Workshop with Bunbury hub at the Museum in March
In April we welcomed Ryan Couanon into the projects team to support the delivery of the Community Disability Advocacy Network (CDAN) project as well as the Economic Participation Project (EPP) (more info below). Ryan successfully completed the EPP project in 2022 as a participant, completing the AWA Accessibility training and auditing a number of businesses in the South West for workplace accessibility. He will be assisting Sara to roll out the next phase of the EPP which will be delivered again this year throughout the region.
Since January, we have been busy delivering workshops across the South West region including Collie, Harvey, Manjimup, Bunbury, Margaret River and online. Our workshops are designed to build self and community advocacy skills in the community.
Over a series of five workshops, participants explore the concept of social entrepreneurship and how they can develop creative and innovative solutions to issues facing people with disability in their local communities. They also learn how to improve leadership and teamwork skills so that they can work effectively together with other community members and organisations to achieve positive outcomes. By the final workshop, groups have developed a project plan to make their ideas a reality in their local area.
All Network hubs will have completed the advocacy workshop series by June, so watch this space for more news about how these groups are making change in the South West region.
Find out about other community workshops coming up in the region here.
The Community Disability Advocacy Network (CDAN) project is bringing together people with an interest in identifying and seeking solutions to issues faced by people with disability at a local level. Through a series of workshops, we support communities to develop community action plans to address some of the issues identified. These free sessions prepare people to take an active part in their communities and the wider CDA Network, while helping them uncover their strengths and skills. Workshop dates can be found here https://advocacywa.org.au/news/community-advocacy-workshops-south-west-region/
The Economic Participation Project (EPP) assists workplaces in the South West to become more welcoming and accessible to people with disabilities. Advocacy WA trains young people aged 15 – 25 to conduct workplace accessibility audits and present their findings to businesses across the region. The project develops leadership, communication and teamwork skills in young people while helping business improve customer service and accessibility. Young people are paid for their participation and previous participants have identified improvements in confidence and work-readiness skills.
Please contact Sara on 0499 014 110 or sara@advocacywa.org.au for more information on any of the above.
