FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

On course to make a difference

Midland counties mark European Year of People with Disabilities

01/09/2003

Forty participants from Counties Laois, Longford, Offaly and Westmeath have been offered an unique opportunity to participate in this new and innovative programme called “Developing a Community Voice – Partners in Policymaking” which is being funded under the Training Measure of the European Commission’s LEADER + programme.

Disabled people in Counties, Laois, Longford, Offaly and Westmeath are being offered a unique opportunity to participate in an innovative new programme called “Developing a Community Voice – Partners in Policymaking” to be funded under the European Commission’s LEADER + Programme.

The Course is designed to empower people with disabilities and parents of children with disabilities to participate more fully in shaping their communities and ensuring services adequately meet their needs.

The Course is being organised as a joint initiative by the Offaly LEADER + Company, Laois LEADER Rural Development Company, Longford Community Resources and Westmeath Community Development Ltd. with co-operation from Aontacht Phobail Teoranta (APT).

“The Partners in Policymaking Programme has its origins in America and this is the first time the Programme will be delivered in Ireland, making this a terrific opportunity for those with disabilities in the Midlands to make their voice heard not alone at local, regional and national levels but also at the international Level” Karina Wallis, CEO of APT outlined. “I think the LEADER Groups involved have shown great initiative, imagination and commitment to developing the abilities of local communities in identifying this course and making it happen in this region and country” Karina continued.

“The Programme runs with a group of 40 participants for one weekend a month over a period of eight months” Perpetua McDonagh Project Co-ordinator and Programme Manager with the Offaly LEADER + Company explained. “Two-thirds of the participants are parents of children under 19 years with disabilities, the remaining one-third are adults with disabilities. It is important to have a good mix of participants to represent the different types of disability – learning, intellectual, physical and/or physical impairments” Perpetua continued “supports will be provided to ensure those involved can participate fully and maximise their learning from the Course.

“The course will run over eight weekends – one per month – beginning in October and is residential – you stay overnight in the hotel – which is a great help to participants in getting to know each other and in developing a strong support network” Anne Goodwin of Laois LEADER added. “We are delighted to be involved in this initiative which will significantly contribute to community and service development throughout the four counties.”

Monica O Malley outlined that “the course has been delivered in Scotland and England and the participants who successfully completed the course have gone on to make many significant changes – some big some small – but all important to improving the quality of life of those having disabilities. Therefore, this course will significantly contribute to greater inclusion of people with disabilities,” Monica added.

“What makes the course very different from other courses is that it is delivered by both national and international trainers. The international tutors can give first hand examples of other systems of service provision, of community involvement, of best practice and  can therefore provide a ‘new’ vision of how things could be and how to achieve this” Anne Galvin, Westmeath Community Development said. Anne provided the example of one of the trainers who herself was a very ordinary parent of a child with a disability who had taken part on the course and had gone from strength to strength and now had secured a place for her son in mainstream education and was now willing to travel and share her experiences with Irish participants.

The Course is exclusively for disabled adults and parents of children (under the age of 19 years) with disabilities who believe life could be better for people with disabilities and who would like to gain confidence and abilities to make a difference, to increase their participation in the community, to campaign for change and/or to take an active role in shaping local and national policy for the future.

For further information please contact either:

On course to make a difference – Midland counties mark European Year of People with

Disabilities

A unique, internationally recognised and innovative course involving disabled adults and parents of disabled children will be launched at 2,30pm this Friday, October 17^th , in the Heritage Hotel Portlaoise, by Minister Eamon O Cuiv. 

This is the first time for this American based training programme to run in Ireland and it has been organised to  mark the European Year of People with Disabilities. 

Four Midland LEADER Groups have joined forces with co-operation from APT to deliver this leadership development course designed to empower people with disabilities. 

Forty participants from Counties Laois, Longford, Offaly and Westmeath have been offered an unique opportunity to participate in this new and innovative programme called “Developing a Community Voice – Partners in Policymaking” which is being funded under the Training Measure of the European Commission’s LEADER + programme.

The course is designed to empower people with disabilities and parents of children with disabilities to participate more fully in shaping their communities and ensuring services adequately meet their needs. It is aimed at disabled adults and parents of children with disabilities (under the age of 19) who believe life could be better for people with disabilities and who would like to gain confidence and abilities to make a difference, to increase their participation in the community, to campaign for change and/or to take an active role in shaping local and national policy for the future.

It is a terrific opportunity for those with disabilities and parents of children with disabilities in the Midlands to make their voices heard not alone at local, regional and national levels but also at the international level. Participants have been selected to ensure a good mix of different types of disability – learning, intellectual, physical and/or sensory disabilities. Supports are being provided to ensure those involved can participate fully and maximise their learning from the Course.  

The course has been delivered in Scotland and England and the participants who successfully completed the course have gone on to make many significant changes – some big, some small – but all important in improving the quality of life of those having disabilities.  This course therefore will significantly contribute to greater community inclusion of people with disabilities.

What makes the course very different from other courses is that it is delivered by both national and international trainers.  The international tutors can give first hand examples of other systems of service provision, of community involvement, of best practice and can therefore offer a ‘new’ vision of how things could be and how change can be achieved.

The Course will be run on Fridays and Saturdays and is residential – participants will stay in the hotel overnight – this provides a great opportunity for participants to get to know each other and to develop a strong support network.  However, this aspect is costly and is dependent on sponsorship and support from other agencies. To date support has been secured from the Midland Health Board, PWDI and the four County Councils i.e. Offaly Co. Council, Westmeath Co. Council, Longford Co. Council and Laois Co. Council.

The course is being organised as a joint initiative by the Offaly LEADER + Company, Laois LEADER Rural Development Company, Longford Community Resources and Westmeath Community Development Ltd., with co-operation from Aontacht Phobail Teoranta (APT).

Please see attached document on the History and Background of this initiative.

Please see attached document on the schedule for the launch

An information pack and press release will be available for media representatives at the launch

Thank you for your interest

For More Information Contact:

Partners in Policy Making Ireland
77 Stonebridge Park, Rochfortbridge, County Westmeath, Ireland
Tel: 086-3030743
FAX: 044-24846
Internet: policypartners@eircom.net