bilities. Many members of the Lead-er Forum group members also par-ticipated in national lobbying and advocacy events. A shared learning event is planned for Feb 2013 for members of the Leader Forum groups to meet together, share our ideas and experience and to support one other to develop the Leader Forum Groups throughout the year. Throughout 2012 the National Lead-er Forum Co-Ordinator, Naoise Cun-ningham, spoke and met with all interested CILs about developing Leader Groups. Naoise is available to support any CIL looking to devel-op a Leader Forum and it is hoped that we will see new Leader Forum groups in Limerick and Mayo in 2013. If you would like further infor-mation on developing a forum please contact Naoise at naoisecun-ningham@dublincil.org or by phone on 086 7744991.

It’s been a busy time for the Leader Forum groups around the country. This newsletter sets out some of the developments and events that took place in 2012 for Leader Forum groups. However, this is just a small sample of the vibrant activity of what is happening throughout the country with Leader Forum groups. In 2012 as new groups are in the planning stag-es, development stages and some of the groups are actively up and run-ning. As well as meeting locally, Lead-er Forum groups have now started to meet regionally to share ideas, expe-riences and achievements across counties. Members of Leader Forum groups across the country were invited to meet one another at the Film Fleadh and the Galway Fringe Festival and most recently at the Fashion Sow cel-ebrating ability on Dec 3rd for the In-ternational Day of Persons with Disa-

Reflecting on 2012

Regional Meet Ups & Exchanges

2012 provided the first opportunity for members of Leader Forum groups around the country to come together, visit one another and attend one an-others events. One example during the year was Leaders from all forum groups were invited to the Galway Film Fleadh to celebrate the participa-tion of Galway Leader Forum mem-bers in two films. Marian Maloney Nolan featured in a film, Love at First Sight which documents Marian’s life with the support of her guide dog Yaz. Marian highlights that she is many things, a woman, a mother, a sister, a friend, a dancer, a business woman, a trainer, an animal lover and her disa-bility is just a part of her identi-

ty. After sharing a lovely lunch, the group then attended the screening of ‘Welcome to Our World’, a film highlight access issues in Galway. Welcome to Our World, directed by Margueretta Darcy, featured GLF members Ciara D’eath & Eileen Gormley. The experience of Gal-way Leaders was shared by those from the Cork and Clare groups as they discussed the challenges around accessibility. The groups were also invited to a pampering day to celebrate International Women’s Day and a Fashion Show to highlight ability on the Interna-tional Day of Persons with Disabil-itites.

Special points of in-terest:

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Leader Forum Update 2012 Inside this issue:

Reflecting on 2012 1

Regional Meet Ups 1

Cork Peer Forum 2

Galway Leader Forum 3

Clare Leader Forum 4

Sligo Leader Forum 5

The LF Model 6

Benefits & Outcomes 7

Moving Forward 8

Jan—Dec 2012 Volume 1, Issue 1

The Cork CIL Peer Forum met for the first time early in 2012 and have been involved in a number of events. The group grew from a series of workshops in 2011 and since they formed in 2012 they have had sessions around happiness and looking after ourselves, decision making and the responsibility and freedoms that come with being accountable for decisions, and we have looked at the things that we can and can’t control and how to manage them. A series of fantastic guest speakers have included a psychotherapist and a lifecoach, journalist and Sports Development Officer amongst others. Recent events have included stress management, communi-cations, decision making and recreation. Rhona Coughlan of the Cork Peer Group showcased a stunning integrated dance performance with her colleagues in a group called Spoken Dance. Audience mem-bers, including members of the Clare and Galway Leader Forum groups, were si-lenced and amazed by the movements and stories told by the group. Inspired by the performance, it is planned that some of the Leader Forum Groups will come together to try out this form of dance for themselves in the next year. You will find their piece, ‘Don’t Go with a quick search on YouTube. The Cork CIL Peer Forum, inspired by what’s happening in Galway for the International Day of Persons with Dis-abilities, recently met to discuss disability and fashion. To close the year, the Cork CIL Peer Forum took a break from the mayhem of Christmas preparations on Saturday 15th Dec. With outdoor education company Will and Away, the session revolved around connecting with na-ture, relaxing and renewing our energy. The session began in the park identifying nature’s resources and increasing our awareness of nature. The materials collected were then used to kindle a fire and the Peer Forum relaxed around the fire and reflected on nature and refreshing our own energy.

The second part of the afternoon involved Chinese Shao-Lin Kung Fu, a 1500 year old art developed by the Shaolin monks at the Honan Temple for health, mental and physical conditioning, and self-defence. The Peer Forum tried breathing and movement techniques to relax, refresh and energise the body.

Over tea and sandwiches at the end of the afternoon, the Peer Forum dis-cussed that it was very enjoyable worthwhile experience and a great chance to escape the stresses of the season.

