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…
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…
Apply Now for the Study session “Mind the gap: supporting young disabled people’s right to live independently and to be included in the community through exploring mental health as a disability issue”
2018 was a difficult year for ENIL – just before the year began, we learnt that we had lost the European Commission operating grant, which we had for a number of years. So, at the beginning of the year, we had to say goodbye to our Director Zara Todd, who had joined us just a…
In the November issue of the Newsletter we wrote about the protest of Eduardo Jorge in front of the Portuguese Assembly on 3 December, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Eduardo, who lives in a nursing home, is fighting for his right to choose where and with whom to live. During the protest, he…
How to set up the system of Personal Assistance in Hungary for persons with disabilities In the Hungarian disability movement, great work was done by many disabled persons and their allies, for example György Könczei, Pál Gadó, Gábor Zalabai, László Hajdi (ZALABAI P-NÉ 1997). Hungarian IL Centers (ÖÉK) were organized in the ‘90s with the…
Last month, we were pleased to welcome Naiara Santillana at our Brussels Office, for a 6-month internship supported by the Global Training Programme by Fomento San Sebastian. We have asked Naiara to introduce herself to our readers in the article below. Hello all, My name is Naiara Santillana. I am from San Sebastián (Spain) and…
With Christmas around the corner, the disability community has gathered in Brussels for the European Disability and Development Week (from 3 December, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities until 7 December, Human Rights Day). For ENIL, the week started on the 2nd of December, when some of the ENIL members, staff and Board came…
Building partnerships for the implementation of SDGs and the CRPD As part of this year’s European Disability and Development Week (EDDW), ENIL organised an event on Promoting Independent Living through Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It was part of a series of events, addressing disability issues in the context of development cooperation, coordinated by the International…
The 2018 is almost finished, and we are looking forward for the 2019 to come! And how else could it be, as it is a very important year for us. Not only are we celebrating our 30th birthday, but we are also organizing our 9th Freedom Drive, which – that is our ambition – will…
Throughout the world, children with disabilities are separated from families due to stigma, discrimination, and economic marginalization. Children with disabilities are more at risk of being placed in institutions than other children, and they are often left out of deinstitutionalization and community programs. Without community-based supports to help families keep their children with disabilities, children…
Six Members of the Icelandic Parliament were overheard making sexist and ableist comments about a number of prominent women in a bar. This is inexcusable hate speech and we call for their immediate resignation. We, the European Disability Forum (EDF), the European Network on Independent Living (ENIL) and the European Women’s Lobby (EWL) are outraged…
Brussels, 3 December – This International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the European Network on Independent Living (ENIL) is celebrating all disabled people who are using this day to demand their rights. One of these is Eduardo Jorge in Portugal, who left the nursing home to camp out in front of the Portuguese Assembly, while…
It is normal to say that we are still far from Sweden, but we are already very close to Sweden in some areas. At least in Alytus, Lithuania and at least regarding personal assistance services. Is it hard to believe? It is possible, when you want and try to connect the community to a common…
Fifteen years after the first Independent Living Congress in Tenerife, Spain (2003), it was time to reflect on the experience of over 15 years of work – the successes and the mistakes – and the effect these changes have had on people’s lives. ENIL was pleased to be able to support the Congress, which was…
