The Road to Independent Living in the Western Balkans

Co-organised by the European Network on Independent Living – ENIL and the Information Center “Lotos” Tuzla

From September 15th to 17th, the European Network on Independent Living will be in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, where, with the support of our Bosnian members from IC Lotos, we will have our annual Regional Members Meeting, this time for Eastern Europe and Balkans, together with the face to face meeting of our Board, as well as a Conference on Independent Living in the region. The purpose of the meeting is for our members from this part of Europe to meet, discuss, and share experiences on issues that are important for them and our movement.

*The Conference will be n English, with simultaneous translation into Bosnian

Monday, 15 September

Board meeting (closed, for Board members only)

Tuesday, 16 September

Regional conference: The Road to Independent Living in the Western Balkans – see agenda below (open to anyone interested)

Wednesday, 17 September

Regional members’ meeting (closed, for members only)

	Breakfast at the hotel
10:00 – 11:30	Morning session: tour de table and reflections on the conference
11:30 – 11:45	Coffee break
11:45 – 13:00	Sharing of members’ work
13:00 – 14:30	Lunch
	Departure of participants   Bilateral meetings/networking   Visit of the Sarajevo centre
	Dinner at the hotel for those staying until 18/9

09:00 – 10:00	Registration and welcome coffee
10:00 – 10:30	Welcoming remarks   Moderator: Kamil Goungor, ENIL Secretariat   Jamie Bolling, Co-chair, ENIL Suvad Zahirović – Director, Lotos Government representative (TBC) Representative of the EU delegation in Bosnia and Herzegovina (TBC)
10:30 – 11:00	Access to Independent Living in Bosnia and Herzegovina – state of play   Zumreta Galijašević Baluković, Chairwoman of IC “Lotos”
11:30 – 13:00	Panel 1: Personal assistance laws and schemes in the region: lessons learned   Elena Pečarič, YHD Slovenia Marica Mirić, SOIH Croatia Suela Lala, Together Foundation Albania Melike Bal, Chair, ENIL Youth Network, Turkey Miroslava-Mima Ivanović, I MI Boke, Montenegro   Discussion
13:00 – 14:30	Lunch break
14:30 – 16:00	Panel 2: European experiences providing a roadmap for IL to EU candidate countries   Moderator:Elena Kochoska, Board member, ENIL   Personal budgets in Belgium – Nadia Hadad, Co-Chair, ENIL Incorporating the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities into law – Martine Eliasson, Uloba – Independent Living Norway Lessons learnt while promoting deinstitutionalisation in Greece – Antonia Trikalioti, Board member, ENIL, Greece (via video link) The role of Centres for Independent Living in supporting Independent Living – Mimica Živadonović, CIL Serbia   Discussion
16:00 – 16:30	Coffee break
16:30 – 17:30	Creating an action plan for Independent Living in the region   Moderator: Jamie Bolling, Co-Chair, ENIL   European Commission’s Guidance on Independent Living – Florian Sanden and Rita Crespo Fernandez, ENIL Secretariat   Discussion about the elements of the action plan
17:30 – 18:00	Conference conclusions by the Rapporteur – Ines Bulić Cojocariu, ENIL Secretariat   Closing remarks – Suvad Zahirović, Director of IC “Lotos” and Jamie Bolling, Co-chair, ENIL