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The Cork CIL Peer Forum

The Galway Leader Forum (GLF) was established by Galway CIL with the sup-port of CIL Carmichael House in 2011. The GLF piloted a new model which has been the basis for many of the oth-er groups around the country that fol-lowed. The Galway Leader Forum meet monthly and focus on advocating for equality and social inclusion. Where you find any Leader Forum, you find good tea and cake. The Galway Leader Forum toasted their first birth-day this year and enjoyed an afternoon tea to celebrate. This gave us a chance to come together to talk about what is going on for members, to encourage and support one another where we may be struggling and most important-ly to enjoy ourselves and reflect on the achievements of the Galway Leader Forum over the past year.

International Women’s Day To celebrate International Women’s Day, the Galway Leader Forum or-ganised a Pampering Day and invited CILs and Leader Forum groups. The day highlighted the double discrimi-nation that women with disabilities experience and highlighted the value of equality and rights for women with disabilities. A group of women with disabilities called Pretty Fingers, who have trained in beauty and set up a business, provided manicures and hand massage, others opted to get their make up done. The event saw a great turnout of women with disabilities and the Galway Leader Forum will continue to advocate for rights for women with disabilities.

The International Day for Persons with Disabilities The Galway Leader Forum celebrated the Internation-al Day of Persons with Disabilities on Dec 3rd with their Fashion Show. After some mulled wine and mince pies, the show featuring 11 models with disabilities kicked off for an evening of glamour. The theme of the International Day of Persons with disabilities, ‘Removing barri-ers to create an inclusive and accessible society’ is core to the Gal-way Leader Forum. To showcase this, members of the Galway Leader Forum and representatives of other organisations working in the area of disability took to the catwalk to show their beauty, individuality and style and to highlight inclusion over segregation as they shared the catwalk with professional models. The Galway Leader Forum have worked in collaboration with Galway City Council for many events to promote social inclusion. The Mayor of Galway closed the Fashion Show by emphasising the abilities of those involved in the Fashion Show and the Leader Forum.

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The Galway Leader Forum

The Clare Leader Forum

The Clare Leader Forum began planning in 2011 as a core group. The Leader Forum members then took part in a series of training workshops and met regularly throughout the year to discuss issues of interest including Personal Assistance Services, the provision of quality services to people with disabilities and research in to direct payments. The Clare Leader Forum have been active in linking with other Leader Forum groups, sharing their experi-ence and learning from others. Members of the Clare Leader Forum travelled to meet members of other forum groups at the Galway Film Fleadh and at the fashion show marking the International Day for Per-sons with disabilities. The Clare Leader Forum are particularly interested in advocacy and campaigning and were central to the development of the Center for Independent Living pre-budget submission. The group were involved in several awareness raising and campaigning events throughout the year.

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The Sligo Leader Forum came together in 2012 for the first time and are developing month by month. The focus for the Sligo Leader Forum has been bringing people together in a relaxed and informal where to meet, share ideas, experience new things and in 2012 much of their time has with the Model Sligo Gallery and the Sligo Myths and Legends Society and a visit to Parkes Castle followed by a boat trip on Lough Gill has looked at the culture of Sligo, heritage and identity. The group have met to discuss Per-sonal Assistance services and the supports that they receive from Sligo CIL and plan a training session to address some of the issues that arose in the new year

In keeping with a summer of the Arts, the Sligo Leader Forum hosted a wonderful Sligo Leader Forum meeting in the Model Sligo. Leaders partici-pated in a guided tour of the Yeats exhibition with fantastic audio descrip-tion of paintings. It wouldn’t be a trip to Sligo without a taste of something from the Yeats family. Leader Forum members enjoyed a lovely lunch afterwards in the Model where they planned their next set of events. The Sligo Leader Forum are fearless and determined to challenge stereotypes and what people expect of them. It looks like next steps may be some Ex-treme Paint Balling or shooting. A visit to Parkes Castle and a boat trip on Lough Gill provided some time for the Sligo Leader Forum members to relax and enjoy na-ture and catch up with one an-other while listening to the histo-ry, poetry and music of Sligo. Accessibility remains a huge pri-ority for the Sligo Leader Forum and members continue to push the boundaries to address acces-sibility issues. The Sligo Leader Forum closed their year with a workshop around activism in Europe and the Strasbourg Freedom Drive. Here the value of active citizenship was discussed around getting involved in the Freedom Drive. This was followed by a Christmas lunch brimming with festive spirit.

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The Sligo Leader Forum Page 5

The Leader Forum Model

A National Leader Forum was identified as vital to providing sustained leader support independent of any

one organisation or service provider. The NLF is a space where Leaders meet to break down isolation ,

build peer support and build their capacity as Leaders, in order to influence the delivery of quality PA ser-

vices. The NLF acts as a powerful lobby group for the development of PA services nationwide.

