Hosted by: Inclusion International and People First of Canada

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Hosted byInclusion International and People
First of Canada

• Report on the
• Global Forum on Self-Advocacy
• Ottawa November 2008

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Purpose

• To provide an opportunity for self-advocates from
  around the world to form an international
  self-advocacy movement to meet and share
  experiences internationally
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• To help advance the agenda of the UN Convention
  on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

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Self advocacy Around the World

• We discussed 3 topics
• What are the strengths of self advocacy.
• What would make self advocacy stronger where we
  live
• How can self advocates from around the world work
  together to strengthen self advocacy.
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Strengths of Self Advocacy

• This includes
• Having one voice - solidarity
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• The more people we are, the louder we will be
  heard and understood
•  When you are a self advocate there is strength,
  but when you are a group, you have power.
•  People with disabilities can teach the world
  about belonging, respect, support and rights

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Making self-advocacy stronger

• The power of many voices speaking as one voice!
•  We need awareness, we need people to be
  involved, we need to listen, we need to get
  connected and we need to use technology.

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Working Internationally

• We have the right to full inclusion wherever we
  are in the world and also take part in a
  gathering of humanity.
• Finding a way to put the nuts and bolts in place
  to make the dream of a worldwide movement a
  reality.
• Open the door more involvement, more money,
  more inclusion - welcome to reality.

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The Convention

• We talked about why the convention is so
  important to us.
• There were many questions.
• We saw that the Convention give us the
  opportunity to gain our rights.
• We introduced the Inclusion International booklet
  on the Convention.

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The Freedom Tour

• We watched the film with everyone and leant
  about
• The abuse that happens in all institutions.
• Our determination to be free and to live like
  others.
• The wasted lives. People ending their life
  because they had lost hope.
• There is hope when we can close the
  institutions-people can at last have a life!!!!

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The Workshops

• We held four workshops
• Living in the community we say no to
  institutions.
•  Our right to inclusive education we say no to
  segregation
• Equal recognition before the law-we say no to
  others making decisions for us.
• Family life we are family too

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Our Messages - Living in the community

• Say yes to inclusion no to institutions.
• Inclusion is a birthright, a worldwide civil
  rights movement. Countries need to help each
  other.
• Keep educating the public (this means everyone)
  about the dangers of institutions so they never
  get built again or for the first time.

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 Our Messages Our right to inclusive education

• Keeping us out of school sets a pattern of not
  being included no friends stigmatised by
  others and no employment.
• We need more support to connect with our teachers
  and to follow our dreams.
• Our families need training on how to advocate
  and to learn about disability.
• We need more educational opportunities, job
  training, social skills, literacy skills and so
  much more.

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Introductions
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Our messages - Making our own decisions

• We must have the information we need to make our
  decisions - in a way we understand.
• We need to be clear about our rights and what
  they mean.
• Good support gives us control of our decisions
  and helps us to know we are not on our own.
• Our decisions must be respected we have the
  right to say yes or no and to be responsible for
  what we do.

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Our Messages -We are family too!

• Regardless of our ability family helps to balance
  our lives. Family gives us a place to be
  ourselves and the support acceptance and
  understanding we are entitled to as people.
• There are many barriers to an active family life.
  These include a history of institutionalisation,
  a lack of understanding by professionals and a
  denial of our right to be part of a family.
• We have the right to choose our relationships, to
  have children through birth or adoption to make
  our own decisions be they good or bad and to have
  the support we need.

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Some of those who attended