People with Down syndrome speaking up worldwide

Thank you for your continued support! We have been busy working on self-advocacy projects with our network. 

DSi Self Advocacy Network Group

We held our first meetings for a new working group called the DSi Self Advoacy Netwok Group. It is a space for DSi members to share their experiences and ideas about self-advocacy, support each other, better understand each other’s work and challenges in organising self-advocacy activities. All the organsiations involved have two representatives, of which at least one is a person with Down syndrome, 

We are meeting online every three months and have 10 countires repesented: Bangladesh, New Zealand, Austalia, Georgia, China, South Africa, Ireland, Turkey, England and Argentina. 

We heard lots of great presentations from self-advocates with Down syndrome. They talked about the self-advocacy programmes they are part of and their plans for the future.  

Self-Advocacy training in China

We had an amazing time visiting our member organisation ‘Up For Down’s China’ in July. Our programme team were there to run a four-day training on self-advocacy.

The training looked at how Self-advocacy helps people with Down syndrome live better lives. By giving them confidence to speak up, make decisions, and take part in their communities.

The main themes of the training were:

• How to support self-advocates
• How to start or grow self-advocacy groups
• Building stronger, more inclusive programs
• Learning from local and international success stories

This training is a really important step to help more people with Down syndrome in China feel confident, speak for themselves, and play a bigger part in their communities. We're very excited to see all the great things these amazing people will do!