On 3 October, the General Assembly of the European Network on Independent Living elected six new Board members, who will join the three Board members serving their second term. Out of the new Board members, five were elected to serve two terms (2019 – 2023) and one to serve one term (2019 – 2021). During…
Brussels, 2 October – Over 400 disabled people and allies from all over Europe have gathered in Brussels this morning tomarch in protest between the European Commission’s main headquarters, the Berlaymont, and the European Parliament building in Brussels. The activists, led by the European Network on Independent Living – ENIL, have one main demand: that…
The history of the Independent Living in Europe, and the European Network on Independent Living – ENIL cannot be confined to a timeline or a poster. To mark our 30th anniversary, we have decided to take you through some moments of ENIL’s history and to show how much of ENIL’s beginnings and the Independent Living…
Each Freedom Drive, we present a set of demands to Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). On this occasion, and while celebrating our 30th Anniversary, we have set out our three key demands, which we wish to bring to the attention of the newly elected MEPs. These are: Mainstream disability in all policy areas and…
Before every Freedom Drive, we publish a Participants Pack, with all the useful information needed to take part. In the Participants Pack, you will find information about the programme, the venues, ENIL’s General Assembly and Board elections, the ENIL Youth Network General Assembly and Board elections, as well as practical information about transport and emergency…
I am Hatiye, an illustrator and designer based in Istanbul, Turkey. I will be a volunteer for ENIL until the end of June. After waiting a long time to obtain my visa, I am very glad to join ENIL team. I am also lucky that I will catch the Freedom Drive 2019. I graduated from…
The European Days of Persons with Disabilities (EDPD) are taking place on 28-29 November, in Brussels. The topics this year will be: the EU Disability Strategy (what the EU did in the last 10 years and how it could improve in the next decade) and inclusive sports. The EDPD is an annual event co-organised by…
On 12 August, the European Network on Independent Living and the Alliance for Inclusive Education (ALLFIE), from the UK, submitted written comments to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), in the case of M.C. and others. v. Romania. ENIL and ALLFIE decided to intervene in the case to help the European Court understand that…
The Government of the Republic of Armenia has made a decision to donate land areas in Ararat province to the Armenian Caritas (a charity organization), where the organization plans to build a “Children’s City”. The project involves the construction of a “city”, with programmes aimed at children’s care, health, upbringing and education. Around 600 children…
In November 2018, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities adopted the General Comment No. 7 on the participation of persons with disabilities, including children with disabilities, through their representative organisations, in the implementation and monitoring of the Convention. This most recent General Comment is significant, among others, because it clarifies which organisations…
The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the European Disability Strategy (EDS) 2010-2020, which is the EU’s main policy document in the field of disability. It sets out objectives and actions for implementing disability policy at the EU level. EDS will end in 2020, which is why the European Commission is now evaluating…
Only one month left to our biggest event of the year, the ENIL Freedom Drive 2019! It might be vacations period for most, but here at ENIL we are working in full mode, in order to prepare everything by the 1st of October and be ready to welcome you in Brussels! In this month’s update,…
ENIL’s 2018 Annual Report is out! This report provides an overview of our activities and achievements last year. We hope that by reading it, you will get a sense of the effort undertaken by ENIL to change status quo. Despite being a small organization facing various challenges (like for example the loss of the European…
The 6th European Independent Living Day was celebrated in Europe (and beyond), and was a very successful one! Although this year 5th May was on Sunday (a non working day), disabled people and their allies celebrated it in more than 25 countries, showing that the Independent Living movement is strong and active! As always, the…
Even though it is considered the “capital” of Europe, the city of Brussels is not famous for its accessibility. In this month’s Freedom Drive update, we share with you a guide in which you will find information on how to (accessibly) travel to Brussels and how to get around in the city once you are…
On the 5th June, the European Commission published the Country Specific Recommendations (CSRs), tailor-made policy advice to Member States on how to improve the impact of policies and better invest resources. In the last few years, the European Expert Group on the Transition from Institutional to Community-based Care (EEG), of which ENIL is a member,…
Ruling against Ştefan Stoian fails to protect the right to education of learners with disabilities, and blames their parents instead. For years Ştefan Stoain was carried on his mother’s back so he could attend his class in a second-floor classroom. On several occasions Ştefan was refused support by the school to access the bathroom, leaving…
The European Network on Independent Living (ENIL) is looking for a 6 – 9 months European Solidarity Corps volunteer. ENIL is an NGO run by and for disabled people. Our main goals are to promote the right of all disabled people to live independently and to be included in the community. As a European Solidarity…
ENIL has joined key disability rights networks and child rights groups – Disability Rights International (DRI), International Disability Alliance (IDA), European Disability Forum (EDF), Child Rights International Network (CRIN), International Federation for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (IFSBH), Autism Europe, Inclusion International, Inclusion Europe, Validity and TASH – in a statement calling on the UN General…
On 11th – 13th June, Government and civil society representatives from all over the world met at the United Nations headquarters in New York for the 12th Conference of States Parties (COSP) to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The overarching theme of the 12th session was ”Ensuring inclusion of persons with…
