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Project activities
Research on child participation relevant
for children with intellectual disabilities
(January – August 2013)
The project partnership will map available information and collect evidence from law, policy documents and practice on child participation in different areas and from all European countries in order to increase understanding of how children with intellectual disabilities can be supported to effectively and meaningfully participate.
The results of this research have been compiled into a Good practice report in children participation.
This work complemented a parallel mapping exercise supported by DG Justice (Children’s Rights Unit) on legislation, policy and practice regarding child participation. We aim to ensure the situation of children with intellectual disabilities is fully taken account of within this exercise.
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Do you know a promising practice in supporting the participation of children with intellectual disabilities? Take part in our project online survey and hlep us identify existing best practice that we can build on. You can access the online survey here. The survey is open for contributions until 14 August. |
Participation of children and young people in decision-making
– practical testing of models of participation
(June 2013 – November 2014)
Building the collection of existing resources and knowledge, the project worked to empower and train children with intellectual disabilities to directly participate in all issues that concern their lives and ensure their participation together with other children, through awareness raising among their non-disabled peers as well as among children’s professionals and policy-makers. This activity took place at school (mainly in Spain), in day-care services and small group homes (Bulgaria) as well as in large residential care homes (in the Czech Republic) in the process of transition to community-based care. In these settings, training material and model cases will be developed and tested by National Partners.
We developed:
- Model for participation at school
- Model for participation in child care services
- Video guidelines to involve peers with intellectual disabilities
- Videos with children’s voices
Lobbying for the participation of children with intellectual disabilities
at national and European levels
(June 2013 – January 2014)
One of the main objectives is to ensure the visibility of children with intellectual disabilities in child rights policies, legislation and practices at national and European level. In particular we aimed to strengthen links between the EU Agenda on children’s rights and EU efforts to take account of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
To make this happen, the project partnership did the following:
- organise a conference on the participation rights of children with intellectual disabilities
- develop a policy briefing on the EU strategy from the perspective of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- support members to write alternative reports on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- lobby for ratification of the Optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Publicity and Dissemination
(January 2013 – November 2014)