2013 ENIL Freedom Drive

The 2013 Strasbourg Freedom Drive took place on 9th-12th September. This year was the 10th anniversary of this event which gathers members of European network for Independent Living (ENIL) and supporters of the independent living movement.  Key objectives underlying this campaign include mainstreaming disability, raising awareness of the needs of persons with disabilities as well as promoting independent living.

This year, the overarching aim of the campaign was to highlight the impact of austerity measures on persons with disabilities. The ENIL collected personal accounts from different countries. Each account corresponded to an article of the CRPD and detailed how certain rights are being violated and how the lives of persons with disabilities are being adversely affected because the CRPD is not being fully implemented.

The accounts featured in the campaign correlate to different articles such as Article 5 on Equality and non-discrimination, Article 9 on accessibility, Article 19: Living Independently and being included in the Community Article 24: Education and Article 27: Work and Employment.

A number of workshops were held on the 9th September. Speakers discussed various topics, such as discrimination and disability, hate crime and disability, as well as ways to use EU Structural Funds to support Independent Living.   In the run up to the Strasbourg Freedom Drive, ENIL conducted interviews with Independent Living Activists and honoured them by putting their stories in the ENIL Hall of Fame.

With this Hall of Fame, ENIL aimed to celebrate people’s achievements and contributions to the Independent Living Movement worldwide. Moreover it was designed to raise public awareness of the barriers faced by persons with disabilities.   A conference on the future of independent living took place on the 9th and 10th of September and brought together a number of speakers from the Independent Living movement, including Adolf Ratzka, one of the founders of the Independent Living movement in Europe, and Judith Heumann, an American disability rights activist.

The central event of the Freedom Drive was the march to the European Parliament, which took take place on the 11th of September. A meeting with Members of the European Parliament took place after the march. During this meeting, different topics were discussed, including cuts to services for persons with disabilities, de-institutionalisation and the issues affecting young persons with disabilities.  Furthermore, participants under 30 years of age were invited to join an informal meeting at the Council of Europe Youth Centre on the 12th of September.

The Freedom Drive is an initiative of the European Network on Independent Living (ENIL). ENIL is a European network of persons with disabilities and independent living organisations. ENIL promotes equal opportunities for persons with disabilities and combats discrimination in Europe.