On 18–19 September, partners from Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Italy, Slovenia, and the Netherlands[1] gathered in Budapest for the launch of the project “Empowering At-Risk Children Through Inclusive Education.” This three-year project, funded by UniCredit Foundation, seeks to reduce early school leaving and promote responsive and inclusive learning opportunities for young adolescents aged 11–15 at risk of school disengagement, with a strong focus on vulnerable girls.
The project builds on the success of TOY for Inclusion Play Hubs, community-based spaces reaching more than 20,000 children annually since 2011, by adapting them for young adolescents. Together with schools, these Play Hubs will serve as safe and inspiring environments where young people can strengthen their resilience, skills, and agency.
With this project, we aim to connect formal and non-formal education by providing schools and communities with tools to enhance resilience, agency, and well-being among children. Activities will include school self-assessments, the establishment of Local Action Teams, and the development of tailored dropout prevention action plans. A modular toolkit, with themes such as social and emotional learning, mentoring, well-being, and early marriage prevention that will be use in the implementation in 13 schools across five countries.
ICDI as knowledge partner
ICDI brings its expertise to the development of the modular toolkit and contributes to thematic areas to ensure overall coherence and quality across the project. Alongside partners, ICDI will lead the development of monitoring and evaluation tools to systematically track progress, document learning, and synthesise evidence of impact throughout the project. At the kick-off meeting, partners aligned on objectives, indicators, and first steps, laying a solid foundation for the work ahead.
Looking ahead
Over the next three years, the project will directly engage 1,800 children at risk of school dropout and 250 educators and other professionals. By combining formal and non-formal education, and by amplifying youth participation, the project aims not only to prevent dropout but also to transform schools into inclusive community hubs, sustainable spaces where every child has a chance to belong, learn, and thrive.
Stay tuned for updates as we work together to create inclusive learning pathways and brighter futures for Europe’s most vulnerable children.
[1] Skola Dokoran (Slovakia), Partners Hungary Foundation (Hungary), Open Academy Step by Step (Croatia), Cubo Libro (Italy), Educational Research Institute (Slovenia), International Child Development Initiatives (the Netherlands).
