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JUDY project

Working together to close institutions and to strengthen self-advocates in Eastern Europe.

The issue

A new report from Inclusion Europe tells us that more than 700,000 people with intellectual disabilities are isolated in large institutions in Europe.

The same report also shows that people with intellectual disabilities are not often included in their communities and are not represented in many organisations.

To change this situation, Inclusion Europe and Inclusion International are launching the JUDY project, which will support self-advocates in Eastern Europe to take the lead on closing institutions in their countries.

We want to be able to connect with others, and to work together for our goals.

“That’s exactly what this work is about: creating opportunities for self-advocates in 5 countries to have a say about the topics that matter to them, in rooms and in front of people who decide about these topics,” said Milan Šveřepa, director of Inclusion Europe.

Photos from self-advocates' trainings

The JUDY project

The JUDY project works with five of Inclusion Europe’s members from Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia towards this common goal: For Europe to end segregation of people with intellectual disabilities.

There are not many self-advocacy groups in Eastern Europe yet, and many of the self-advocates in the region are not included when other disability organisations or governments talk about institutions.

Our members will work in their countries to:

  • Make sure that self-advocates in Eastern Europe know how to fight for their right to live in the community.
  • Support members in Eastern Europe to do advocacy about closing institutions that fully involve self-advocates.
  • Push disability groups and other organisations to work in a more inclusive way when they do work about closing institutions

While supporting the work our members, Inclusion Europe and Inclusion International also do regional and global work, such as:

  • Research: Collecting information on closing institutions and community living
  • Build networks: Creating a network of self-advocate survivors of institutions to share their experiences and advocate for their rights
  • Support self-advocates as inclusion trainers: Training self-advocates on the Listen Include Respect guidelines so they can go on to teach other organisations in their country
  • Creating tools and resources: Developing and sharing resources on how to close institutions and support community living for people with intellectual disabilities
Self-advocates' training in Romania

Updates from the project

Inclusion International and Inclusion Europe logos

The JUDY project is named after Judy Heumann, a lifelong advocate for disability rights, who passed away in 2023. The project is funded by the US State Department and will run for three years, from 2024 to 2026.