The term peer support describes the process of mutual provision of knowledge, help and emotional empowerment among people who bear the same status, e.g. among students of beneficiaries of a certain service. The distinguishing characteristic of peer support is that the source of support is a peer that holds an equal status with the rest of the group members and is not in a superior or “expert” position. In fact, peer support is a methodology that can be applied in several contexts, most notably within the educational system or health settings with a common aim: the empowerment of the group by the group itself. 

If you search the word “upcycling” online, definitions as “the word upcycling is a word creation of “recycling” and “up” or “recycling in order to avoid waste” or “creative re-use” will arise. And basically saying this is what it is: The recycling of used material which deserves a second chance by using your creativity. 

On behalf of public tender issued by the Ministry of Work, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, the Ozara company is a provider of non-profit programme of Social Inclusion. The programmes of social inclusion are, of course, social programmes intended to support and maintain the working capacities of persons with disability (PWD). The programme includes persons who obtain the decision on unemployability (disability status awarded by the Employment Office of Slovenia), I. category PWD (Pension and Disability Insurance Institute of Slovenia) and persons with problems in physical and mental development. Most of users included into the programme have some kind of mental health problems.

After one year organizing and redesigning our Chic & Craft project, last 17-18th February the international Chic & Craft team met in Frechen, Germany, in the headquarters of the training organization CJD.