Gobierno Fácil

People with functional diversity, such as intellectual disabilities or mental health illnesses, have been able to participate for the first time in public issues. But it is necessary to add that this project goes far beyond the validation of texts with easy-to-read methodology. Easy Government also:

• Incorporates the views that normally fly under the radar of institutions
• Generates safe spaces for participation and empowerment for these people, where they can express their views, concerns and expectations
• Removes barriers and facilitates access of information and participation

We heard a phrase that sums up the excitement of the project from one of the young people at the exit of one of the workshops: “this had never happened to me, I had never felt like the protagonist”.

Now, almost 20 workshops have been held where more than 100 people with disabilities have participated. Attendance at these workshops implies an impact on the lives of each one of these people, but the incidence goes much further. The contributions that they have made to the public policies worked on in the sessions may positively affect the more than 100,000 people with disabilities who live in Aragon, as well as their environment, family members, caregivers, and also migrants, the elderly or people with little reading comprehension. In addition to the action plans and laws, many disability recognition sentences, school enrolment forms, consumer and justice guides and brochures and classic books have also been adapted for easy reading.

Gobierno Fácil has a multiplying effect internally and externally. On the one hand, other departments of the Government of Aragon are beginning to adapt their texts and forms to easy reading. On the other hand, more Autonomous Communities have also begun to work on it, such as Castilla y León. But the project is perfectly replicable also in any type of organization anywhere in the world. A space, facilitators and simple materials are needed, since it is the people with disabilities themselves who address their needs and carry out the adaptations of the texts in such a way that they can be understood by all.