What events self-advocates around Europe organise to be seen and to be heard.
Hear our Voices! is a big self-advocacy event.
It happens every two years in different countries in Europe. It is a time for self-advocates to meet, talk, and make change happen!
The conference is organised by self-advocates for self-advocates. European Platform of Self-Advocates (EPSA) organises the event, deciding on topics and speakers.
Hear our Voices! 2025
This year, the conference is a series of events organised by self-advocates all over Europe.
They are organising different events to make self-advocates visible and vocal in their countries and in Europe too.
23 events in 18 countries
The list will be updated with more information as we get it.
🇦🇲 Armenia
8 October – Self-advocates meeting/training on self-advocacy skills.
🇦🇹 Austria
Seminar about personal assistance, more than 100 participants.
🇧🇪 Belgium
Soufiane El Amrani hosts a discussion about self-advocacy at European level.
🇨🇾 Cyprus
15–16 October: Workshops on “Right to Love & Start a Family”; facing parental consent issues; 10 groups involved over two days.
🇨🇿 Czechia
People with intellectual disabilities meet to talk about self-advocacy and how to make it happen.
🇪🇪 Estonia
Education and Employment (inclusive schools, trainings and skills, fair pay, job security, and access to work); Self-advocacy skills (learning to stand up and speak out, organising);
Living independently and being included (personal assistance, deinstitutionalisation, social networks and relationships)
🇫🇮 Finland
Self-advocacy skills (learning to stand up and speak out, organising);
The right to love and to start a family – freedom of choice in relationships
🇬🇪 Georgia
Meeting with UN Representatives – 23 September. A group of self-advocates will visit the UN House to meet with UN representatives in Georgia. They will share their interests and needs directly, ensuring their perspectives are heard and recognized.
Two-Day Self-Advocates’ Conference – 25–26 September. The first day will feature the main conference in a “stand up” style format. Self-advocates will deliver speeches sharing their personal experiences, interests, and needs. The event will be open to a broad audience, with guests from civil society and UN agencies in attendance. The second day will serve as the closing session of the conference. Alongside reflections on the two days, we will present Nothing About Me — the first podcast in Georgia fully developed and hosted by self-advocates, Mariam Berikelashvili and Gigo Shiukashvili.
🇩🇪 Germany
25 September and 6 October, Lebenshilfe. Workshops preparing self-advocates for the General Assembly, reviewing the agenda, discussing the Masterplan on self-advocacy, choosing new terminology, and board elections.
🇬🇷 Greeece
9 October. Around 30 participants (self-advocates, family members, staff) will meet to discuss next steps to promote self-advocacy. In person.
🇭🇺 Hungary
Nationwide online meeting in October on rights and multiple discrimination
3 events (in Pécs, Szigetvár, one more location TBC) on various topics
🇮🇸 Iceland
10 October, Workshop: Hear Our Voices – Speaking up on cuts to disability education. Advocacy activities with students (letters to parliament, articles, TikToks), peer learning, and media visibility.
🇮🇹 Italy
- October 14, 2025 – Associazione Sorriso, Cusano Milanino. Seminar about independent living, social inclusion, women with disabilities, active citizenship, training and access to culture. More than 40 participants.
- October 16 University of Urbino + online. Seminar: Technology and the lives of people with intellectual disabilities.
🇱🇹 Lithuania
On the 16 October, a conference for self-advocates, family members and professionals. Topics will be learning to stand up and speak out, living independently and being included.
🇵🇱 Poland
3 October Hear Our Voices workshop
🇵🇹 Portugal
Cercilisboa self-advocacy group. Women’s rights and equality – breaking barriers and empowering voices, women’s spaces.
17 October: ARCIL – “Anatomy of a Self-Representative”. The meeting will take place at the Municipal Theater of Lousã, in a hybrid format, and will be dedicated to reflection on the essential skills for the exercise of self-representation: attitudes, knowledge and behaviors that make a person empowered and influential.
🇷🇴 Romania
14 October: Ceva de spus. Improving inclusion in Timisoara.
🇪🇸 Spain
7 October, Plena inclusion. Living independently and being included (personal assistance, deinstitutionalisation, social networks and relationships); Self-advocacy skills (learning to stand up and speak out, organising); Education and Employment (inclusive schools, trainings and skills, fair pay, job security, and access to work)
You can organise such event too. Here is how.
🇪🇺 Final event
Inclusion Europe organise a final event to bring together the messages and experiences from all the participating countries.
This event takes place 2 December 2025 online.
