On 30 March 2025<\/strong>, the project Together for Inclusion: Fostering Self-Advocacy Across Europe (TIFOSSAE)<\/em> officially began with an online kick-off meeting<\/strong>, bringing together all partner organizations from across Europe in a shared virtual space.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2014especially at a European level\u2014remain limited.<\/p>\n TIFOSSAE<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n 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<\/strong>. This understanding guides all project activities, from training development to policy engagement.<\/p>\n Over the course of 24 months, the project will:<\/p>\n Strengthen the capacities of partner organizations to deliver high-quality, peer-led self-advocacy trainings<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Empower young people with intellectual disabilities to speak up for themselves and take part in decision-making processes<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Build a transnational European Self-Advocacy Network connecting organizations and self-advocates across countries<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Improve access to EU policies through accessible tools, platforms, and training materials<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Contribute to policy discussions at local, national, and European levels by amplifying lived experience<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n 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\u2019s methodology and timeline.<\/p>\n The project is coordinated by EU za Trisomiju 21<\/span><\/span><\/strong> (Belgium) and implemented in collaboration with:<\/p>\n Bundesverband Down-Syndrom e.V.<\/span><\/span><\/strong> (Germany)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Rejtett Kincsek Down Egyes\u00fclet<\/span><\/span><\/strong> (Hungary)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Team Down<\/span><\/span><\/strong> (Italy)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Udru\u017eenje Downovog sindroma Malta<\/span><\/span><\/strong> (Malta)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n T\u2019Cap 21<\/span><\/span><\/strong> (France)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Fundacja L\u2019Arche<\/span><\/span><\/strong> (Poland)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Asociatia Fantasticii Down Galati<\/span><\/span><\/strong> (Romania)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Universidad Rey Juan Carlos<\/span><\/span><\/strong> (Spain)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Rytmus \u2013 od klienta k ob\u010danovi, o.p.s.<\/span><\/span><\/strong> (Czech Republic)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Inclution gUG (haftungsbeschr\u00e4nkt)<\/span><\/span><\/strong> (Germany)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Together, these organizations bring expertise in self-advocacy training, education, research, community engagement, and policy work, ensuring a comprehensive and inclusive European approach.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s first in-person transnational meeting, held shortly afterwards in Brussels.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Online Project Kick-Off \u2013 30 March 2025 On 30 March 2025, the project Together for Inclusion: Fostering Self-Advocacy Across Europe…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[105],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-together-for-inclusion"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eufortrisomy21.eu\/hr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34982"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eufortrisomy21.eu\/hr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eufortrisomy21.eu\/hr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eufortrisomy21.eu\/hr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eufortrisomy21.eu\/hr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34982"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eufortrisomy21.eu\/hr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34982\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34983,"href":"https:\/\/eufortrisomy21.eu\/hr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34982\/revisions\/34983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eufortrisomy21.eu\/hr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eufortrisomy21.eu\/hr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eufortrisomy21.eu\/hr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nA Shared Vision for Self-Advocacy in Europe<\/h3>\n
\nProject Objectives<\/h3>\n
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\nA Strong and Diverse European Partnership<\/h3>\n
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\nFrom Online Launch to Collective Action<\/h3>\n