{"id":33860,"date":"2024-08-18T00:17:12","date_gmt":"2024-08-17T22:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eufortrisomy21.eu\/?page_id=33860"},"modified":"2025-12-12T14:19:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T13:19:12","slug":"european-self-advocates","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/eufortrisomy21.eu\/fi\/european-self-advocates\/","title":{"rendered":"European Self Advocates"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\n\t\t\tEuropean\t<\/h1>\n

\n\t\t\tSelf Advocates\t<\/h1>\n\t

An Erasmus+ sponsored project to empower young people with Down Syndrome from all across Europe to become Self-Advocates.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tAbout the project\t<\/h2>\n\t

The project is an ambitious two-year initiative aimed at empowering individuals with Down syndrome across Europe to become effective self-advocates and engage in political activism. Here’s a summary of the key points:<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tProject Background\t<\/h3>\n\t

The project received funding from Erasmus and aims to address the varying levels of advocacy education across Europe, especially among self-advocates with Down syndrome. It seeks to develop a comprehensive training program to help individuals with Down syndrome become effective advocates for their rights.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\"EN\n

\n\t\t\tProject Phases\t<\/h3>\n

\n\t\t\tPhase 1: Curriculum Development\t<\/h3>\n

\n\t\t\tTimeframe: 09.23 – 05.24\t<\/h3>\n\t

The project begins with the creation of a curriculum or training program. This phase includes brainstorming, gathering input from experts and self-advocates, and defining the content and methods of instruction. <\/p>\n

There are two in-person meetings for detailed planning, one with our partners in Hungary, Budapest and the other one in Marseille, France.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPhase 2: Trainer Selection & Piloting\t<\/h3>\n

\n\t\t\tTimeframe: 06.24 – 04.25\t<\/h3>\n\t

In the second phase of the project, each participating country will select two individuals-one person with Down syndrome and one assistant-to be trained as curriculum instructors.<\/p>\n

Once trained, they will return to their respective countries to pilot the program, empowering individuals with Down syndrome to develop strong self-advocacy skills.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPhase 3: Review & Dissemination\t<\/h3>\n

\n\t\t\tTimeframe: 05.25 – 10.25\t<\/h3>\n\t

All of the partners host local multiplier events and the project culminates in a final event in Brussels, where trainers and those who completed the training program share their experiences and engage with European Parliament representatives. <\/p>\n

The curriculum developed in Phase 1 will be adjusted according to feedback and made available online in multiple languages.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tProject Impact\t<\/h3>\n\t

The project aims to involve a total of 135 individuals with Down syndrome, either as trainers or participants, from across Europe. Official partner countries include Belgium, Romania, Malta, Germany, Hungary, Spain, France, and Greece, along with additional partner organizations from the Czech Republic and Italy. The overarching goal is to empower individuals with Down syndrome by equipping them with the skills and knowledge necessary to effectively advocate for their rights. The project is designed to ensure comprehensive curriculum development, widespread training, and meaningful engagement with policymakers.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tWorld Down Syndrome Day 2025\t<\/h3>\n\t

As part of a 31-day awareness campaign leading up to World Down Syndrome Day, EU for Trisomy 21 is hosting a milestone event on March 19, 2025<\/strong>, at the European Parliament to highlight the empowering spirit of the European Self Advocacy Project. Under the theme “From Projects to Policies: Including People with Down Syndrome in Europe<\/strong>,” the gathering will feature waiters with Down syndrome serving in official Parliament coffee spots, an opening ceremony with MEP Miriam Lexmann, and a conference addressing critical issues such as equality, health, and employment. Among the event’s highlights is a presentation by one of our teacher pairs, Fiona and Katrina Lambart from Germany, who will share their firsthand experience teaching the European Self Advocacy training course.<\/p>\n

By bringing together policymakers, youth workers, advocates, and self-advocates, this special day at the Parliament stands as a powerful call to move beyond isolated projects toward enduring policy changes that foster a truly inclusive Europe.<\/p>\n

More info about the event can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPHOTOS of our Trainers\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t

\n\t\t\tOur 4 Lessons\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLesson 1: I AM A Self-Advocate\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

This lesson teaches what it means to speak up for oneself. It includes watching videos of all our self-advocate trainers from our 9 partner countries who talk about how they advocate for themselves and discuss how others can do the same. Participants then practice these skills through role-playing in different situations.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLesson 2: I CAN Tell My Own Story\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

This lesson focuses on helping participants talk about what matters most to them. They create cards to guide their storytelling and practice sharing their stories with others. Feedback is provided to help improve communication skills.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLesson 3: I CAN Be A Great Presenter\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

This lesson shows how to give a good presentation. It covers speaking clearly, maintaining good posture, and presenting oneself well. Participants practice their presentations, watch themselves on video, and receive tips for improvement.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLesson 4: I Will Make A Difference\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

This lesson is about understanding the idea of human dignity and how everyone has dignity because they are human. Participants learn about how Human Dignity is the reason they have rights, what these rights are and how they can speak up for themselves and others to defend them. They think about how they can use these skills to help others.<\/p>\n\t\t\n

\n\t\t\tInterested in attending one of our trainings?\t<\/h1>\n\tAccess our online training platform<\/strong> to explore the full European Self-Advocacy Program, including the four lessons, videos, and practical tools developed together with self-advocates across Europe.\nThrough the Inclusive Sharing Wall<\/strong>, you can exchange experiences and reflections and connect with our partner organizations across Europe who have already delivered the training, learning directly from their practice and insights.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOnline Training Platform\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tInclusive Sharing Wall\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\"Logo_EUforTrisomy21\"\n

\n\t\t\tAbout Eufortrisomy21.eu\t<\/h2>\n\t

A platform for the collaboration of associations, citizens and politicians working together for the celebration of World Down syndrome Day, to make visible the intellectual disability in general and persons with trisomy 21 in particular (most common intellectual disability of genetic origin, also called Down syndrome).<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMore information\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n

\n\t\t\tNeed help? doubts? more information?\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tContact us\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t   Translate this page [gtranslate]\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

European Self Advocates An Erasmus+ sponsored project to empower young people with Down Syndrome from all across Europe to become…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-33860","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/eufortrisomy21.eu\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/33860"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/eufortrisomy21.eu\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/eufortrisomy21.eu\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eufortrisomy21.eu\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eufortrisomy21.eu\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33860"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"http:\/\/eufortrisomy21.eu\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/33860\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34970,"href":"http:\/\/eufortrisomy21.eu\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/33860\/revisions\/34970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/eufortrisomy21.eu\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}