The NLF promotes networking, relationship building and peer support. It is hoped that via the NLF pro-

cess, individuals may increase awareness of social justice and equality. According to research in to an NLF

in 2005, Leaders expressed that they found that peer support is the most powerful means of building

confidence and developing skills in the management of their service. The Leader Forum project is pre-

sented as the vehicle towards building this peer support at local, regional and national level.

Encouraging members to get involved is a challenge for CILs across the country. In analysing past failures

of engaging members, it was agreed by the CIL CMH board that this Leader Forum must be developed

from the bottom up and must be owned by its’ members. This has proved successful in engaging Leaders

and serves to reinforce the bottom up peer led approach of CILs as user led organisations. The project

began with support to individuals at local level to engage in county based leader fora and participation at

national level is built from there.

The term "bottom up" refers to decision making that comes from community members or service users.

This is in contrast to traditional methods of top down decision making which refers to decision making by

‘professionals’ or ‘officials’. Leaders, are the experts with the best knowledge, experience and abilities to

impact the decision-making processes that impact the lives of Leaders.

This means that Leaders have control and a voice as citizens and as service users of CIL. The LF supports

people with disabilities to participate in the design, planning and execution of programmes, campaigns

and policy. The decision making process is more democratic and reinforces CIL as a user-led grass roots

organisation. The bottom up approach focuses on capacity building and supporting active citizenship and

community participation, where decision-making is informed by, negotiated by and owned by the com-

munity.

Structure Options for a National Leader Forum

Several options for participation of members were identified in 2005 in

consultation with CILs and Leaders; i) A Representative Structure: Members of the NLF would be the elected

representatives of local or regional Leader groups , ii) A Strategic Skills Based Structure: Members of the

NLF would be Leaders selected for the skills and expertise they would bring to the forum. iii) An Open

Membership Structure: Open to all users of PA & CIL services, semi-users and those on waiting lists.

Participation in a Leader Forum at local level in all cases is based on an open membership structure. This

facilitates maximum participation of Leaders.

Participation in a Leader Forum at National Level is based on a blend of the representative structure and the

strategic skills based structure. Members participate either to represent a local or regional leader forum or

to fulfil the need for particular skills or knowledge in the NLF. Those involved at local level feed in to the

National Leader Forum through their representative.

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The Benefits of a National Leader Forum include:

Sharing; of information, knowledge & experience

Peer Support

Networking

Solidarity and development of a shared collective voice

Lobbying tool

Awareness raising

Watchdog: guidelines and standards

Consultative tool for Service Providers

Why county based Leader Fora?

Through meetings of Leader Fora throughout the country it has emerged that one of the main purposes for a

locally based leader forum is Peer Support. Shared experience, information, mentoring, and mutually sup-

porting one another has shown to be hugely valuable. Many Leaders living in rural areas expressed experienc-

es of isolation. The Leader Forum provides an opportunity for Leaders to identify the needs of Leaders locally

and advise service providers accordingly. In this way, the Leader Forum monitors quality and standards of ser-

vices. In relation to services delivered by CIL, the LF acts as a bridge between a CIL and it’s members and en-

hances communication between the organisation and it’s members. As relationships develop, and needs are

identified, members of Leader Fora begin to act as a collective voice and become engaged in pursuing policy

change, development of services and campaigns.

Long-term Outcomes of County Based Fora & National Leader Forum as identified by CILs:

To capture Leader thinking across the country and mould a unified lobby group of Leaders

To have a real user say in service provision quality, style and level

To rally the group for the push to ‘mainstream’ present PA services

To break down the isolation barriers that are weakening individual spirit, resolve and voice.

To plan, train for and lobby for Direct Payments

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Moving Forward

These are simply examples of some of the activities which have come from Leader Forum groups over

the course of 2012. The Offaly Leader Forum met several times throughout the year and the Roscom-

mon Leader Forum also met for the first time in 2012.

Many other CILs have expressed interest in development of a Leader Forum including Mayo, Longford

and Leitrim and Limerick. The biggest barrier for CILs to develop a Leader Forum include staff resources,

finance and time as in many cases CILs are focussed on day to day survival.

CIL will continue to support the development and the expansion of the Leader Forum groups in 2013.

Member Leaders have expressed an interest in prioritising regional and national development in 2013.

Support from the National Leader Forum Co-ordinator is available for any CIL or group of CIL Leaders

interested in planning and developing a Leader Forum group.

A full background report around the consultation process, the model and development of the Leader

Forum project is available from CIL upon request.

For further information please contact:

Naoise Cunningham

National Leader Forum Co-Ordinator

Center for Independent Living

Carmichael House

North Brunswick St

Dublin 7

Email: naoisecunningham@dublincil.org

Tel: 086 7744991

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