On November 22, the European Network on Independent Living, with the support of our Swedish members from STIL, ILI and JAG (which very kindly hosted us at its office), held our annual Regional Members Meeting, in the freezing but very welcoming Stockholm, Sweden. The purpose of the meeting was to meet with ENIL’s members from the region, discuss and share experiences on issues that are important for them and their organisations. We aim to do such a meeting annually in different part of Europe each time.
This year, around 40 members and their personal assistants from 6 countries from Northern Europe (Denmark, Iceland, Lithuania, Sweden, Norway and the UK), plus some observer members from another 3 countries (Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina and San Marino), joined us, shared news from their countries, as well as the work they do, while also learnt about ENIL’s work, gave feedback and provided suggestions.
More specifically, we had the opportunity to hear from our members about some key initiatives in the North, like the Nordic Competence Center on Personal Assistance, the Disability Rights Defenders network, and about how they use the CRPD as a law. Later we also discussed the importance of youth for the movement, and we heard about our members’ work with youngsters. During the day, the representatives from ENIL’s staff made also an overview of our policy work and activities, presented the key developments in the EU, as well as our plans for 2025, and listened to members’ thoughts and questions. We also encouraged everyone to participate actively in our upcoming online regional strategic consultations, something very important for us. Finally, the last part of the meeting was dedicated to future strategies when it comes to the ENIL North, including discussion around the appointment or not of a coordinator, and the participation in the NNDR conference in May in Helsinki, among others.
After a cozy dinner, the day ended with the screening first of a short video by JAG and then of a documentary about the Swedish personal assistance history, seen through the lens of personal stories, by STIL, followed by discussion with the creators.
Of course, time for networking and socialising was also there, and everyone made sure to get the most out of it. Especially the next day, on 22 November, our members from STIL and ILI organised a big jubilee party to celebrate their 40th and 30th birthday respectively, and everyone was invited. The memory and life of Adolf Ratzka was celebrated too, in a very emotional moment.
As always, the Regional Members Meeting was full of fruitful discussions and learning moments, and set the stage for future exchanges and initiatives. Once again, we would like to thank our Swedish members from JAG, STIL and ILI for their valuable support in organising and hosting this meeting, and all our members for participating. A report of the meeting will be available soon on our website.
