Strengthening the voices of young people with intellectual disabilities and autism across Europe.
Self-determination is a right. But for many people with intellectual disabilities and autism in Europe, this right is still far from reality.
Too often, decisions about their lives are made by others – from where to live to what to do.
It is this gap between rights and reality that the Self-Determination Academy project wants to address.
The Self-Determination Academy is an Erasmus+ project led by Inovar Autismo. Project partners are:
- Croatia: Croatian Union of Associations for Autism
- Ireland: As I Am
- Portugal: Association for the Defense of Human Rights is an International Non-Governmental Organization for Development
- Inclusion Europe.
Why a Self-Determination Academy?
Across Europe, people with intellectual disabilities still face segregation, limited choices and barriers to participation.
Many services continue to follow a medical or institutional model, where professionals decide what is “best” for the person.
This is the challenge we address with this project. It stems from what young self-advocates in Portugal, Ireland, Croatia and all over Europe tell us they want:
- To learn more about their rights
- To have more confidence to express themselves
- To have more opportunities to participate fully in the life of their community.
What we’ll do
The Self-Determination Academy will provide training to 45 young adults with autism and with intellectual disabilities.
The training has two parts.
- Participants will design and carry out their own actions to defend their rights in their communities.
- The course will address key issues identified by the young people themselves in focus groups held in the three countries.
The project will also produce other tools, such as a European Activist’s Guide, a policy paper and a digital campaign. All of these aim to make rights more visible and accessible.
Learn more:
The project is co-funded by the European Union.
