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…
When people ask me how I started to work with disabled people’s organisations, my usual answer is that it was an accidental choice. As a skint university student of Hungarian literature and linguistics in Budapest in 1999, I needed a job so I ended up working as a part-time personal assistant to people with severe…
My name is Nina Portolan and I am the new ESC volunteer at ENIL. I will be starting my volunteering project at the beginning of May. Because of the current situation in the world with the COVID-19 pandemic, my experience will start a bit differently than most. As I write this, I am still at…
Today, a group of seven organisations of persons with disabilities and other organisations advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities sent an urgent appeal to ensure equal access to COVID-19 medical treatment for residents of Sasca Mică Centre and other institutions for persons with disabilities and older persons in Romania. On 21 April 2020,…
Evidence is emerging that persons with disabilities are being disproportionately affected by the Coronavirus pandemic and emergency measures being taken by governments worldwide. As governments rush to respond to the virus, it is more critical than ever to guarantee that measures taken are fully inclusive of persons with disabilities and prevent human rights violations from…
The United Nations has today found Hungary responsible for “grave and systematic” violations of the human rights of persons with disabilities in the country. In a report released today, the UN found the country in flagrant breach of international law for placing people with disabilities in institutions, aided by the European Union which has provided…
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…
Brussels, 3 April – Advice from governments, in light of COVID 19, has been for people to stay at home. For people belonging to high risk groups, including many persons with disabilities, the message to self-isolate and to stay at a distance from other people has been even clearer, or imposed by law. However, for…
On 20 March, ENIL and CHA – Coordination Handicap et Autonomie (CHA) sent an Open Letter to the President of French Republic, Emmanuel Macron. In this letter, we express our concerns over the plan to create 1,000 more places in residential institutions for disabled people in France. This plan was announced by President Macron during…
Spain is among the countries most affected by the corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic. We asked the Forum for Independent Living in Spain for their account of what is going on in their country, and how it is impacting disabled people in the community and in institutions. “From the start, with the surprise and the limited…
On 29 January 2020, the European Commission published its 2020 workplan. ENIL has analysed it and decided to highlight some of the most promising initiatives in the area of social policy. Please read on for an overview of what to expect from the EU’s social front this and next year. Green Pillar? Remember the European…
The European Network on Independent Living (ENIL) is happy to announce that the next Freedom Drive will take place from 21 – 23 September 2021 in Brussels. This will be our 10th Freedom Drive and we look forward to meeting friends and colleagues from all over Europe and beyond once again, for three days of…
From 19-21 February, together with Marianne Knudsen, a disability right activist from Norway, I represented ENIL at this year’s Zero Project Conference in Vienna. We were invited to be a part of the Youth Forum, as youth advocates, and to give our contribution to this year’s topic, which was education. Marianne had the honour to…
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…
The European Network on Independent Living is deeply concerned about the continued institutionalisation of disabled people in Hungary, and the Government’s plans to build new institutions. MEOSZ – the National Federation of Associations of Persons with Physical Disabilities, a member of ENIL, set out a list of current problems in the country, with regard to…
On 20th February, our Petition in relation the use of Structural Funds in Bulgaria was discussed by the Petitions (PETI) Committee in the European Parliament. The petition was submitted in 2018 by our member, the Centre for Independent Living (CIL) Sofia in Bulgaria, and has been supported by ENIL, the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee and the…
Traditionally, Independent Living, Personal Assistance or even De-institutionalisation were not among the priorities of the governments and the “official” disability movement in Greece. Last years, these issues started to be slowly addressed, because of the pressure by Greek and international disabled Independent Living (IL) activists, as well as because of the UN Convention on the…
The 2019 Freedom Drive, organised by the European Network on Independent Living (ENIL), took place on 1 – 3 October in Brussels, under the motto “Loud and Proud”. The 9th edition of ENIL’s main campaigning event was special in two respects – it marked the 30th Anniversary of the European Independent Living movement and attracted…
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…
My name is Laura Alčiauskaitė. I have just joined the ENIL team as a coordinator of TRIPS project. The main idea of this project is to make the urban transport more accessible for everyone. People with disabilities are the ones facing challenges while travelling, so they will be actively involved in the project by sharing…
