"Nothing for us without us"
Do not work FOR people with cerebral palsy but WITH people with cerebral palsy. This is the philosophy behind the publication “Active Citizenship ASPACE: Promoting participation”, a project financed by the EEA Grants.
16.09.2015
The rights of people with cerebral palsy or any other disability are legally recognized: the right to equality and to be treated like any other person. However, reality shows otherwise. The families themselves and the society in general tend to overprotection, which limits their autonomy and independence.
For that reason, ASPACE Confederation –which brings together more than 80 entities all around Spain focused on people with cerebral palsy- have just launched the guide “Active Citizenship ASPACE: Promoting participation” to foster their full participation in society, produced by around 400 people with cerebral palsy because who knows best their needs and challenges.
Topics such as participation in their own associations’ boards, employment, housing, health, or emotional/sexual relations are included in this publication, which aims to be a “useful and operational tool” for care facilities and for society. The objective is to support them in the decision-making process but without supplanting them.
José María Uría, one of the participants in the development of this guide, explained: “The project has allowed us to become a group which claims their citizen’s rights and dignifies our lives like any other person”.
Jaume Marí, president of ASPACE Confederation, pointed out that “this guide is going to change the paradigm of attention to persons with cerebral palsy”.
María Luisa Gómez, Managing Director of the NGO Platform of Social Action, urged the project promoters to “transfer this experience to other fields and geographic environments because the motto ‘act locally, thing globally’ is what should guide our work for social rights”.
The guide “Active Citizenship ASPACE: Promoting participation” is part of the Active Citizenship ASPACE project developed by ASPACE Confederation whose objective is to promote social participation of people with cerebral palsy through fostering self-determination. It is one of the projects developed within the EEA Grants Active Citizenship Programme, operated by the NGO Platform of Social Action.