustainable Development Goals are 17 goals that the United Nations have identified as priorities to reduce suffering and create a fairer world by 2030[1].

In the Social Innovation Education framework, the SDGs are used to highlight and inspire critical thinking around social issues far and wide, that are also relevant on your doorstep, so that young people are actively involved in shaping the world. In other words, they help students put words and think deeper on the issues they see around them, and they highlight the link between local issues and global ones. 

When working with students with AEN we recommend focusing on the numbers outlined in the image and listed below:

• 1 No poverty
• 2 Zero hunger
• 3 Good health and wellbeing
• 4 Quality education
• 6 Clean water and sanitation
• 10 Reduced inequalities
• 12 Responsible production and consumption
• 13 Climate action
• 14 Life below water
• 15 Life on land