3. To strengthen the leadership skills of young people within the - - PDF document

ENIL Youth Network Presentation 2013.

ENIL North Reagion Meeting 2013

Estoania/Elva 22 November 2013

Hello everybody! My name is Gatis Caunitis, I help to coordinate ENIL’s Youth Network and will tell you a bit more about it today. I am also the Latvian national coordinator of ENIL, but about that I will speak a little later. During this presentation I will tell you more about ENIL youth network which is a good start for involving young people with disabilities in the Independent Living

• movement. I am sure we all will agree that the future of the Independent Living movement

is in the hands of our youth! What is The Youth Network? ENIL’s Youth Network is an informal network, which gives young people with disabilities the

• pportunity to raise issues of concern within ENIL and to participate in ENIL’s activities at the

European level. The start of the YN? The ENIL youth network started with Study session 2012 - “Supporting Young Disabled people to become Future Leaders of the Independent Living Movement” which took place in the European Youth Centre Strasbourg, October 2012. The ENIL youth network is the way to continue participant involvement in promoting the rights of young people with disabilities in Europe. Who can be as a part of Network? The ENIL youth network has a age limit, up to Thirty (30) years of age. After the study session in Strasbourg several OBJECTIVES were identified:

• 1. To give young people with disabilities the opportunity to identify issues which ENIL

should be focusing on and which are of particular relevance to young people in different European countries;

• 2. To provide a forum for young people to share information and ideas;

• 3. To strengthen the leadership skills of young people within the Independent Living

movement;

• 4. To give an opportunity to young people active in the Independent Living movement

to act as role models to their peers;

• 5. To give an opportunity to young people to represent ENIL at different meetings and

events

• 6. To improve participation of young people in ENIL’s activities, especially the Freedom

Drive

• 7. To improve representation of young people on the Board of ENIL
• 8. To increase the number of young members with ENIL;
• 9. To ensure that the way ENIL communicates responds to what young people want.

Possible activities: Each member of ENIL youth network can participate in network activities. For example:

• Workshops, webinars, policy statements, regular online meetings, possibly face-to-

face meetings, participating in youth projects, facebook page

The study session 2014:

Continuing with the presentation I would like to give you a brief introduction of the next ENIL study session, which will be held in next year in Strasbourg. What is the ENIL study session: The project is a week-long study session with the purpose of encouraging and supporting young disabled people in advocating human rights in their countries and at European level. Participants will have an opportunity to gain a better understanding of disability issues and acquire skills to promote the views of other young disabled people from their country. The title: This time the study session title is: Understanding and countering multiple discrimination faced by young people with disabilities in Europe The aim: The aim of this activity is to raise awareness among young people with disabilities about multiple discrimination and to discuss ways in which discrimination can be prevented and countered. Participants: On the study session 2014 we are planning for 25 actual participants and 15 personal assistants, in total 40 participants. The average age of the participants will be 25. The countries which are able to participate, are – Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine, and United Kingdom. When: The activities will take place between 29st June and 6th July 2014. All countries that are included in the list are more than welcome to participate.