Erasmus+ KA210-ADU · 2025–2027
Empowering Adults with Disabilities with Flowers Made from Waste — a European partnership turning waste into flowers through creative recycling, art therapy and social inclusion.
KICK — Kommunikation Integration Coaching Kulturmanagement Dornbirn, Austria · Project coordinator
KICK leads the project from Austria's Vorarlberg region, dedicated to social inclusion, education and cultural integration for people with disabilities, migrants and disadvantaged individuals.
Visit website ↗Fundacja GAMA Dąbrowa Białostocka, Poland
Based in Poland's Podlaskie region, Fundacja GAMA supports adults with disabilities, the elderly, young people and socially disadvantaged individuals through vocational training and art therapy.
Visit website ↗Asociația Zona Integrare Europeana Buzau, Romania
A non-profit organisation in Romania focusing on education, social inclusion and sustainability, holding an Erasmus+ accreditation (KA120-ADU) for 2023–2027.
ARTİKA Yaratıcı Sanatlar Derneği Adana, Türkiye
Based in Adana, ARTİKA works in education, culture, arts and social inclusion, with long experience in environmental awareness, upcycling and artistic expression for adults with disabilities.
EmpowerEU is an Erasmus+ small-scale partnership bringing together four organisations across Austria, Turkey, Poland, and Romania. Together, we address one of our era's most pressing gaps: the exclusion of adults with disabilities from environmental sustainability and lifelong learning.
We believe lasting change starts with creativity. By teaching adults with disabilities to transform waste materials into handmade flowers, we create ripples of environmental awareness, cognitive development, and social participation across Europe.
"Every piece of waste has the potential to become a flower — and a step toward inclusion."
— EmpowerEU Partnership, 2025
Four organisations. Four countries. One shared commitment to disability inclusion and sustainability.
KICK is a non-profit organisation in Austria's Vorarlberg region dedicated to social inclusion, education, and cultural integration. It supports migrants, disadvantaged individuals, and people with disabilities through training, coaching, and cultural programmes, and has experience in art-based education and upcycling initiatives.
Project coordination, budget oversight, cognitive-development materials, awareness campaigns, final report.
Based in Adana, Türkiye, ARTİKA is dedicated to education, culture, arts, and social inclusion. It has extensive experience in environmental awareness, upcycling, and artistic expression, aligning with the project's goal of empowering adults with disabilities through recycling and creativity.
Art therapy techniques, emotional & social well-being workshops, dissemination lead, website creation.
Fundacja GAMA, based in Poland's Podlaskie region, supports impaired adults, the elderly, young people and socially disadvantaged individuals through vocational training, art and music therapy, and social development programmes.
Educational materials on recycling & climate, sustainable artistic practices, host Poland workshop, surveys, YouTube channel.
A non-profit organisation in Romania focusing on education, social inclusion, and sustainability. It develops e-learning platforms and art therapy programmes for adults with disabilities, and holds Erasmus+ Accreditation (KA120-ADU) for 2023–2027.
Digital learning content, host Romania workshops, intellectual output lead, risk-prevention plan, Instagram & EPALE.
Our partnership was formed through the EPALE Platform and a commission-based selection process, based on expertise in disability inclusion, adult education, and environmental sustainability. Each partner brings irreplaceable strengths — together, we are stronger than the sum of our parts.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or OeAD-GmbH. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Two guiding principles shape everything we do — a clear mission for today and an ambitious vision for tomorrow.
We equip adults with disabilities across Europe with the skills and confidence to transform waste materials into handmade flowers. In doing so, we combat climate change, strengthen cognitive and motor development, and build a more inclusive society.
We envision a Europe where adults with disabilities are active participants in environmental sustainability, where art-based recycling is a recognised tool for cognitive development, and where inclusive education is the standard, not the exception.
Create educational materials on climate change and recycling specifically designed for adults with disabilities, delivered through interactive workshops.
Enable impaired adults to collect, sort and transform waste materials into artistic flower designs, gaining hands-on environmental skills.
Apply art therapy techniques such as flower-making to encourage mental stimulation, emotional expression, and motor skill development.
Produce a 120+ page digital guide with easy-to-read language, audio description and sign language support, freely available across Europe.
Organise national dissemination events across all four partner countries, reaching 120+ educators and adult learners.
Equip trainers and guidance personnel with inclusive, art-based teaching strategies for working with adults with disabilities.
KICK formally launches the EmpowerEU project. Partners establish communication channels, appoint quality monitoring, dissemination and survey officers. Website and social media go live.
All four partner organisations meet online to align on goals, distribute tasks, assign responsibilities, and forge the collaboration frameworks that will guide the project to completion.
Impaired adults and educators from all partner countries gather in Buzau for six days covering greenhouse gases, waste classification, and safety, then begin designing flowers from waste.
Six days of hands-on flower-making in Poland. Adults with disabilities and trainers cut, glue and shape at least ten flower designs, with an exhibition for families.
