DFI Media Training for Self-Advocates concludes for 2023

We had a great start to the week with a celebration of our self-advocates who completed a media training course with DFI over four Mondays in November.

We were delighted to welcome jurnalist Alison O'Reilly from The Irish Examiner to present the certificates to the class with DFI's Director of Advocacy and Inclusion Dr Emer Begley, who are pictured in our main image with self-advocate Roisin Lenihan.  Alison offered the participants some great advice and insight into sharing their stories in the media. Emer spoke about the importance of the lived experience of self-advocates in DFI's work. The training was delivered by DFI's Communications Manager Brenda Drumm (pictured below with self-advocate Eoghan Curry). 

Congratulations to the Class of 2023 from all of us in DFI!

Eoghan Curry

Roisin Lenihan

Gemma Willis

Donna Walsh 

Claire-Ann Power 

Carolyn Akintola

Lena Mulligan (Carolyn's PA)

Steven Neville 

Laura Murphy, CRC

Dr Caroline Winstanley (staff member with CRC)

While the media training takes place under the DFI Self-Advocacy Programme, we also facilitated a number of staff members and a PA to do the training this time around so as they could be there to support self-advocates. 

With thanks to our Member Organisations CRC, IWA, MDI and RehabCare, for their support of the self-advocates to do the training.

What is self-advocacy? 

Self-advocacy is essentially the action of communicating and representing one’s needs, views or interests. It is about understanding your rights, speaking up, taking action and taking control of one’s life. Where people cannot speak up for themselves they are supported to do so by others. Effective self-advocacy will mean that a person has good information, training, the right support when needed, opportunities to learn by doing, confidence in themselves and will understand that self-advocacy can be at an individual or group level.

Check out some more images below including a group shot of the media trainees.