European Self-Advocates Project Hosts Training of Trainers at Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid

Madrid, July 2024

In July 2024, the European Self-Advocates Project held an international Training of Trainers at the Rey Juan Carlos university in Madrid, bringing together educators, youth workers and self-advocates from across Europe. The training marked a key milestone in the development of the project’s self-advocacy programme for young people with Down syndrome.

Organised within the framework of the Erasmus+-funded European Self-Advocates Project (2023–2025) and coordinated by EU voor trisomie 21, the Training of Trainers focused on preparing participants to deliver the self-advocacy curriculum at national level. The event followed earlier curriculum development and evaluation meetings and served as the final preparatory step before local piloting began in partner countries.

During the training, participants worked in teaching pairs composed of a self-advocate and an assistant teacher. Together, they explored the structure and content of the curriculum, practised key exercises, and reflected on co-teaching methods, accessibility needs and group dynamics. Particular attention was given to creating inclusive learning environments that enable self-advocates to take an active teaching role.

The Madrid training also played an important role in consolidating the programme materials. Video resources demonstrating the implementation of the lessons were recorded during the sessions and later integrated into the curriculum and trainer’s handbook. These resources were designed to support trainers during national implementation and to document good practice across countries.

Following the Training of Trainers, all partner countries began a national piloting phase, running from August 2024 to February 2025. In each country, the training programme was implemented with 15 future young self-advocates, allowing the curriculum to be tested in different organisational, cultural and educational contexts. Feedback from participants and teaching teams was systematically collected during this phase.

In 2025, partners will meet again in Brussels to review the curriculum based on the outcomes of the national piloting phase. This review will form part of the project’s final activities and will ensure that the training programme reflects the collective learning from all participating countries. The final project event in Brussels will include a shared reflection on the piloting results and confirm the final version of the curriculum, which will then be prepared for publication online.

The Training of Trainers in Madrid represented a central step in building the capacity of partner organisations and ensuring that self-advocacy training across Europe is delivered with self-advocates, not for them.