The European Network on Independent Living (ENIL) is looking for a full time Policy Coordinator for its Brussels office, with a starting date as soon as possible. The Policy Coordinator will be responsible for planning and implementing ENIL’s advocacy strategy at the European and international level. To apply, please send your CV, a motivation letter (explaining how…
Manfred Srb, one of ENIL’s co-founders at the European Parliament in Strasbourg in 1989, and a member of ENIL’s first Board passed away on 8 January 2022, a few days after his wife Annemarie Srb Rössler. In his native Austria and other German-speaking countries, Manfred was a well-known and successful advocate for disability rights, in particular, for…
As we near the end of the year, we wish to take an opportunity to reflect on what we have done, and highlight other memorable moments. Instead of the usual Newsletter, we will take you through the year 2021 at the European Network on Independent Living. We begin with some facts and move on to…
Brussels, 3 December 2021 – The European Network on Independent Living – ENIL has followed the use of European Union (EU) funds for more than a decade. We know that EU funds are sometimes used to build new institutions or to refurbish institutions. We also know that EU funds are being used to transfer disabled…
The annual meeting of our EU Funds for Our Rights Campaign took place on 15 November. Due to the situation with COVID-19, the meeting took place online, like the last year. The meeting was attended by representatives from 11 EU Member States: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain, and…
My name is Laura Alčiauskaitė and I work as a TRIPS Project coordinator at ENIL. This October, 2021 I was planning to go to the HUMANIST conference where I was supposed to deliver a presentation about our project. As I’m based in Lithuania, I booked the flights from Kaunas to Rhodes Island and a return…
On the 24th November, ENIL held a webinar on accessible housing, an issue of major importance for us. It took place on Zoom and was recorded through ENIL’s YouTube channel. The event was introduced by ENIL’s Deputy Director Ines Bulic Cojocariu, and our first speaker was Thiandi Groof, a self-advocate from the Netherlands, who spoke…
I had the privilege of attending the European Law Academy (ERA) Annual conference on the rights of persons with disabilities from 17th – 19th November 2021. The main topic was the right to independent living, with presentations on disability human rights law, relating to a few different areas such as deinstitutionalisation (DI) and the right…
I am Melike, a new volunteer at ENIL. I was born and raised in Beşiktaş, Istanbul and moved to Brussels as of September 2021. I completed my undergraduate and graduate education at Istanbul Bilgi University Sociology and Cultural Studies programs. I took part in various projects and researches for 10 years in the Center for…
In 1991, five disabled Norwegians, three woman and two men, gained freedom and independency in their lives. How did they utilize this freedom? To ensure thousands of others the same possibilities through importing and developing citizen-led personal assistance in Norway. It is this entrepreneurial effort through three decades that we are now celebrating! On October…
Between the 21st and 23rd of September, ENIL held online the Freedom Surf conference, which replaced our usual flagship event of the Freedom Drive, that was postponed due to COVID-19 and the restrictions surrounding the pandemic. We had numerous events each day, such as meeting with ENIL and ENIL Youth Network boards, workshops, and interesting…
I had the privilege of representing ENIL in Genoa (Genova), Italy recently. To be more specific, the small town of Santa Margherita. A picturesque town that really showcased the beauty and wealth of the Northern part of Italy. We were hosted by the Italian organisation AFIDO. I went with a group of other disabled people…
At the European Network on Independent Living – ENIL, we started planning the next Freedom Drive, scheduled to take place from the 26th – 28th September 2022, in Brussels. However, whereas usually we would plan it with the assumption that many of our members and allies will take part, we feel we have to do…
The European Network on Independent Living – ENIL learned, with deep sorrow, that our former President and Board member Kapka Panayotova, passed away suddenly on Thursday, 14 October 2021, at the age of 65. Kapka served as a Board member at ENIL for several terms and was the President until standing down during the General…
France was reviewed by the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Committee) in August 2021. Meetings with the French DPOs took place at the beginning of August. Our French members, Coordination Handicap et Autonomie – Vie Autonome France, submitted a written contribution prior to the review. In its Concluding Observations (COs), the…
The Freedom Drive began in Strasbourg in 2003, at the initiative of late Martin Naughton, the Irish Independent Living pioneer. Every two years, it brought together Independent Living activists and allies from across Europe, first in Strasbourg, then in Brussels. In 2019, when the last Freedom Drive took place, over 200 people came together for…
The year 2021 is named as the EU Year of Rail, and this shows the importance of rail for the European Union and its future. Train is one of the most sustainable modes of transport, responsible for only 0.4% of transport emissions in the EU (being in the epicenter of the EU Climate Pact and…
Hello everyone, my name is Michael Goossens and I am the new Human Rights Officer at ENIL. I am happy to be part of the team, which has welcomed me and is helping me to integrate well and have the best tools to work and advance the fight for Independent living across Europe and beyond….
Vienna and Brussels, 22 September 2021 – In July 2020, Independent Living Austria (ILA) and the European Network for Independent Living (ENIL) submitted an official complaint to the European Commission, challenging the segregation and social exclusion of disabled people in facilities co-financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). At the heart of…
The European Network on Independent Living – ENIL has been commissioned by the European Disability Forum (EDF) to draft a report on deinstitutionalisation and independent living in EU global actions. We are looking at how funding provided by the European Union to other countries supports or hinders progress towards the right to independent living and…
