Together for Inclusion: Fostering Self-Advocacy Across Europe

Online Project Kick-Off – 30 March 2025

On 30 March 2025, the project Together for Inclusion: Fostering Self-Advocacy Across Europe (TIFOSSAE) officially began with an online kick-off meeting, bringing together all partner organizations from across Europe in a shared virtual space.

This online launch marked the formal start of a two-year collaboration funded by the Erasmus+ programme, dedicated to strengthening self-advocacy opportunities for young people with intellectual disabilities and reinforcing their participation in civic and democratic life.

A Shared Vision for Self-Advocacy in Europe

The project responds to a common challenge identified across partner countries: while many organizations actively support young people with intellectual disabilities, opportunities for structured, peer-led self-advocacy—especially at a European level—remain limited.

TIFOSSAE aims to address this gap by building a strong transnational network that connects organizations, trainers, educators, families, and self-advocates themselves. Through online and in-person collaboration, the project seeks to create sustainable pathways for young people with intellectual disabilities to express their views, influence decisions, and actively engage with policies that affect their lives.

At the core of the project lies a shared principle: we all have human dignity, no one can take it away, and it is the origin of our human rights. This understanding guides all project activities, from training development to policy engagement.

Project Objectives

Over the course of 24 months, the project will:

• Strengthen the capacities of partner organizations to deliver high-quality, peer-led self-advocacy trainings

• Empower young people with intellectual disabilities to speak up for themselves and take part in decision-making processes

• Build a transnational European Self-Advocacy Network connecting organizations and self-advocates across countries

• Improve access to EU policies through accessible tools, platforms, and training materials

• Contribute to policy discussions at local, national, and European levels by amplifying lived experience

A Strong and Diverse European Partnership

The online kick-off meeting brought together all project partners, providing space to confirm roles, align expectations, and establish a shared understanding of the project’s methodology and timeline.

The project is coordinated by EU Trisomy 21: lle (Belgium) and implemented in collaboration with:

• Bundesverband Down-Syndrom e.V. (Germany)

• Rejtett Kincsek Down Egyesület (Hungary)

• Team Down (Italy)

• Downin oireyhtymä Malta (Malta)

• T’Cap 21 (France)

• Fundacja L’Arche (Poland)

• Asociatia Fantasticii Down Galati (Romania)

• Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (Spain)

• Rytmus – od klienta k občanovi, o.p.s. (Czech Republic)

• Inclution gUG (haftungsbeschränkt) (Germany)

Together, these organizations bring expertise in self-advocacy training, education, research, community engagement, and policy work, ensuring a comprehensive and inclusive European approach.

From Online Launch to Collective Action

The online kick-off meeting marked the transition from preparation to implementation. It created the foundation for close cooperation across borders and set the direction for the project’s first in-person transnational meeting, held shortly afterwards in Brussels.

As the project moves forward, this online launch stands as the starting point of a shared commitment: to ensure that self-advocates are not only supported to speak up, but are meaningfully included in shaping the policies and decisions that affect their lives.