Ongoing The Ascend Project: Capacity building of disabled people’s associations in Central and Eastern Europe

Logos of the partners, EDF and Citi Foundation.

News

Ascend Phase 2 Activities in Hungary (November 2023)
Digitalisation, data and cinema – Youth perspectives – Ascend at EYE (Youth Voice – July 2023)
Phase 2 Interim Project Report (July 2023)
Just How Accessible? Slovakian Youth on Employment at EYE (Youth Voice – July 2023)
Minister for a Day – Romanian Youth Ascend to Power (Youth Voice – July 2023)
Ascend Slovakia: Prepped and ready for lift off! (June 2023)
Press release: Citi Foundation Invests Further $250,000 in Program Supporting Young People with Disabilities in Central Europe (May 2022)
EDF Citi Ascend Phase 1 End of Project Slideshow (February 2022)
Young People: Our Trip to the House of European History (Youth Voice – January 2023)
Advocating for ourselves: “I was able to realise what potential we have, despite our disabilities or special needs” (Youth Voice – December 2022)
Representing Hungarians with disabilities at the European Parliament (Youth Voice – December 2022)
Accelerating advocacy: a report from LevelUP at the European Parliament (Youth Voice – November 2022)
Travelling and attending an event as a wheelchair user (Youth Voice – November 2022)
The Czech Republic Learns Sign Language (Youth Voice – November 2022)
Ascend Project goes to LevelUP Brussels: Stories from Young Participants (Youth Voice – October 2022)
Rebranding an organisation of and for persons with disabilities: lessons learnt from the Slovak Disability Council (Youth Voice – October 2022)
A study is being conducted to understand the needs and solutions of young people with disabilities in Romania. (Youth Voice -September 2022)
The Ascend project is launched in Romania. Ascend – a project initiated and technically supported by the European Disability Forum and funded by Citi Foundation – National Council of Disability in Romania (fcndr.ro). (Youth Voice – June 2022)

About the Project

This programme, funded by CITI Foundation, is focused on strengthening the capacity of the disability movement in Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia. Started in January 2022, Ascend is now in its second phase. Ascend represents the first funded project at EDF which has the development of youth leadership as its core objective.

The programme focusses on three main pillars:

Youth leadership and opportunities.
Communication with members and individuals and
EU-level international policies and programs.

Partners

EDF is implementing the project in partnership with five national organizations which benefit equally from the grant to support the goals of the program at the local level:

1. Bulgaria: National Council of People with Disabilities in Bulgaria or Национален съвет на хората с увреждания в България (NCDPB),
2. Czech Republic: National Council of Persons with Disabilities of the Czech Republic, or Národní rada osob se zdravotním postižením ČR (NRZP ČR),
3. Hungary: Hungarian Association for Persons with Intellectual Disability or Értelmi Fogyatékossággal Élők és Segítőik Országos Érdekvédelmi Szövetsége (ÉFOÉSZ),
4. Romania: Romanian National Disability Council or Consiliul National al Dizabilitatii din Romania (CNDR),
5. Slovakia: Slovak Disability Council or Národná rada občanov so zdravotným postihnutím v SR (NROZP).

The Three Ascend Pillars

1. Building a youth movement, developing youth leadership and opportunities.

2. Strengthening CEE EDF member’s communication with their own members and stakeholders.

3. Capacity building in EU and international policies and programmes

Phase 2

The second phase sees the Ascend Project build on the first phase (2022) whilst shifting even more emphasis onto youth.

In the new phase, starting in mid January 2023 and lasting 12 months, the countries placing even greater emphasis on young people living with disabilities getting involved in advocacy for their rights and accessing education, vocational training and employment.

In the second phase of the Ascend Project, EDF aims to make the following differences:

1. Place greater emphasis on young persons with disabilities, and especially young women with disabilities.

2. Cascade the work on communications and policy and programming to disability specific DPOs within each of the countries.

3. Continue to build and strengthen the first phase work on comms and policy and programming.

The second phase sees the budget include the hiring of a youth focal point in each country and a greater proportion of the budget go towards youth programming.

Two people smiling and signing a contract in front of an EDF banner

Image: Branislav Mamojka (Slovak Disability Council) and Catherine Naughton (EDF) signing Phase 2 contract for Ascend.

1. Building a youth movement, developing youth leadership and opportunities.

As for the first phase, young person with disabilities, especially young women, remain a horizontal module across the project. As outlined above, in order for YPD to enjoy their human rights, greater emphasis is needed on building their capacity, making disability rights an engaging and engaged space, and bringing youths to positions of leadership.

In phase 2, investment in the youth pillar alone grows from 16% in Phase 1 to 39% in Phase 2. This includes country members hiring a focal point for youth issues into a part time position in each of the CEE countries. This will create a very real opportunity for youth matters to become a greater priority.

2. Strengthening CEE EDF member’s communication with their own members and stakeholders.

Now, more than ever before, as digitalisation moves forward, online communications channels for people living with disabilities are vital to participation in all parts of life. This is ever more so for young people who were born in the digital age and for whom mobile phones and laptops are primary tools for learning, socialising, accessing health, seeking employment, and doing their work. In the first phase national umbrella organisations will have updated their online presence, now we plan to cascade this to disability specific organisations in the five countries. We will invest in this cascade by assisting with both capacity building and staff hires.

3. Capacity building in EU and international policies and programmes

Building on the EU and International policy and programming capacity building done in Phase 1, the second phase aims to cascade the knowledge, engagement and use of these vital initiatives to country level disability specific DPOs. These initiatives form vital entry points and tools for local DPOs to secure their rights at the country level. Through cascading to the other DPOs, we hope to achieve sustained and broad advocacy at national level on the implementation of these instruments.

EDF Citi Ascend Phase 2 Activities by Country

Phase 1

In 2022, in the first phase of the program, more than 700 people received trainings on disability rights. 82% of the people reached were living with a form of disability, and 55% of participants were young people with disabilities. 54% were women. With projects customized for local requirements, the initiative outperformed its expected deliverables on building the disability rights movement among young people with disabilities in each country.

Dozens of program participants took part in empowerment trainings on themes such as independent living, human rights policy, and advocacy in the European Union. Within the framework of the project, Romania conducted an in-depth national research project interviewing over 200 young people with disabilities. Slovakia took the opportunity to successfully rebrand NROZP, whilst the Czech Republic focused on teaching sign language to the friends and families of people who are deaf or hard of hearing. In Bulgaria trainings on policy were a focus for human rights defenders in the country, as was a new website that is accessible to persons with disabilities. In Hungary, interactive and in-depth trainings on policy, programming and other theoretical frameworks were the highlight. A dozen young people also visited Brussels to participate in a multi-day conference on youth and human rights in Europe.

EDF Citi Ascend Phase 1 End of Project Slideshow

EDF Citi Ascend About Phase 1 Three Pillars