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“to a great extent, it is about our pedagogical
approach, which is shared by our German THE POSEIDON PROJECT
colleagues. the word ‘failure’ is not in our it aims to overcome difficulties of learn-
terminology. We plan so as to prevent it. We ing-disabled young people in the Danish
follow a way of doing things that allows even and German fehmarn belt regions. sup-
the immensely disadvantaged to stay in the ported by interreG under the european
situation without experiencing defeat.” regional Development fund. partners:
fremtidslinjen (Køge Municipality) and Das
Knowing well that troublesome situations Jugendaufbauwerk plön-Koppelsberg. the
might occur, five staff members (teachers, project includes mobility periods in Den-
counsellors, and pedagogues) have travelled mark and Germany, testing language apps
three times with eight Danish pupils on a one- and implementing tools that help introduce
week exchange to Koppelsberg. the pupils into the mainstream market.

“you can’t get only the good parts. you must
also take in the challenges. and in the end,
there are so many advantages that you can
hardly believe it. the young people gain
incredibly much, and the development of
competencies that the staff has experienced is
priceless.”

What the pupils gain, among other things, is
the discovery that youngsters in other coun-
tries are facing obstacles similar to theirs.

“it’s a pleasure to see them working together,
inspite of the language barrier. it brings them
a whole new way of being in the world,” says
ellehauge. he finds that the mobility project
has been a way for some pupils to learn how
to tackle their handicap.

“they visibly grow as persons; their personal as
well as scholastic development has undergone
a boost. and in the process they’re actually
producing something together with the Ger-
man pupils. in this way, there are no limitations
as they realise what factors need to be present
for them to succeed.”

Denise Rose Hansen and Birtha Theut
euroguidance Denmark

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