European Self-Advocates Project Holds First International Exchange of Best Practices in Budapest

Budapest, January 2024

From 18 to 21 January 2024, partners of the European Self-Advocates project met in Budapest, Hungary, for the first in-person international event of the project: an Exchange of Best Practices in Social Inclusion and Self-Advocacy. The meeting was hosted by Rejtett Kincsek Down Egyesület (Hungary) and brought together self-advocates, educators and professionals from across Europe to jointly shape the foundations of a new self-advocacy training programme for young people with Down syndrome.

The event marked an important early milestone in the Erasmus+-funded European Self-Advocates project (2023–2025), coordinated by EU for Trisomy 21. Building on preparatory online work, the Budapest meeting focused on sharing national experiences, identifying common challenges, and defining key principles for self-advocacy education across different European contexts.

Over four days, participants worked in mixed groups composed of self-advocates and professionals. Through workshops, group discussions and practical exercises, partners explored what self-advocacy means in everyday life, how personal experiences can be transformed into messages for wider audiences, and how training activities can be designed to be accessible, empowering and relevant. A central element of the meeting was the active i

nvolvement of a Hungarian self-advocate, who tested selected exercises and provided direct feedback from a learner’s perspective.

The programme combined structured working sessions with opportunities for reflection and peer feedback. Groups presented their ideas to each other, discussed strengths and challenges, and collectively decided which approaches should be further developed in the next phase of the project. The outcomes of the Budapest meeting will directly inform the continued development of the curriculum and the preparation of subsequent international meetings.

The Budapest event confirmed the project’s commitment to co-creation and to learning with self-advocates rather than about them. It also laid the groundwork for the next steps of the project, including further curriculum refinement, a Training of Trainers, and national piloting activities in partner countries.

The European Self-Advocates project aims to address differing levels of 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. Our next international meeting will take place in Marseille in April 2024.