Key Objective #2: Representation of Interests

Representation of the interests of people who stutter in Europe and their respective national associations takes place at two different levels. At the political level, today's Europe is marked by growing unification and cooperation. Virtually all European countries are members of the European Council. Even more important is the European Union (EU) now with 15 member states and a number of countries applying for membership. Although the EU still focuses mainly on economical aspects, the social side is becoming more and more important and it is only a question of time when standardizations in the social field will have an impact on the legislation in the member states.

ELSA has successfully introduced itself to both political bodies mentioned, thus putting the issue of stuttering on the European agenda: The European Youth Foundation, an agency affiliated to the European Council, subsidised youth seminars in 1995 at Linköping, Sweden, 1997 at Nijmegen, Netherlands and 2000 at Mullsjö, Sweden. As for the EU, ELSA, since 1990 has participated in the HELIOS programme of funding for disabled people initiated by the European Commission which aims at promoting the social integration of people with disabilities. Through HELIOS, ELSA received funds for holding European seminars and meetings. The Helios programme terminated in 1996 and new funding programmes have been developed since. Beyond the aspect of financial support the former HELIOS and the new programmes are a stepping-stone for non-governmental disability organizations to gain more influence on European policies.

ELSA is a founder member of the European Disability Forum (EDF), an umbrella association of European NGOs. All Non-Governmental Organisations are allocated a particular Sector. ELSA's Sector is the Hearing and Speech Sector coordinated by the European Union of the Deaf (EUD).

The second level of advocacy refers to the speech and language profession. Like many professions, speech therapists have formed their own international organizations. The CPLOL is a top organization of European national speech and language associations. ELSA has cooperated with the CPLOL in the context of the HELIOS programme.

Furthermore, ELSA maintains close links with the Support Group/Consumer Affairs Committee of the International Fluency Association (IFA) which is a world-wide organization for researchers, clinicians and people who stutter.

ELSA with the IFA Support Group Committee jointly contributed to the 1st IFA Congress in 1994 by organizing a panel discussion on the relationship between professionals and self-help groups. ELSA also gave a presentation at the 2000 IFA congress in Denmark.

ELSA is a founding member of the International Stuttering Association (ISA), a similar umbrella association to ELSA but representing Stuttering associations from all over the world.

Next - Key Objective #3 - Promoting the Idea of Self-Help in European Countries