Independent Living Institute (ILI)

ILI promotes the self-determination of people with disabilities.

The Independent Living Institute (ILI) works to promote opportunities for individuals with disabilities for more personal and political power, self-determination, full participation and equality through information, education, lobby and project activities.

Online memorial for Adolf Ratzka

The European Network on Independent Living, the Independent Living Institute and Doro Riedel-Ratzka cordially invite you to an online memorial event for Dr. Adolf Ratzka, on 21 January 2025, from 17 :00 – 19 :00 CET. This memorial event, which takes place 6 months after Adolf tragically passed away at the age of 80, will provide an opportunity for his friends and colleagues from around the world to remember him and reflect on his legacy. Register to this event here.

If you are unable to join, but would like to share something in writing to be read out during the memorial, please send it to Jamie Bolling jamie.bolling@independentliving.org by 20 January 2025.

Adolf Ratzka died on July 21 in an accident during a forest walk in Vårberg in Stockholm where he lived. He would have turned 81 on November 20.

Jamie Bolling, Director of the Independent Living Institute wrote the following words of remembrance on ILI's Facebook page.
A shock. Adolf Ratzka who has been struggling with his health for over a year has now left us due to an accident. On Sunday, July 21, on a walk with Doro, his wife, Adolf lost control of his wheelchair and went over an edge in the forest. He fell nearly 4 meters and lay on the lake shore. A shock that may have led to his cardiac arrest and death in the ambulance. The Independent Living Institute is in mourning. Our thoughts and wishes of love and peace go out to Adolf's wife Doro Riedel, daughter Katharina Ratzka and partner and all other family members in Germany and other countries. To all of us in the movement around the world who were close to Adolf, who saw Adolf as a mentor, who respected him for all he has achieved, we unfortunately have to say goodbye to Adolf, one of our very strongest leaders. There is so much to tell about Adolf as a person and all that he has achieved. It cannot be done here and now. Only love and sadness right now.

Adolf, with your vision, your passion and your strength, we will miss you, as a friend and colleague. Rest in power Adolf.

Adolf's family have decided that memorial gifts should go to the newly created "Adolf Ratzka Memorial Fund for Migrants with Disability" to be administered by the Independent Living Institute. Bank details for transactions from abroad are:
Account holder: Stiftelsen Institutet för Independent Living
Bank Adress: Swedbank AB (publ), Box 4142, SE- 131 04 Nacka-Stockholm, Sweden
IBAN: SE46 8000 0832 7997 4619 3235
BIC: SWEDSESS

For more information you can send an email to me at Jamie.bolling@independentliving.org

What is Independent Living

Independent Living is a philosophy and a movement of people with disabilities who work for self-determination, equal opportunities and self-respect. Independent Living does not mean that we want to do everything by ourselves and do not need anybody or that we want to live in isolation. Independent Living means that we demand the same choices and control in our every-day lives that our non-disabled brothers and sisters, neighbors and friends take for granted. We want to grow up in our families, go to the neighborhood school, use the same bus as our neighbors, work in jobs that are in line with our education and interests, and start families of our own.

Since we are the best experts on our needs, we need to show the solutions we want, need to be in charge of our lives, think and speak for ourselves - just as everybody else. To this end we must support and learn from each other, organize ourselves and work for political changes that lead to the legal protection of our human and civil rights.

We are profoundly ordinary people sharing the same need to feel included, recognized and loved.

As long as we regard our disabilities as tragedies, we will be pitied. 
As long as we feel ashamed of who we are, our lives will be regarded as useless.
As long as we remain silent, we will be told by others what to do.

Adolf Ratzka 2005

Independent Living Institute projects and websites

Disabled Refugees Welcome (DRW) - the right to work and mutual integration. 

Mutual Integration and the Right to Work (RTA) is a project run by the Independent Living Institute (ILI) and funded by the Swedish inheritance Fund.

The project is intended to build on the experiences from ILI's previous project Disabled Refugees Welcome, DRW, (2017-2020). Just as in DRW, RTA wants to contribute to an improvement of the integration process for migrants with disabilities, but in RTA access to work is in focus.

Assistanskoll is a busy website providing news, facts and numbers, analysis and advice to assistance users, their families and assistants in the selection of assistance providers. Assistanskoll keeps the public up to date with changes in legislation, case law and market developments.

Disability Rights Defenders (DRD) is a network of individuals and organizations with an interest in disability rights and disability law. The purpose of the network is equal rights and access to justice. We promote this by spreading and deepening legal expertise about disability rights among disabled people, disabled people’s organizations, lawyers and law schools for reciprocal empowerment by sharing knowledge and expertise on how to use the law as a tool. Read more about DRD and how to become part of it here..

The Disability Discrimination Reporting Service (Anmälningstjänsten)

Anmälningstjänsten helps individuals and organizations to report cases of discrimination to the Equality Ombudsman and, when appropriate, the respective municipal building authority. The service has been running for 20 years.

Completed projects (after 2010)

Article 19 as a tool

Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is about everyone's right to a self-determined life in the community regardless of functionality. The project disseminates knowledge of the convention, examines the Swedish laws and the degree of implementation compared to the international commitments that follow from the convention. The website is lagensomverktyg.se. The project was funded by the Swedish Inheritance Fund for three years and reuses the website from the Law as a Tool project (2016 - 2019) that raised awareness of disability discrimination and legal tools to prevent and redress discrimination.

Assistanstips (Personal Assistance Tips)

The PAtips website has tips, tricks and examples of assistance solutions developed by personal assistance users in Sweden and their assistants.

Fashion Freaks

Fashion Freaks, the website, is a wardrobe full of adapted basic patterns, sewing and knitting instructions, descriptions about customizing ready-made clothing and much more - all to suit wheelchair users. (2005-2007 and 2010 – 2015)