Europe in Action

What does Independent Living mean for you? This is the question ENIL sets to its members and supporters for this year’s European Independent Living Day on 5th May.

On 13th March, the European Disability Forum (EDF) – bringing together European and national disability organisations – adopted a common definition of Independent Living, proposed by the European Network on Independent Living (ENIL).

ENIL welcomes a judgment from the European Court of Human Rights in the case Guberina v. Croatia, which found Croatia in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.

A bit more than one month remains until 5th May. The 3rd European Independent Living Day is approaching quickly, and even though in many countries it is a public holiday (Ascension of Jesus), a lot of our friends and supporters from across Europe plan to be Proud, Strong and Visible on this day and raise awareness on Independent Living.

On Sunday, 20th March, 10 wheelchair users accompanied/supported by a team of personal assistants participated in the Urban Trail in Gent.

At the end of 2015, the European Commission launched a public consultation on the European Disability Strategy 2010 – 2020.

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and Zero Project announce their call for nominations of exceptional and innovative best practices in accessible and inclusive urban development.

“Open House” is a world-wide project that enables visitors to experience outstanding and unique architecture from around the world.

On 26th January 2016, ENIL submitted a position paper to the European Commission with the aim to outline the strengths of the proposed European Accessibility Act (EAA) and to propose changes that will ensure EAA is suited to the needs of all disabled EU citizens.

On 19th April 2016, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will hold a Day of General Discussion (DGD) on Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) – the right of persons with disabilities to live independently and be included in the community.

The report from the conference celebrating the Day of Persons with Disabilities on 7-8 December 2015 – “Growing together in a barrier-free Europe” has just been released.

On Tuesday, 16th February strong and adamant Independent Living activists from the Centre for Independent Living in Firenze-Toscana (Italy) occupied the headquarters of the Regional Parliament protesting against the budget cuts implied by the state on independent living funds for disabled people.

ENIL, through Jamie Bolling, visited APF – l’Association des Paralysés de France in Paris in January 2016. APF is an organisation for disabled people with many activities including the running of institutions.

The Zero Project 2016 conference happened. In Vienna, February 10th – 12th, the Zero Project 2016 Conference with over 500 persons had a flowing energy with networking at a high.

ENIL informs you that the European Commission will soon publish 28 country reports assessing the economic, social and employment situation in its Member states.

The Independent Living organization of Greece “i-living” was founded in December 2014 and is the only Greek organization that promotes Independent Living. “i-living” is a disabled people’s organization which follows the trend of modern human rights advocacy.

Three years ago disabled people in Latvia received fantastic news – personal assistance (PA) legislation was to be introduced in Latvia. The legislation came into effect on 1st January 2013. In short, disabled people could apply for personal assistance funded through the national government and administrated by the local municipalities. It did not take long…

Since 2014 ENIL, along with its members and supporters, celebrate Independent Living and its philosophy on May 5th – the European Day for Independent Living. Join us this year again!

The final events of the Independent Living Network (ILNET) project took place in December 2015 – January 2016.

Thursday, 21st January 2016, will be remembered as the day when the Netherlands finally has adopted the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD). With this action the Netherlands becomes one of the last countries in Europe which officially recognises disabled persons’ human rights.