Train the Trainers - Self-Advocates with Trisomy21 in Madrid

Train the Trainers - Meeting of self-advocates with trisomy 21
from nine EU countries in Madrid.

🗓️2 July - 5 July 2024

Universidad Rey Juan Carlos was home to nine Down syndrome self-advocates and their teams from nine EU countries in the first week of July.

The German Down Syndrome Association BVDS e.V. was represented by self-advocates Fiona Lambart, Stana Schenck and Katrina Lambart. We were actively supported in our preparations by the BVDS board members Mareike Fuizs and Alexander Althaus.

In Madrid, we trialled the training material for self-advocates developed by the EU For Trisomy 21 network.
Together with Mareike Fuisz Lambert, Stana Schenck was part of the group of experts who contributed to the development.
The course material is now available in all nine partner languages: English, German, Hungarian, Spanish, French, Italian, Czech, Greek and Romanian.

We tested and trialled all four course units at the university in Madrid:
🎯I am self-determined
🎯I can tell my story
🎯I can give a presentation
🎯I can make a difference!

It was great fun working together on campus in the inclusive and international group.
We strengthened trust in the inclusive trainer teams through exciting exercises. 
With the self-advocates, we practised what it means to be a trainer:
💡When do I speak loudly, when quietly?
💡How do I manage to keep track of time?
💡What are role-playing games and how can I use them?

We ran through exercises on hashtag human dignity and hashtag human rights and prepared them for the local training sessions:

- In autumn 2024, I will be running a 4-part course for self-advocates with learning difficulties in Berlin with Fiona.
- In February 2025, there will be a course with Fiona and Katrina in Nuremberg.

This is very exciting and thrilling!
We are looking forward to it and are well prepared!

Special thanks to Elisabeth Gudenus for keeping the @EUforTrisomy21 network together.
Thanks to Lenka from Rytmus-Neziskovka in Prague for the drawings Hashtag#graphicrecording!

T