Pronoun Comprehension in Persons with Down Syndrome
Currently studying Language and Linguistic Science, my Laidlaw research focused on pronoun comprehension in persons with Down Syndrome.
I am one of York’s current Laidlaw Scholars, and recently had the opportunity speak at both the Trade Union Congress and the opportunities offered to me through.
The Laidlaw Scholarship highlighted to me why we do what we do, and reinforced my love for human rights activism.
Background
I am the vice chair and empowerment and engagement officer of the Amnesty International UK Children's Human Rights Network. We campaign with and on behalf of children around the world. Empowering and engaging children and young people to take action on human rights issues that affect them. We are a team of 6 activists leading a network of over 16,000 members across the UK, working in collaboration with individuals, local student youth groups, the trade union network, and partner organisations.
- We develop and run our own campaigning and advocacy work
- Work with children and young people to know, claim, and take action on their rights
- Run social media platforms, and our own blog
- Develop resources for activists
Trade Union Congress and Amnesty UK
In September, I had the privilege of being invited alongside my colleague to the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to be a panelist on the joint Amnesty UK and NASUWT fringe session on children's human rights. This was a great learning experience for me to develop my public speaking skills especially in talking to different audiences. I have never been a panelist before, so was a learning curve for me. I picked up lots from the other speakers on public speaking, which I will adopt in the future. It was also a valuable experience to network with a broader group of people all with an interest in children's rights in different vicinities.
United Nations in Geneva
On the 28th September, one of my dreams came true and I got the opportunity to go to the UN in Geneva. The chair of the network and I participated in the Day of General Discussion on protecting and empowering children as human rights defenders. We were able to have a presence at the international level, and add our voices to the body of inspirational child and young human rights defenders, NGOs, and state/UN rapporteurs at the event. We were able to network and make new connections to support our future work. It was a very emotive, and inspirational day, one I will never forget. We were also able to spend time with the rest of the Amnesty International delegation from other sections around the world, including two phenomenal child HRDs from Peru. This is always special for me as it reinforces how vast the Amnesty movement is globally, and the strength we have when we work together.
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