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The European Network on Independent Living (ENIL)

The European Network on Independent Living (ENIL) is a Europe-wide network of disabled people, with members throughout Europe. ENIL’s mission is to advocate and lobby for Independent Living values, principles and practices, namely for a barrier-free environment, provision of personal assistance support and adequate technical aids, together making full citizenship of disabled people possible. ENIL’s activities target European, national and local administrations, politicians, media, and the general society. ENIL works to strengthen the empowerment of disabled people, mainly through providing resources for peer support and peer-to-peer training. ENIL enhances the European disability sector by providing an arena for the sharing of disabled people’s experience of services and by providing economical, logistics and technical expertise on independent living. ENIL is a pan disability organization, which means that we promote Independent Living for all disabled people. We work directly with disabled individuals, organizations (mainly Centers of Independent Living), politicians, social agents, media, the business world and any individual or organization interested in learning about Independent Living history, values, principles and its practical application.

ENIL carriers out four main types of activities:

1. Awareness raising activities, such as the Freedom Drive, the European Independent Living Day on the 5th May, and the EU Funds for Our Rights Campaign;

2. Lobbying activities, targeting the EU institutions, the Council of Europe and the national Governments, through position papers, briefings, submissions, letters and meetings;

3. Capacity building activities, such as seminars, conferences, study sessions, trainings, study visits, training modules, webinars and the leadership programme for young disabled people;

4. Analytical activities and data collection, including surveys, studies, fact sheets, manuals and toolkits, as well and the Independent Living Research Network