The DSi Ambassador team is made up of 20 self-advocates who have Down syndrome from around the world.

We give feedback or oversight. We also have a chance to express our own opinions and points of view, and ideas on DSi’s work.

We also make a difference worldwide on behalf of people who have Down syndrome.

In our last meeting, we talked about our highlights of the past year. What our plans and goals are for next year.

People did presentations in their own countries.

Next year our theme for World Down Syndrome Day is “With Us Not For Us”.

I do feel very honoured and have a sense of belonging to be a part of this group. I am very glad I can contribute and be able to make a difference for people around the world and where I live.

That makes me feel very proud of myself. This is my passion in life, to help make lives better.

Janet Charchuk - Canadian Ambassador

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Here are some of the things the Ambassador team worked on last year.

World Down Syndrome Day 2022

We spoke to self-advocates in their countries about what Inclusion Means. We made a webinar. You can watch it here:

We picked the final winners for the 'Lots Of Socks' competition.

We led events at the United Nations and introduced speakers.

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World Down Syndrome Day 2023

We took part in the idea generation for the 2023 WDSD theme.

The theme will be “With Us Not For Us”.

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Self-advocacy project

The Ambassador team has started working on a global self-advocacy project.

This will help new self-advocacy groups start and connect ones that already exist.

We did a big piece of research.

Research

We used this to set goals for the project.

We discussed how to make training inclusive and effective.

This video explains the goals of the self-advocacy project:

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Good support training

Janet and Kayla delivered some training on good support. It was based on information from the Listen Include Respect Guidelines.

The training was recorded and shown at an event in Kenya and to all the Ambassador supporters.

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Program strategy group

Stuart and Janet are now working as part of the DSi Programme Strategy group. This group discusses the future of DSi and its work.

Janet and Stuart are helping make these meetings more accessible so we can involve people with Down syndrome in our governance more in the future.

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1:1’s

We met with DSi staff on a 1:1 basis to talk about DSi and its work. We gave ideas on the new DSi “Theory of Change”.

You can read more about this here.

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Making a document about the Ambassador role

We worked as a team to redesign the roles and responsibilities of a DSi Ambassador and their supporters, so everyone is clear on how to take part in the group.

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Representing DSi at various events

Members of the Ambassador team have represented DSi at events, including:

• The International Disability Alliance youth committee
• Sweden’s awareness month
• Conference of State Parties at the UN in New York.

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We are looking forward to another productive year working with the DSi team!