Building Local Expertise in Central and Eastern Europe

In Central and Eastern Europe, Perkins supports events that strengthen teachers' skills, enhance professionals' expertise and amplify advocacy initiatives. This includes trainings, seminars, workshops and regional conferences. Each year, our programs provide training to at least 600 teachers and professionals in the education field.

Training Opportunities

Perkins provides training opportunities at schools, community centers and governmental ministries. In cooperation with our Central and Eastern European partners, we tailor each training and materials to local needs. Examples of trainings include:

A blind student and his teacher paint sculptures, Romania

• Collaborating with the Beroun Blind and Deafblind Kindergarten in Czech Republic, the Training Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Lithuania, and Mala Kuca in Croatia, on seminars for improved communication methods with children who are deafblind 
• Developing orientation and mobility training classes with the Cervenica School for the Deafblind in Slovakia
• Coordinating seminars for teachers and direct care providers in Estonia 
• Launching a series of training sessions in Russia with Raoul Wallenberg University and the State Consulting Center in Moscow, Children's Home #1 in St. Petersburg and the deafblind Children's Home in Sergiev Posad
• Working with the School for the Blind and the Ministry of Education in Armenia to facilitate a training program on vision screenings for children 

Perkins works closely with partner agencies to identify and prepare future trainers in their communities. Perkins has sponsored several national and regional training-of-trainers seminars in Central and Eastern Europe. One such training was recently organized in partnership with the Luminita Program, a kindergarten and elementary program, and Babes Boylai University in Romania.

Regional Conferences

Perkins organizes regional conferences in Central and Eastern Europe to support our partners' networking efforts. We also sponsor partners to attend European conferences.  Examples of conferences Perkins supported include:

A deafblind student meets Perkins ELP Supervisor, Cafer Barkus, Goreneller School for the Blind, Turkey

• The Varna School for the Blind in Bulgaria and Perkins organized a Balkan Seminar for participants from eight Balkan countries
  
• Perkins supported a seminar in Russia that brought together professionals from seven universities and education programs to present ideas on deafblind education
• Perkins sponsored several partner organizations to participate in and present at the 2005 European Deafblind Conference in Slovakia.  Those participating came from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Romania, Russia and Slovakia. 

We regularly sponsor Central and Eastern European participants in the Educational Leadership Program (ELP). Past graduates have hailed from Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, and Turkey.  Former participants play important roles in advancing local training opportunities. For example, an ELP from Sofia University in Bulgaria returned home and coordinates teacher preparation programs at the university and serves as a regional consultant.

Developing University Training Programs

Prior to our work in Central and Eastern Europe, there were no formal graduate level education programs for teachers of students with multiple disabilities. Today, an array of universities throughout the region offer vigorous training programs, including:

More than 380 teachers have graduated from these programs since 1989.

Learn more about our other programs in Central and Eastern Europe