We are the FREEkey. We are a team of disabled and non-disabled people. The aim of our bottom-up initiative is to provide services that allow persons with disabilities to live in a self-determined way. This means we want to control our lives, to be able to decide on issues that concern us and are important…
Brussels, 5th May 2020 – This year’s European Independent Living Day is a day like no other. With much of the world under lockdown, most of us are celebrating the day indoors, keeping safe, with only the most necessary contact with those on the outside. Many are struggling with the lack of assistance, lack of…
We are only five days away from the 5th May, when we will be marking the 7th European Independent Living Day. This year’s theme is LIBERTY, which seems even more apt now that everyone’s liberty is restricted in some way due to the pandemic. Despite restrictions on movement, gatherings, protests and the social distancing rules,…
ENIL’s 2019 Annual Report is out! This report provides an overview of our activities and achievements last year. A year that -despite the challenges- was definitely memorable, as we celebrated our 30th birthday, organised a very successful Freedom Drive, and initiated our first court case, among other things. We hope that by reading it, you…
On 5th May, disabled people, friends and allies across Europe will be marking the 7th European Independent Living Day. This year’s theme, proposed by the European Network on Independent Living, is LIBERTY. One of the things we asked you, is to share with us personal stories of people deprived of liberty on account of being…
On 5th May, disabled people, friends and allies across Europe will be marking the 7th European Independent Living Day. This year’s theme, proposed by the European Network on Independent Living, is LIBERTY. By choosing LIBERTY as the 5th May theme, we want to raise awareness about the fact that disabled people are often deprived of…
Independent Living means freedom of choice. This includes the right to travel freely, regardless of your access needs. Unfortunately, disabled people still face many barriers and challenges when using the transport in European cities. Inaccessible transportation makes it more difficult for all people with access needs to go to work, go to school or just…
Last week, Commissioner for Equality Helena Dalli announced that a new Disability Equality Strategy will be put in place, replacing the one that expires in 2020. The work to shape the new strategy has begun and today, the European Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee (EMPL Committee) debated a draft resolution on the EU disability…
Today, disabled people all over the world celebrate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Just one day after the new European Commission, led by Ursula von der Leyen, takes office, the European Network on Independent Living (ENIL) highlights five key demands of Europe’s Independent Living movement for the new Commission. Rather than the usual…
On behalf of the newly elected Board of the European Network on Independent Living, we would like to say hi to all our members and Newsletter subscribers, and thank our members for trusting us to lead the organisation in the next two years. As newly elected Co-chairs, we wish to tell you a bit about…
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…
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…
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…
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…
With less than a month until the European Elections, the 6th European Independent Living Day will call on disabled people to go out and vote and at the same time highlight barriers to political participation. Barriers can be inaccessible polling stations, but also a total deprivation of the right to vote. To live independently, disabled…
On 25 April, the Reclaiming Our Futures Alliance (ROFA), in partnership with Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) and the TUC Disabled Workers Committee, launched ROFA’s Independent Living strategy, titled ‘Independent Living for the Future – Our vision for a national independent living support system’. The launch took place in the Parliament and was hosted by…
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: ✓…
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…
