Advonet were pleased to work together with Tenfold to support CHANGE’s event exploring supported decision making and embracing the idea of “nothing about us without us”.
CHANGE have been working internationally looking at how different countries are working towards the aims of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and want to share their knowledge with us. The event took place on the 4th and 5th of July at the University of Leeds.
Following the idea of “nothing about us without us”, the first day was for people with learning disabilities, to ensure they had time and opportunity to look at their lives, and making decisions without jargon, or professionals, or “people with more power” leading the discussions.
Happy to be involved
Advonet were pleased to be involved; supported decision making is at the heart of what we do. We try to ensure that people can access any information and resources they need to be informed, empowered and heard to make their own choices. Professionals from Leeds and across the country joined the event on the second day and were challenged to work in new ways to ensure everyone was included.
We found it hard on the 2nd day to use the methods, like drama and games, that had been so popular on the first day. It was a good way of moving some of the power to the people with learning disabilities, as they felt more comfortable than the people without. At the end of the two-day event, it was the forum theatre that everyone had learnt the most from.
Asking You! volunteers are excited about learning more about Forum Theatre, so we can use it at the People’s Parliament and other events.
We are looking forward to sharing the report from CHANGE in a future newsletter, and keeping working together across Leeds and the country to make things better for people with a learning disability, making sure they are included and hopefully lead the process.
