Parallel workshops - 29 September 2026

 

​Personal Assistance: Learning from Different Countries

• Moderator: Christos Meletis, ENIL Communications Trainee (on behalf of Kamil Goungor)

• Simone Leuenberger (InVIEdual, Switzerland)

• Cristian Lago Rodriguez (Spain)

• Jesper Mathiesen (Nordic Competence Centre on Personal Assistance, Denmark)

• Runar Bjorn Herrera Thorkelsson (User-controlled Personal Assistance Center (NPA), Iceland)

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Strategic Litigation in Practice: Designing Cases for Structural Change

• Moderator: Adela Santos Lavigne, ENIL Project Coordinator 

• Steven Allen (Validity Foundation, Hungary)

• Nuria Frei (Inclusion Handicap, Switzerland)

• Maria Jose Aldanas (FEANTSA, Belgium)

 

Rethinking Intimacy, Sexuality and Pleasure: Beyond Ableist Norms

• Moderator: Antonella Candiago, ENIL Policy Officer

• Dr. Carmen Yau (University of London, United Kingdom)

• Dr. Catarina Vitorino (ENIL Youth Board Co-Chair, Portugal)

• Josse Cornette (artist, writer and researcher, Belgium)

• Nina Van Herck (conceptual product designer, Belgium)

 

Deinstitutionalisation: Building Strong Arguments through Discussion and Role Play

• Moderator: Antonia Trikalioti, ENIL Board Member 

• Dorothy Gould (Transforming Communities for Inclusion (TCI) Global & Liberation, United Kingdom)

• Jose Smits (independent advocate, Netherlands)

• Nic Crosby (National Development Team for Inclusion, United Kingdom)

 

Starting a Centre for Independent Living (CIL)

• Moderator: Veronika Kovacs, ENIL Co-production Officer 

• Suvad Zahirovic (Information Centre for Persons with Disabilities (IC Lotos), Bosnia and Herzegovina)

• Rahel Abebaw Atnafu (Disabled Refugees Welcome, Independent Living Institute, Sweden)

• Ashraf Frugh (Disabled Refugees Welcome, Independent Living Institute, Sweden)

• Emma Astrand (Stockholm Cooperative for Independent Living (STIL), Sweden)

• Barry Fox-Quamme (Independent Living Resources & United States International Council on Disabilities, United States)

 

Assisted Dying: Autonomy or Social Failure?

• Moderator: Yannis Vitsos, ENIL ESC Volunteer

• Dr. Miro Griffiths (University of Leeds, United Kingdom)

• Grigoris Chryssikos (Cool Crips, Greece)

• Peter Kearns (Independent Living Movement Ireland, Ireland)

• Ash Delsael (podcaster, Belgium)

• Sophia Kleanthous (campaigner, United Kingdom)

 

Independent Living in Humanitarian Crises

• Moderator: Nadia Hadad, ENIL Co-Chair

• Phillipa Tucker (European Disability Forum, Belgium)

• Stefanie Dannenmann-Di Palma (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Belgium)

• Tushar Wali (CBM Global, Belgium)

• Julia Stewart-David (Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, European Commission, Belgium)

• Gordon Rattray (International Disability Alliance, Belgium)

 

Inclusive Education: Building Advocacy Strategies

• Moderator: Nina Portolan, ENIL Youth Coordinator
 

• Sofie De Schryver (GRIP, Belgium)

• Michelle Daley (Alliance for Inclusive Education (ALLFIE), United Kingdom)

• Louise Bonneau (Bridge EU, Belgium)

 

Independent Living Activism, Erosion of Democracy and Utopias in the Present

• Moderator: Jamie Bolling, ENIL Co-Chair 

• Dr. Miro Griffiths (University of Leeds, United Kingdom) and Dr. Teodor Mladenov (University of Dundee, Scotland)

• Dr. Gabor Petri (Central European University, Hungary)

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Conference - 30 September 2026

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Panel 1: Housing and Independent Living: Barriers to Having a Home for Disabled People

• Ashraf Frugh (Disabled Refugees Welcome, Sweden) - Personal Testimony of Housing Exclusion

• Dr. Carmen Yau (University of London, United Kingdom) - Housing and the Right to Independent Living

• Ciara Brennan (Genio, Ireland) - Overview of the State of Housing for Persons with Disabilities

 

Panel 2: The Link Between Housing and Other Independent Living Pillars

• Ana Carla Pereira (European Commission, DG JUST) - Housing as Part of the Enhanced European Disability Rights Strategy 2020-2030

• Paul Pasteels (GRIP, Belgium) - Personal Assistance and Other Community-Based Services

• Emil Erdtman (Independent Living Institute, Sweden) - Digital and Assistive Technology

• Stelios Kympouropoulos (National Accessibility Authority, Greece) - Accessibility of the Built Environment

• Nicolas Joncour (ENIL Youth Board, France) - Transition to Adulthood

 

Panel 3: Strategies to Challenge Lack of Housing and Segregation

• Maria Jose Aldanas (FEANTSA, Belgium) - Using the Social Charter to Challenge Housing Exclusion

• Steven Allen (Validity Foundation, Hungary) - Working Intersectionally to Challenge Segregation in Housing

• Pippa Black (Independent Living Movement Ireland, Ireland) - Developing a Proposal for a National Housing Strategy

• Grzegorz Gajewski (European Commission Housing Task Force, Belgium) - EU Affordable Housing Plan

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