STINT-projektmöte i Pretoria, Sydafrika

Det fördjupade samarbetet mellan CHILD-forskarna i Sverige och CAAC-forskarna i Sydafrika om delaktighet i vardagslivet för barn med funktionsnedsättning, fortgår. I slutet av oktober kom den svenska delen av projektet hem efter en veckas arbetsmöten i Pretoria, Sydafrika.

As a result of the research collaboration between the CHILD research group and the Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC), at the University of Pretoria South Africa, the Swedish researchers Associate professor Karina Huus, Prof. Mats Granlund, Associate professor Elisabeth Elgmark Andersson, Dr. Patrik Arvidsson, Dr. Ingalill Gimbler Berglund and doctoral student Frida Lygnegård visited CAAC for a one week seminar. The topic for the seminar was the ongoing research project Picture my Participation, funded by The Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education (STINT) and the National research Foundation (South Africa).

Prof. Shakila Dada (CAAC, University of Pretoria) and Associate professor Karina Huus (CHILD, Jönköping University) hosted the week. It was a productive week with many discussions regarding Picture my Participation and in particular, instrument development, development of a manual and theoretical discussions regarding the core concepts of participation, involvement and engagement.

During the week, we got the opportunity to visit the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital which is the third largest hospital in the world, located in SOWETO. During the visit, CAAC colleague Dr. Sadna Bolton provided an introduction to the hospital’s organization as well as the context and challenges in their work. We also got the opportunity to visiting other parts of Soweto and these visits together gave us valuable experiences in terms of better understanding of the South-African context. Along with this, our colleagues at CAAC had planned a highly appreciated social programme and we really got the best out of the week. The Swedish post doctoral fellow Dr. Patrik Arvidsson will be working at the CAAC during several additional visists, in total three months. The work will focus on the further development of the Picture my Participation instrument under the guidance of Shakila Dada and Karin Huus. The week also generated new possibilities for the Swedish and South African researchers, doctoral students and master students to form new collaborations around other topics.

Many thanks to our South African colleagues for a fantastic week, we look forward to further collaborations!

Mats Granlund, Karina Huus, Patrik Arvidsson, Elisabeth Elgmark, Frida Lygnegård och Ingalill Gimbler Berglund

Mer om projektet "Picture my Participation" Länk till annan webbplats, öppnas i nytt fönster.