2018 was an extremely eventful year for the Independent Living in Ireland. Last July, we changed our name from Centre for Independent Living (CIL) to Independent Living Movement (ILMI) to reflect our all-Island approach. Our vision: An Ireland where disabled persons have freedom, choice and control over all aspects of their lives and can fully participate…
For the third year in a row, ENIL is hosting two European Voluntary Service volunteers at its Brussels Office, now under the new framework of the European Solidarity Corps (ESC). At the beginning of March, Lisa Madl, from Austria, joined the ENIL Secretariat and will stay with us until 31 October. Lisa will contribute to…
On 13 March, the Association for Self-Advocacy from Zagreb, Croatia and ENIL co-organised a roundtable on ‘The Process of Deinstitutionalisation in Croatia and the European Pillar of Social Rights’. The roundtable was supported by the Office of the European Parliament in Croatia and brought together all the key stakeholders involved in the process of DI…
Earlier this month, a noted academic and disability rights activist Mike Oliver passed away. He was key to the promotion and adoption of the Social Model of Disability. Oliver was revolutionary in the UK as a disabled person living independently in society. His academic work contributed to the creation of disability studies as an academic…
On 20 September, the European Network on Independent Living (ENIL), the Centre for Independent Living Sofia (CIL Sofia), the Validity Foundation and the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC) submitted a petition to the Petitions Committee (PETI Committee) at the European Parliament. The petition concerns the planned use of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIFs) for…
There are only 6 months left until ENIL Freedom Drive 2019, which means just half a year until we meet with many of you in Brussels, and together show the world that we are here, proud, strong and visible! Not to forget that we will also be celebrating our 30th Anniversary! In this month’s FD…
The European Network on Independent Living (ENIL) and the European Disability Forum (EDF) are pleased to launch a collection of examples from different EU Member States, which facilitate the right of disabled people to live independently in the community. The collection of examples, collected through a Europe-wide survey in 2017, seeks to promote and encourage…
In November and December 2018, the European Network on Independent Living (ENIL) piloted the Personal Assistance Checklist (PA Checklist) – a new tool for assessing personal assistance schemes from the perspective of independent living. The PA Checklist was created by ENIL, as part of the project ‘User-Led Personal Assistance in the European Union: A Critical…
In less than 3 months, there will be elections for new Members of the European Parliament (2019 – 2024) in all EU Member States. In preparation for the elections, ENIL has prepared an Elections Toolkit. The Toolkit is aimed at disabled people, disabled people’s organisations and our allies. In the Toolkit, you will find: ✓…
In view of the upcoming report on the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in Spain, ENIL and FEVI (Federación Vida Independiente) prepared a submission on Article 19 CRPD – the right to live independently and to be included in the community. The Committee on the Rights of…
Decree-Law No. 129/2017 of October 9(1) embedded the so-called “Independent Living Support Model” in the Portuguese legislation. Even though the model has not been applied yet, it has already been amended by Decree-Law No. 27/2019 of February 14(2). This legislative scenario, which does not even respect basic Personal Assistance requirements, represents an abusive appropriation of…
Our goal to set up the system of Personal Assistance in Hungary has come to a very important stage. On February 14th, we organised a panel discussion for activists and professionals to come together and contribute to form our strategy. The Independent Living of persons with disabilities is what we envision in the long-term future….
Only 7 months left until ENIL Freedom Drive 2019, our big biannual meeting, as well as our 30th Anniversary celebration, and week by week we are adding more pieces to the final agenda puzzle. In this month’s article, we would like to introduce the workshops* we are going to have during the Freedom Drive. The…
Do you know somebody who could make a difference as a new ENIL Board member? If yes, please consider nominating them for the upcoming Board elections on 3rd October 2019. ENIL – the European Network on Independent Living – is looking for new active Board members, to be elected during the 2019 Freedom Drive, when…
Brussels and Sofia, 11 February 2019 – The European Network on Independent Living, the Centre for Independent Living Sofia and the Validity Foundation are calling on the Bulgarian Government to immediately suspend a programme which will channel European Structural and Investment (ESI) Funds into the building of a large number of residential care facilities for…
The struggle for personal assistance has been long and very hard in Slovenia. Our association was a pioneer and for many years we were lonely riders who have been fighting for personal assistance according to the ENIL principles. Our vision of personal assistance as a basic human right, not just as new social right, was…
2019 is a special year for the European Network on Independent Living (ENIL) – we are celebrating our 30th Anniversary! To mark this occasion, we will be taking stock of what has happened during this time, speak to the some of our founders and look at what we can do to make the movement stronger…
On 14 January, ENIL, together with the European Disability Forum (EDF), Disability Rights International (DRI) and the Validity Foundation sent a joint letter to Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, Marianne Thyssen. In the letter, we have asked Commissioner Thyssen to maintain the wording in Article 6(2) (Equality between men and women…
At the end of 2018, the Independent Living Association (Associazione Vita Indipendente ONLUS) held three protests for independent living in Florence, Italy. The protests took place on 20 and 30 November, as well as on 18 December in front of the Regional Council of Tuscany (which is something like a regional parliament), and received significant…
This January, a one-man committee submitted a proposal about the Act on Support and Service for Persons with Certain Functional Impairments to the Swedish government. The proposal entails such severe changes to current rights that – if implemented – big institutions will be built in Sweden again. Above all, there are three suggestions that would jeopardise…
