The Center for Disability Empowerment (CDE) in Columbus, Ohio proposed a project to develop a training academy built around fundamental rights of people with disabilities.
The Advocacy Excellence Training Academy (AETA) was developed to help people with disabilities build skills for both individual self-advocacy and broader systems change.
Through four connected learning modules, participants explore disability rights history, the Independent Living philosophy, community integration, public policy, and strategies for influencing decisions that affect people with disabilities.
The Academy’s approach emphasizes practical learning, peer connection, and participant-led action.
Explore disability rights history, the Independent Living movement, core principles, and the differences between individual and systems advocacy.
3 hours
Understand community integration rights, examine local barriers, and map the systems that support or limit independent living.
3 hours
Learn about legislative processes, finding elected officials, public comment, and developing and delivering testimony.
3.5 hours
Explore coalition building, power mapping, storytelling, and creating a practical community advocacy action plan.
4 hours
Alongside the curriculum overview, the Academy is designed with companion resources to support both facilitators and participants.
The Academy curriculum provides a foundation for helping people with disabilities develop advocacy knowledge, practice civic engagement, and establish action plans that can support continued leadership in their communities.
By connecting participants with Independent Living resources, advocacy partners, and opportunities for ongoing involvement, the program is designed to support advocacy that continues after the final session.
This project was funded with Title VII Part B funding to support activities to increase capacity to develop approaches or systems for providing IL services