Hey Milan didn’t you say there were *two* books you’d recommend on deinstitutionalisation… I did, din’t I. Same as the first one, the second book isn’t about deinstitutionalisation either. It was written by Prof. Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner, and is called How Big Things Get Done. The Surprising Factors Behind Every Successful Project, from […]
Category: English
On fruits of labour
Earlier this week I was in a workshop to learn, share, discuss disability rights and policies in the EU, with special attention to deinstitutionalisation. The message I brought was quite simple: Policies matter, and they have direct impact on people. It can take (scratch that – it takes) many years.It can be hard to see.(And […]
Writing
I wrote 19 football articles the past half year. I have 3 things I learned through it, useful in my work. And yours, if you’re in anything that involves telling people about your work. 1. Commitment After game 1, I decided to write about every game I’d be in. 19 games later, that’s what I […]
DI is not a rocket science
Global Disability Summite, Berlin, April 2025 As organisations of people with intellectual disabilities, and other advocates, we spend a lot of time demanding deinstitutionalisation.We also need to give time to working with those who make it happen. It’s about demonstrating to those responsible that deinstitutionalisation is doable.It has been done.It is being done.It can and […]
So this just happened
We are at a “diversity and inclusion” event organised by what is considered an elite European institution.Speakers say “diversity” and “inclusion” a lot. Nobody mentions people with disabilities (except when Disability Rights Strategy is listed), unless I missed something. Towards the end, my colleague asks about disability policies, and the next question is about disability […]
“How to change things when change is hard”
Hey Milan, would you recommend any books on deinstitutionalisation, I was asked recently. And sure enough, I shared some reading I find useful and interesting. But I didn’t mention the two books that I consider the most important, and use almost daily in my work. Neither of them is about deinstitutionalisation. But both are. Take […]
Hey Milan: What do you think works in advocacy and communication?
I’ve been talking with some organisations looking to improve their communication and strategies promoting deinstitutionalisation and community-based support over the past couple of months. Asked about my experience in what works and what doesn’t, there are 3 ideas behind what we try to do and I think works. Maybe you’d be interested to hear about […]
In conversation with… Podcasts on Inclusion Europe Radio
To tell about different stories, experiences, and perspectives on the work we are doing on Inclusion Europe. That is, broadly ;-), the aim of a new podcast series we started in April 2022 at Inclusion Europe Radio. The conversations are hosted by Soufiane El Amrani and me (sometimes, I go it alone). Listen to the […]
European Commission’s Guidance on independent living and inclusion in the community
Today (11/12/2024), I had the pleasure to open a seminar on Guidance on independent living and inclusion in the community of persons with disabilities in the context of EU funding. The European Commission document is an important step in promoting the right of people with disabilities to live independently and to be included in their communities. […]
It seems that deinstitutionalisation has become an exercise in wordsmithing
I was invited to speak during a workshop of the European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and social affairs. The workshop was about Deinstitutionalisation and independent living of persons with disabilities. The workshop, chaired by Li Andersson MEP, took place on 2 December 2024 in Brussels. Thank you for the opportunity to speak on behalf of […]