AZIE leads the creation of a 120+ page multilingual digital guide. Each partner simultaneously hosts a national multiplier event, inviting 120 local educators to discover the project's findings.
Partners reconvene to measure impact, evaluate outcomes against quality indicators, decide on sustainability pathways, and co-author the final project report for submission to the Erasmus+ Results Platform.
The EmpowerEU digital guide remains freely available. The project website, social channels, and EPALE platform entries continue to serve educators and adults with disabilities across Europe, ensuring lasting impact beyond the funded period.
Six principles anchor every decision, workshop, and partnership across the EmpowerEU project.
Every activity we undertake prioritises reducing waste, encouraging recycling, and promoting creative reuse that heals the planet rather than harms it.
We design for adults with disabilities first: mild to moderate intellectual disabilities, physical impairments, and those who need mental support. If it does not reach the margins, it has not reached far enough.
Disability inclusion knows no borders. Our cross-border partnership between Austria, Turkey, Poland and Romania reflects our conviction that lasting solutions require different nations, cultures, and perspectives working as one.
We believe art therapy and creative expression are powerful tools for cognitive and motor development, helping adults with disabilities build confidence through hands-on creation.
We believe learning does not end with school. Adults at any age can acquire new skills, reshape their habits, and become active participants in society.
Our digital guide includes easy-to-read language, audio description and sign language support — ensuring our resources reach every learner, regardless of ability.
Behind every statistic is an adult with disabilities whose confidence grew, a flower shaped from waste, or an educator equipped with new inclusive teaching tools. These numbers represent lives touched by a shared European commitment to inclusion and sustainability.
How the €60,000 EU grant is allocated across project activities.
Five carefully designed activities unfold across four countries, turning waste into creativity and inclusion.
The backbone of the entire project. Covers advertising and promotional materials, website development, introductory meetings with local institutions, and risk-prevention costs. KICK coordinates monthly online partner meetings and quality-monitoring reports throughout the 19-month period.
20+ impaired adults and 20 educators from all four partners gather in Buzau for six days covering the effects of greenhouse gases, waste classification, and safety. Participants collect environmentally safe waste materials and begin designing flowers from waste, supported by pre- and post-event surveys.
30 adults with disabilities and 20 trainers form working groups to cut, glue and shape at least ten flower designs from waste materials, developing fine motor and cognitive skills. Finished flowers are exhibited to 40+ family members, and the process is documented for the project's intellectual output.
Led by AZIE, partners produce a 120+ page digital guide — in Turkish, Polish, Romanian, German and English — covering waste classification, flower-making techniques, and the cognitive benefits of creative recycling. Each partner then hosts a national multiplier event inviting 120 educators, disseminated via EPALE and social media.
Partners reunite in Dornbirn for the project's closing meeting. Quality-monitoring reports are reviewed, satisfaction survey results are analysed, and 12 project managers evaluate whether all objectives were achieved. Decisions on sustainability and knowledge transfer are formalised for the final Erasmus+ report.
EmpowerEU was designed from day one to reach adults with disabilities — and to prove that sustainability and creativity are for everyone.
"This project showed me what I can create, not what I cannot do."
Adults with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities are the leading target group. Specially designed workshops develop motor skills, increase environmental awareness, and use art therapy to strengthen emotional expression and social participation.
"I returned from Romania with new methods I could not wait to share."
Trainers and guidance staff who work with impaired adults develop art- and recycling-based educational techniques, adopt inclusive teaching methods, and prepare accessible educational materials.
"EmpowerEU gave our institution new tools to reach learners we'd never reached before."
Institutions across Europe are informed about the project through EPALE, the project website and social media — gaining access to new educational materials and sustainable, inclusive learning methods.
"Watching my son shape a flower from waste, I saw his confidence bloom too."
Families and caregivers of impaired adults gain knowledge and skills to support independent living, implement sustainable recycling activities at home, and organise artistic events.
"EmpowerEU showed us there is real demand for inclusive climate education in our community."
Civil society organisations working on environmental sustainability and recycling contribute to the environmental awareness of impaired adults through recycling-focused art activities.
"Partnering on this project helped us bring sustainability and inclusion to our town."
Local governments collaborate on awareness-raising activities around waste management, sustainable material use, and environmentally friendly art practices for impaired adults.
"When an adult with disabilities turns waste into a flower, she is not just creating art. She is reclaiming her place in a more sustainable Europe."
— EmpowerEU Partnership Vision Statement
Interested in our project, want to collaborate, or have questions about disability inclusion and creative recycling? We would love to hear from you.
Send a MessageOur free multilingual guide to recycling and flower-making will be available once published in 2026. Sign up for updates.
Get NotifiedFollow our journey on social media, see our workshops in action, and become part of Europe's growing inclusion movement.
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Inclusion is a work of art.
And it starts with a flower.
Erasmus+ KA210-ADU • Co-funded by the European Union • 2025 Round 1
