Voice at The Table (VATT) is a project of AMIDA.
VATT supports people with cognitive disabilities to know their rights and speak up. VATT aim is for people with cognitive disabilities to be included on boards, committees and consultations.
All VATT training is co designed and co delivered by staff with cognitive disability. This includes people with an intellectual disability and people with an acquired brain injury.
VATT Graduate Training is for people with a cognitive disability wanting to:
- Learn about their rights
- How to speak up and make change
- Become leaders in the community
The Inclusion Training builds capacity in staff who want to make sure their meetings and consultations are accessible for people with cognitive disability. For example, staff working in:
- Government departments
- Disability service providers
- Community organisations
- Mainstream organisations
- The Monthly Meetup is a peer led group in which VATT Graduates support each other in their self advocacy journey.
- VATT Chat is both a podcast and a 3CR radio show, getting the living experience of people with a cognitive disability out to the world.
Timeline of Voice at the Table
2016
The first Voice at the Table project was started by Sue Smith at the Self Advocacy Resource Unit (SARU). SARU worked with Reinforce and Brain Injury Matters. This project focused on training self advocates with cognitive disability and supporting people working at The Victorian Government to run accessible meetings.
2018
The Victorian Office for Disability and the Department of Health and Human Services provided funding to continue the project. SARU employed staff to run the project.
2019
VATT received a Victorian Disability Award for Excellence in Creating Inclusive Communities.
2020
2 years of funding received from the Australian Government – Information, Linkages and Capacity Building Program.
2022
2 years of funding received from the Australian Government – Information, Linkages and Capacity Building Program. This funding will end in June 2024.
