As the Holiday Season is upon us, and 2011 draws to a close, we at Specialist People Foundation wanted to take this opportunity to reflect on this years’ events and share with you our best wishes for the Holidays.

Momentum
Looking back to this time last year, our Specialisterne world map looked very different to how it looks today. At that time, Specialisterne operations were only present in Denmark and Scotland. But on UN Autism Day April 2nd we added Iceland to our map with the opening of the new Specialisterne Iceland business driven out of Reykjavik. Since then, we have launched Specialisterne in Switzerland and have registered Specialisterne in Austria and Minnesota, USA, where the local businesses are now building market presence. We are proud of this achievement and would like to take this opportunity to welcome all of our new Specialisterne partners and colleagues around the world. With every new Specialisterne operation, we move one step closer to achieving our goal of enabling one million jobs around the globe for people with autism and similar challenges.

Global Recognition
As we gained more traction around the world over the past year, we were also fortunate to gain more recognition for our efforts. In his role as Ashoka Globalizer, Thorkil Sonne was welcomed at many Ashoka social innovation events around the globe. The Ashoka Globalizer program helps draw attention to the Specialisterne model and our vision of a world where people are given equal opportunities in the labor market. In this capacity, we were honored to be invited to give a number of keynote presentations, showing just how valued our work has become in the world of social entrepreneurship. You can follow our founder's story here.

Specialisterne was also acknowledged as a Best Practice in the Essl Foundation’s Zero project 2012 report on the implementation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Read more here. And we were featured in a number of international publications and TV reports. Read about them on our website.

Thanking Our Supporters
Throughout 2010, we were privileged to have the support of a number of foundations and organizations. We truly value this support and the benefits we gain from it. Heartfelt thanks to the following:

• The Ashoka Organization: Ashoka has made it possible for us to plug into a global network of thought-leaders, staff, fellows and support networks, and thereby accelerate the scaling opportunities of the Specialisterne model. In 2011, we have been actively engaged with Ashoka in 15 countries, and Thorkil Sonne was again invited to take part in the Ashoka Globalizer Event.
• The European Union: The European Commission granted us funding for our European Commission project, under the “Pilot Projects on Employment of Persons With Autism Spectrum Disorders” program. This has enabled us to carry out feasibility studies in several European countries, and to share learning’s amongst EU member states. We also participated in other EU projects , such as a Leonardo project (Iceland) and a European Social Fund project (Poland).
• The Danish Velux Foundations:  Support from the Villum Foundation helps us in our efforts to start-up Specialisterne in Poland. We are currently operating under a three-year implementation plan and have already moved forward with local partners. More information on this will be forthcoming in the New Year.
• The Essl Foundation and Wiener Städtische: Both foundations have helped fund our planning for Specialisterne in Austria.
• The Lemvigh-Müller Foundation: This Danish foundation is providing funding for the further improvement of our internship program.
• The Bikuben Foundation: Denmark’s Bikubenfonden is providing funding to enable us to improve our human resource management model.
• We would also like to thank SPF’s local legal partners such as Kromann Reumert (Denmark), Hogan Lovells (UK and Germany), and Latham Watkins (USA), and Weil (Poland), amongst others.
• The World Autism Organization: The global autism organization with whom we co-signed a Memorandum of Cooperation.
• Nokia: for hosting our Specialist People Conference in May.
• Finally, thanks to Deloitte in Denmark for their continued support around the Specialisterne operational model.

The Year Ahead
We have achieved a lot this year but we still have a long way to go. Our plans for 2012 are ambitious; most notably new Specialisterne operations around the globe.  Right now, we are working with local partners in numerous locations, and expect to start Specialisterne operations in Austria, Canada, England, Ireland, Germany, Poland, Spain and the USA, with some additional possibilities in the offing. Stay tuned to all news updates via our newsletter, website, Facebook page, Twitter and our Blog.

We also plan to expand our dissemination capabilities so that many more people around the world can benefit from the unique knowledge of SPF and the Specialisterne model.

We hope you will continue with us on our journey and support us in our efforts to enable one million jobs for people with autism and similar challenges.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year
Warm Regards
Specialist People Foundation