Ensuring a safe space for young people with autism in Malta

2022

Ensuring a safe space for young people with autism in Malta

 The Bridge Youth café is a service by Agenzija Zghazagh and Prisms as part of the AutismFriendly Spaces project. The scope of Bridge Youth café is to provide a safe space for young people who are on the autism spectrum, where they can develop life skills that will facilitate their engagement and participation in other youth services, initiatives and activities.

The youth workers coordinating this service have completed the Autism Friendly Spaces training modules for educators, specifically designed for professionals working with young people on the autism spectrum. The youth worker team in this youth café is developing activities to engage young people through verbal communication or visuals. Participants will have the opportunity to meet and make new friends in a chilled environment while exploring topics such as communication, relationships, and teamwork during workshops. Outdoor activities will complement the young people's engagement.

Autism Friendly Spaces is an Erasmus+ Key Action 2 project that brought together six organisations to develop an Autism Friendly Spaces Quality Label for outlets, training modules, an application and youth cafés. The partners in this project are Prims, CRPD, and Aġenzija Żgħażagħ from Malta, Autism Europe based in Belgium, Macedonian Scientific Society for Autism and Learning Designers, a Spanish NGO.