Disability Activism in Europe: Young Disabled Activist’s Views and Experiences is a research project that explores disability activism, politics, and the activities of young disabled activists across Europe to challenge marginalisation and discrimination. It is co-funded by the University of Leeds and the Leverhulme Trust. It is led by Dr Miro Griffiths, a former board…
In 2014, the European Network on Independent Living – ENIL celebrated 25 years of existence. To commemorate this event and to celebrate our growing network, the ENIL Board decided to declare May 5th as the European Day on Independent Living. This day can be used as a day of celebration, for protests or any other…
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities made clear almost 15 years ago that placing people with disabilities in institutions is a violation of their human rights. Segregated and isolated from the rest of the world, residents are denied their rights to independent living, to inclusion in the community and to shape…
ENIL is part of a 3-year European project called TRIPS, which was launched in February, and is funded by the European Union through Horizon 2020. The main aim of the project is to make the transport in seven European cities – Brussels, Stockholm, Sofia, Bologna, Cagliari, Lisbon and Zagreb – more accessible for everyone. To…
Over the last few years ENIL Youth, as young disability rights activists, have followed the announcements that different groups have made on International Youth Day. We have noticed that those messages reflect current policies and official goals of different institutions. These goals are justifiable, but not easy to achieve. There is always a gap between…
It was close to +35 degrees on the 25th of June and there was no shade to take shelter in front of the Palais de Justice law courts of the busy city of Lyon. At noon, as the first protesters unfolded their banners, the barristers, judges, clerks and litigants had just started to leave the…
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…
