European Self-Advocates Project Advances Curriculum Development in Marseille

Marseille, April 2024

From 18 to 21 April 2024, partners of the European Self-Advocates project met in Marseille, France, for the second in-person international meeting of the project. The event, hosted by TCAP21 (France) in Niolon near Marseille, focused on the development and evaluation of the self-advocacy training curriculum for young people with Down syndrome.

The meeting marked a key step in the first phase of the Erasmus+-funded European Self-Advocates project (2023–2025), coordinated by EU for Trisomy 21. Building on the exchange of best practices held in Budapest earlier this year, partners came together to work in depth on the structure, content and methodology of the training programme.

Over four days, self-advocates, educators and professionals worked collaboratively on the four lessons of the curriculum and the accompanying toolbox of exercises. Participants reviewed draft materials, tested activities together with self-advocates, and reflected on accessibility, pacing and teaching roles. A strong emphasis was placed on the co-teaching model, in which a self-advocate and an assistant teacher deliver the training together.

The Marseille meeting also served as a key evaluation and consolidation moment before moving into the next project phase. Partners agreed on the overall structure of the curriculum and identified final adjustments to be made before implementation. The outcomes of the meeting provide a shared basis for the next steps of the project.

Following the Marseille event, partners will finalise the curriculum and translate it into all project languages. Each country will also select its national teaching pairs, consisting of a self-advocate and an assistant, who will prepare for the upcoming Training of Trainers in Madrid in July 2024. This training will equip the teaching pairs with the skills and tools needed to implement the programme nationally.

The European Self-Advocates project aims to address differing levels of self-advocacy education across Europe and to strengthen the capacity of organisations to support young people with Down syndrome in speaking up for themselves and participating more actively in society. National piloting activities will follow the Training of Trainers and will allow the curriculum to be tested in diverse contexts.