Letter from America. Daniel and true co-production

By Diana E. Matteson, Director of International Programs & Development, YAP, Inc.

We’ve all done it. And perhaps beautifully. Done the PowerPoint, practiced our lines, divvied up the responsibilities if we have co-presenters. All to share our mission, our daily labor, our vision of what makes for a better world. And after we squeeze in the relevant information, we share a story. A service user’s story, with permissions granted for real names and actual photos, maybe artwork or a direct quote. And to be most effective-there needs to be a face and a real story. But are we doing that individual’s story justice? Is what we consider the most relevant what really made a difference for that person?

What if we shared the stage, the opportunity to educate and potentially influence, the power with the individual most invested, the “service user”?

We decided to find out. Alongside Daniel, an autism self-advocate, aka “service user,”; we composed a proposal for the 2019 European Social Network (ESN) Conference and sent it off in darkest winter with the conference site of Milan in June a sunny thought to sustain us through the snow. Just about the time winter reached its icy limits, word came from ESN that our proposal was accepted.

Here is where the magic begins. Over a matter of months, we created the presentation. Daniel worked one-on-one with the local director of Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where he lives and remotely with me in Washington, DC and our colleague in Galway, Ireland. Every aspect of the presentation from the images, font and color choices in the PowerPoint to the content of the presentation and script involved Daniel. The process was co-productive with Daniel taking the lead at times and allowing others to share expertise and guide in other moments. 

In a true collaborative space, Daniel led us in how his story should be told. Daniel’s journey from defined-by-a-diagnosis to advocate, documentarian and international presenter is remarkable, and I invite you to read it.

Daniel Hackett

But it is the development of a proposal, a presentation, a script and many dress rehearsals later in the sharing of power, true co-production, to authentically tell a story that I invite you to consider and celebrate with me.

YAP is an international nonprofit organization exclusively committed to the provision of community-based alternatives to out-of-home care through direct service, advocacy and policy change since 1975. yapinc.org

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