200 international politicians, NGO representatives, people with disability and academics gather at the Zero Conference in Vienna (Zero = no barriers). On January 22 and 23, 2012 the International Conference on Good Policies for Persons with Disabilities takes place for the first time in Vienna, Austria. It is part of the Zero Project – zero…
The Scottish Human Rights Commission and the Equality and Human Rights Commission are holding a series of free online seminars about how the UN Disability Convention relates to what disabled people have told the Commission’s are the main barriers remaining to allow disabled people in Scotland to enjoy the full range of rights to which…
Disabled people are often seen as sick, abnormal and broken and are therefore excluded from having basic human rights to inclusive education, work opportunities on the open labour market, move away from home, have a family, participate in politics, travel overseas and enjoy culture and leisure. This leads to disabled people being unseen and excluded…
Extract from the article ‘How the media is demonising Disabled People in Europe’ by Debbie Jolly ‘Disabled people in Europe are losing their battle in the fight for disability rights. While some countries have problems making their governments understand that assistance is needed for the extra costs of disability for independent living, P.A.s, and self…
Save the Date! 9 February 2012, European Parliament On 9 February 2012 ENIL is holding a hearing at the European Parliament entitled ‘Defend the Right of Independent Living – How the EU’s Austerity Policy Is Undermining the Lives of People with Disabilities’. The hearing is hosted by the European United Left / Nordic Green…
NNDR is a multidisciplinary network of disability researchers. The purpose of NNDR is to advance research and development in the field of disability. The main meeting place for the network is the biennial NNDR conference. In order to increase the activity between our conferences, the NNDR launched a new webpage and a blog in October…
ENIL is active in the FRA (The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights) and supports the research the FRA is conducting. The FRA launched a report on ‘The legal protection of persons with mental health problems under non-discrimination law’ in October. The publication analysed how national and international non-discrimination legislation and case law defines…
Through its project the European Coalition for Community Living, ENIL is a member of the Expert Group on the Transition from Institutional to Community-based Care (EEG). The Group, established in 2009 at the initiative of the then Commissioner Spidla, has already produced the Report of the Ad Hoc Expert Group on the Transition from Institutional…
ENIL is an Associated Partner in the EU funded project DREAM – Disability Rights Expanding Accessibly Markets, led by the Centre for Disability Law and Policy at the National University of Ireland, Galway. During the 3-year project, ENIL will host two early stage researchers (ESRs) – Ciara Brennan and Orla Kelly – based at the…
John Evans, a member of the Advisory Board of ENIL, is representing ENIL and its project ECCL (the European Coalition for Community Living) in the project ‘Fundamental Rights of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities and Persons with Mental Health Problems’, launched by the EU Fundamental Rights Agency in 2009 and finishing in 2012. The project…
That was the title of the conference presenting the coming book on modern disability services to which ENIL has contributed this year. The book has been written by Dr Andrew Power a former member of the research staff at the National University of Ireland Galway’s Centre for Disability Law and Policy (www.nuigalway.ie/cdlp) and will be…
My name is Suvad Zahirović. I was born in Brcko,Bosnia and Herzegovina on 31st May 1962. I am blind since birth. I graduated at Faculty for political sciences, at Belgrade University in 1989. I am living in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina, with my wife and daughter. What is your personal experience of disability? In my…
The Essl Foundation, the World Future Council and Bank Austria are working together to organize an International Conference on January 22-23, 2012, Vienna, Austria on future just policies which successfully implement the rights of people with disabilities. Download brochure (PDF) (TEXT ONLY) DO YOU WANT TO COOPERATE? The Essl Foundation, the World Future Council would like to…
To add your signature please email mail@dpac.uk.net, or meri.goodman@hotmail.co.uk ‘DPAC Independent Living Fund letter Thousands of disabled people rely on funding from the Independent Living Fund to enable them to live independently with choice and control over their lives. ILF users have been left shocked and extremely anxious since it was announced in 2010…
When we were at the beginning of our struggle for our right to personal assistance and we started looking for role models we began by reading up on the history of the independent living movement. We were very surprised to find out how similar the struggle these pioneers faced was to our humble beginnings. The…
It has been 20 years since the first attempts to implement Independent Living in Slovenia and 15 years since the foundation of YHD – Association for theory and culture of handicap, which is the only organization providing for independent living and personal assistance according to internationally accepted principles and the principles of the European Network…
CIL Serbia from its foundation has been working on providing the condition for PA service establishing and development. The result of the 2-year pilot project from 2003 and 2005 and local advocacy activists is that 4 municipalities (Sombor, Smederevo, Jagodina and Leskovac) recognized the importance of the service and allocate the funds for it. The…
Disabled people need the kind of welfare state which is not a mere ‘safety net’ but which invests in tackling disabling barriers and in providing resources to meet the additional costs related to impairment. Read the complete document here
If we speak about inspirational leaders in the Independent living movement we quickly come to Dr Adolf Ratzka. In 2007 he spoke in Barcelona on the dependency culture towards people with disabilities and how to break it. The title of his speech was: “Independent Living for people with disabilities: from patient to citizen and customer”….
One of the greatest experts on Independent Living, John Evans, uses every opportunity to warn people with disabilities, policymakers and other stakeholders about the effects of the cuts in public spending that are going on. In many European countries governments take inhuman, irrational and contra productive decisions to cut budgets that are necessary to make…
