Breakout Session:
My Rights Matter: From Empowerment to Action – Self-Advocates Leading Change
This presentation is led by self-advocates from three committees: Inclusive Minds, We Matter, and Talk It Up! The collaborative creators of MyRightsMatter.ca, a website made by people with disabilities, for people with disabilities, to learn about their rights.
In this session, panelists will share why learning about rights is important and how learning from each other builds confidence, leadership, and community. They will talk about their own experiences with self-advocacy and what it means to speak up, be heard, and make choices about their own lives.
The panel will also explore how working together helps create a stronger, unified voice to promote and protect human rights. Panelists will speak honestly about barriers people still face and what needs to change.
Through stories, examples, and interactive discussion, attendees will learn how self-advocates collaborate to share knowledge, break down barriers, and foster inclusion. Attendees will learn how to better support people to understand and exercise their rights, and how to create more inclusive, respectful environments.
Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of the importance of self-advocacy, peer learning, and human rights—and clear actions they can take to support real change.
Panelists:
Philip Bialk
A citizen of acceptance and a champion of inclusion, Philip Bialk is Chair of the Inclusive Minds self-advocate committee. He is also a passionate and public advocate for human rights and social justice, using his voice and lived experience to challenge systems and expand what’s possible for others.
Philip doesn’t just speak about inclusion—he lives it, questions it, and pushes it forward.
Donovan Thiessen
Donovan is a passionate self-advocate, big thinker and fearless question-asker who believes in breaking down barriers—not finding better ways to work around them. His life has taken him across continents, through unexpected challenges and into a range of work and life experiences that have shaped how he sees the world.
Those experiences fuel Donovan’s commitment to creating a future where people with disabilities can build sustainable lives, find meaningful work and be treated as full human beings. Through Talk it Up!, and People First of Manitoba, he brings people together because he knows we are stronger when we work together.
Donovan dreams big, speaks his mind and isn’t afraid to ask the questions that need asking. For him, self-advocacy is about freedom—and making sure barriers don’t decide how far people can go.
Paul Rittinger
Paul is a passionate self-advocate who believes we are all human beings first, with the same rights and the same right to opportunity. He wants people to see his abilities—not decide his limits for him.
Paul is especially passionate about meaningful, equitable employment and believes accessible workplaces create opportunities for everyone. After years of work experience and volunteering, he knows he has something to give this world—and he wants the chance to show it.
Connection matters deeply to Paul. He loves meeting people, building relationships and, of course, talking to fellow dog lovers. His dream is to become a dog trainer and keep creating a life filled with meaningful work, opportunity and connection.
Kelsey Sobiak
Kelsey is a published author, student, self-advocate, policy creator and advocate for change. Her memoir, Still Becoming: A Lived Exerience Memoir of Strength and Becoming was published in April.
As a member of Talk it Up! Self-Advocate committee and the Speakers Bureau, Kelsey uses her voice to advocate for people with disabilities and for meaningful change. She believes people have the right to dignity, respect, quality lives, and the money, access, supports and resources needed to make those lives possible.
Kelsey is also a strong believer in the power or representation. She wants to be the kind of role model who makes people think, “If she can do that, maybe I can too.”
Whether she is writing, speaking, advocating or creating change, Kelsey is driven by a simple goal: helping people and making change for a better future. Her lived experience gives her a dual perspective that strengthens her advocacy and drives meaningful change.
