Finally, 2019 is here and our 9th Freedom Drive is closer than you think! January is almost over and we are just 8 months away from our big biannual meeting and our 30th Anniversary celebration, so it’s time for you to start preparing.
In this month’s article, we would like to give you an idea of the (not finalized yet) agenda of the Freedom Drive, and to show you day by day what will happen. Please note that the detailed schedule and timing will be announced in the coming months.
Monday 30 September 2019: Arrival of the Freedom Drivers in Brussels // ENIL staff meeting // Last preparations // Meeting with the volunteers*
Tuesday 1 October 2019: Registration opens // Meetings of the national delegations with MEPs // Workshops (4 – 5 workshops, taking place at Mundo J) ** // Board meeting
Wednesday 2 October 2019: Protest march through Brussels and related activities (speeches, meeting with press etc.) // Hearing in the European Parliament on the Freedom of Movement // Party for ENIL’s 30th birthday***
Thursday 3 October 2019: Conference on Independent Living and the future of the European Disability Strategy (at the European Commission, Charlemagne building) // ENIL General Assembly // Regional Team meetings and Youth network meeting (TBC)
Friday 4 October 2019: Departure of the Freedom Drivers // First meeting of the new Board // ENIL staff meeting – Freedom Drive evaluation
* We take this opportunity to make the first call for volunteers during the Freedom Drive week. If you are based in Brussels and interested in helping out during the event, please contact Kamil Goungor, our Development Officer and contact point for the Freedom Drive at: kamil.goungor@enil.eu.
** The topics of the workshops will be announced in the coming weeks.
*** The venue of the party will be announced in the coming weeks.
And some reminders for the end
Here you can find the first list with the coordinators (which will be updated once more people come forward), so if you are interested in participating in the Freedom Drive, feel free to contact them.
If you are one of the coordinators, here you will find the 5+1 steps every Freedom Drive coordinator should follow.
We have also prepared a comprehensive fundraising guide with various ideas that might be helpful, as well as a list with accessible hotels.
Last but not least, we would like to remind you about our call for national coordinators – a voluntary, but highly important role for each Freedom Drive. As you know, we already have some people that expressed their interest in doing the national/local/organizational coordination, but, we are still missing some countries and we want the whole Europe to come and join us, so don’t hesitate to take on the role, and we will support you as much as possible! If you are interested in this role, or you want to learn more about it, check our past article or contact Kamil Goungor.
Even if you do not want to be a coordinator, do not hesitate to spread this article among your networks, especially if you know someone that you believe would be interested. You can also send his/her contact details to Kamil and he will approach them directly.
To stay updated about the 2019 Freedom Drive, please make sure to check our website, the Freedom Drive Facebook page, as well as our Newsletters.
#2019FreedomDrive #FD2019
