Europe in Action

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.

Happy 2016 to all ENIL members and supporters! I hope the holidays have been peaceful and a time to recharge batteries for a great year to come. Looking back 2015 was a fruitful year…

Lancaster University’s Centre for Disability Research announces its 8th Disability Studies conference. It will take place between 6th and 8th September 2016.

A little more than a year ago ENIL published a Myth Buster on Independent Living dealing with some of the most common misconceptions about disabled people, independent living and personal assistance…

ENIL’s advisory panel member Raffaello Belli recently wrote an article as a reaction to the commonplace excuses of the authority figures in Italy when it comes to lack of funding for personal assistance. ENIL is perseveringly working in the area and next week a report on the situation of the personal assistance in Europe will be published.

The International Foundation for Applied Disability Research (FIRAH) today opens its 2016 Call for Projects for applied research on disabilities and an Autism and New Technologies Call for Projects.

ENIL starts the year with an appeal to the Independent Living supporters. The article below reveals the highly disturbing situation in the UK with the closure of the Independent Living Fund.

In Valencia on December 15, 2015 ENIL with partners hosted a successful event on Personal Assistance as a tool for full participation in society and for leaving institutions behind.

In the framework of advocacy ENIL is represented at many events and meetings. Some of the December ones are reported below. In the second part of this article you will find an update with interesting news from other NGOs and the European institutions.

To celebrate the International Day of persons with disabilities the European Commission, in cooperation with the European Disability Forum (EDF), organized a conference under the theme “2015: Growing Together In a Barrier-Free Europe” on 7th and 8th December in Brussels.

ENIL brings the latest news from the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe with great pleasure. During their 1241st meeting on 24th-26th November 2015 the Committee adopted the nomination of 30 new members of the Advisory Council on Youth (CCJ) for the period 2016-2017. The ENIL Youth Network board member Agnes Fazekas is one of the nominees.

On the day after the celebrations ENIL makes an overview of the numerous and exciting events that happened throughout Europe. The list of events below is by no means exhaustive, it only gives a flavour of the tremendous excitement that could be felt thanks to all independent living and human rights activist!

In honor of the 2015 International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the European Network on Independent Living (ENIL) launches the Independent Living Research Network.

On the 2nd December, right before the International Day of persons with disabilities, the EU Alliance against disability cuts held an open meeting in the European Parliament hosted by MEP Richard Howitt (S&D, UK).