Io, Cittadino! The Italian Self-Advocacy movement

Our work brings the voice of people with intellectual disabilities and their families where decisions about their future are made. This has always been incredibly important. It is even more so with the Covid pandemic drastic impact on their rights and lives. Being visible and vocal on issues directly affecting millions of people requires your...

Io, Cittadino! The Italian Self-Advocacy movement

The project “Io, Cittadino!”, co-funded by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, was started by Anffas Onlus in September 2015 to create the first Italian self-advocacy movement for people with disabilities.

On September 19, Inclusion Europe’s Italian member Anffas Onlus organized an event to announce the launch of the first platform for Italian Self-Advocates. The event, attended by more than 400 people, concluded the project “Io, Cittadino! (Me, Citizen!) Tools for full participation, active citizenship and self-advocacy”. Senada Halilcevic and Elisabeta Moldovan, Inclusion Europe Board members and members of the EPSA steering group, were among the self-advocates attending the day’s celebrations.

The project was launched in December 2015 following our Annual European Conference of Self-Advocates, Hear our Voices, hosted in Rome. Anffas came away from the event with the determination to proceed with a national platform, further encouraged by the adoption of the Rome Declaration on Promoting and Sustaining Self-Advocacy in Europe, which you can learn more about here. From then onwards Anffas has worked tirelessly to establish the network and create a platform for self-advocacy.

“Io, Cittadino!” initiates the first self-advocacy movement in Italy, gathering persons with intellectual disabilities to speak out and defend their rights for equal access to oppertunities, participation and inclusion in society. Italian self-advocates are prepared and supported to fight for full and active citezenship as enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified by Italy in 2009.

“Persons with intellectual disabilities in Europe today
have more rights than before,
but we are still long way behind from full inclusion
of all persons with intellectual disabilities in society.”

Senada Halilcevic,
EPSA Steering Group Member
Read her full speech here.

 

Our work brings the voice of people with intellectual disabilities and their families where decisions about their future are made.

This has always been incredibly important. It is even more so with the Covid pandemic drastic impact on their rights and lives.

Being visible and vocal on issues directly affecting millions of people requires your support. 

Become Inclusion Europe supporter and help us keep doing our work.

 

 

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