Together for Inclusion: Fostering Self-Advocacy Across Europe

ongoing

"The project ""Together for Inclusion: Fostering Self-Advocacy Across Europe,"" aims to enhance access to self-advocacy programs for youth with intellectual disabilities by creating a transnational network. This initiative builds on previous efforts by involving 9 partners from various European countries. It focuses on addressing language barriers, the lack of transnational collaboration, and the need for skill development among trainers and organizations. Specific objectives are: 1. To build the capacities of 11 partner organizations from Belgium, Poland, Spain, Greece, Malta, Romania, France, Italy, Czech Republic, Hungary and Germany to effectively improve civic participation of young people with ID by exchanging best practices and equipping 220 trainers, parents/carers, educators with skills and tools to hold self-advocacy workshops for youth with ID. 2. To develop a transnational network of cooperation between 65 organizations working with youth with ID on local and regional level from 11 EU countries and equip it with knowledge and resources for empowering self-advocates and implementing innovative community engagement projects for inclusion of youth with ID 3. To empower 450 young people with intellectual disabilities for self-advocacy and provide them with opportunities to make their voices heard though organizing the youth exchange, local self-advocacy conferences and a high-level meeting in the European Parliament 4. To make EU policies more accessible to youth with ID by providing them with a tailored and accessible platform to inform them on EU policies, voice their opinions and foster their active participation 5. To improve policies for fostering the active participation and social inclusion of persons with ID on local, national and EU levels, by drafting policy recommendations, organizing local Self-Advocacy Conferences in 11 partner countries and organizing high-level meetings in the European Parliament with 15 EU officials and decision makers"