The European Independent Living Day is celebrated each year on 5th May, under the slogan “Proud, Strong and Visible”. It is an opportunity for disabled people to demand the right to independent living, to raise awareness about the barriers they face and to stand in solidarity with people in institutions and those whose voices are not being heard.
The Independent Living Day was proclaimed by the ENIL Board in 2014, to give an opportunity to all disabled people and allies to stand up together for the right to Independent Living on the same day of the year. Since then, it is marked in a growing number of European countries through press conferences, events, protests, flash mobs, exhibitions and online events.
Every year, ENIL sets a different theme for the day. Some of the previous themes included “What Independent Living means to me”, transport, accessibility, segregation. We encourage our members to organise events related to this theme, or another theme of their choice. We organise an online event, or a public event in Brussels, and have a big social media action on the day. We invite those marking the Independent Living Day to send us photos, links to their events or messages, which we post on our Facebook page throughout the day. We also publish a Press Release, which can be adapted to different countries.
This year, the theme for the Independent Living Day is Youth. More information on how to take part can be found under upcoming Events.
Contact person: Kamil Goungor, Policy and Movement Support Officer: kamil.goungor@enil.eu
