Education for political participation

Wednesday, 01 October 2008

Equal Partners Foundation, together with the University of Malta, is participating in a multilateral lifelong learning Grundtvig project entitled 'My Opinion My Vote' – MOTE, together with partners from five other European countries namely Italy, Ireland, Denmark, Hungary and Spain.

The project aims to:

• empower people with learning disabilities through active citizenship and participation in political elections
• encourage people with learning disabilities to form and express an informed opinion / decision on the occasion of local, national and European elections and referenda, like any other European citizen
• raise awareness among those who are in a position to facilitate people with learning difficulties in exercising their political rights
• to design, develop and test an educational programme re political rights

The project kicks off in October 2008 and will come to a close in September 2010. In the first year of the project, twenty persons with intellectual disability in Malta took part in an interview survey and tested six modules of the education program. A campaign was also launched prior to the European elections to raise awareness on the right to vote of persons with intellectual disability, as well as to encourage such persons to exercise their right to vote. The second part of the project included another interview survey and another four modules of the education program. Another campaign will undertake to explain the world of politics and governance in general terms to persons with intellectual disability.

It is envisaged that this work and the issues it has raised will continue to be promoted and monitored by a European Center for the exercising of political rights of people with learning disabilities.