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…
ENIL’s annual EU Funds for Our Rights Campaign seminar took place on 18 and 19 June in Brussels. The seminar was the follow up of our previous events organised in 2017 and 2018. Its objective was to highlight the key achievements of the Campaign during Year 1 and 2, to continue the discussion on the…
The European Network on Independent Living (ENIL) Youth Network, in cooperation with Euro Youth Mental Health (EYMH), organized the joint 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”. The study session took place between the…
My name is Teodor Mladenov and for two years – between May 2017 and April 2019 – I had the privilege of working as Marie Curie Individual Fellow in the European Network on Independent Living (ENIL). I implemented the project ‘User-Led Personal Assistance in the European Union: A Critical Comparative Analysis’, funded by the European…
One month after the elections, at ENIL we would like to make a few observations about the results. First of all, we congratulate our Board member Stelios Kympouropoulos (Greece) for his election to the European Parliament, and look forward to working with him in the next 5 years. Stelios will be leaving the Board following his appointment…
On the last day of the Freedom Drive, on 3 October, ENIL will be holding a half-day conference on Independent Living (10:00 – 14:00). The aim of the conference will be to take stock of ENIL’s campaigning and advocacy over the last 30 years, to discuss what has changed since then – in the political…
ENIL’s member in Hungary, the National Federation of Associations of People with a Physical Disability (MEOSZ) published a statement earlier this week rejecting their country’s 2019 – 2036 Deinstitutionalisation strategy and calling on the Government to adopt a new strategy that will include measures to facilitate access to the right to live independently and to…
ENIL Youth Network is looking for Board members. Below you will find the call with information about how to join, as well as an essay by Marijeta Mojašević, one of the current Board members, on why you should join. The Youth Network is excited to announce the call for nominations for the ENIL Youth Network…
Earlier in May, we had a chance to take part in this year’s Nordic Network on Disability Research (NNDR) Conference, which was titled ‘Inclusion and Exclusion in the Welfare Society’, and took place in Copenhagen, Denmark. The conference brought together lecturers and researchers in disability studies from across the globe, though most were from the…
On 14 May, the Disability High Level Group (DHLG) came together in Brussels for their annual meeting. DHLG is composed of representatives of the Member States (typically from ministries dealing with social affairs) and is also attended by organisations of and for people with disabilities. ENIL was represented by our President Kapka Panayotova, and Nadia…
Independent living and accessibility are rights of persons with disabilities every society has to provide, and the state has to enable and support them. This is the message that was sent from the event on the occasion of the European Independent Living Day and the Global Accessibility Awareness Day, which was held in Podgorica on…
The 6th European Independent Living Day was celebrated widely in Europe and beyond. Although this year the 5th May was on Sunday (a day of rest for many), disabled people and their allies in more than 20 countries celebrated, showing that the Independent Living movement is strong and active! It showed also that it is…
The month of May is busy with several annual EU level meetings, among them the Work Forum on the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the Annual Convention on Inclusive Growth. ENIL attended both meetings with several representatives. The 2019 Work Forum on the CRPD brought together…
