Mainstreaming Gender and Ethnicity within an EU Multi-site Mental Health Project

and skills which would prepare them to work efficiently with situations of exclusion and discrimi­ nation by seeking out natural support and using the resources of the local community. It is admit­ ted that community development will become effective when it will be initiated and supported by community people, it will be well planned, long-term, beneficial to the community, not biased, and encouraging the participation of people, tuned with the wider context of a county, region, state, etc. These features of community work imply certain skills of a community worker and an important precondition practical experience in the field, which has to be guided by a skillful field social work teacher. The first steps of cooperative work have revealed, that despite similar target groups which may benefit from highly competent community social workers, encouraging community devel­ opment and individual involvement (of excluded groups), certain differences in community con­ cepts, priorities, and care models are obvious (for instance, Western European partners seek to improve their existing field practice system, while Eastern countries endeavour to encourage the development of field practice teachers' training in the area of community work). In the current stage of the project implementation partners chose the modules which they are to develop. The body of knowledge will incorporate theoretical aspects of community work and more specific ones: political issues in social work with communities, methodological aspects of community development, organizational aspects (means and finances), issues in community de­ velopment, and role and identity of community social worker. Those subjects have emerged dur­ ing the discussion as the most relevant to the community social worker's needs. It is hoped that social workers' knowledge on community development will enhance possibilities of excluded groups and improve their life quality.