Through their Youth Innovation Project, they plan to increase awareness of intellectual disabilities and to improve the lives of their peers with intellectual disabilities by creating accepting spaces for them.

Coumba and Mariama’s project has three components. First, they will create awareness campaigns that will advocate for inclusion in aspects of community life such as schooling, social activities, and employment. They will then host inclusive sport competitions and cultural activities such as traditional singing, dancing and poetry. Following these activities, there will be discussions on intellectual disabilities and inclusion to educate other young people about intellectual disability and the capabilities of their peers living with intellectual disability.

These youth leaders will use these activities to spread their message of equality and change the perception of intellectual disability in Senegal. As members of the Unified Generation, they are working to shift the focus from disability to ability!