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“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”

Socrates

Annual narrative reports on the years of 2011 and 2012

Gabriela Tanasan

Chair of ENUSP for two years, October 2010 – October 2012

I am a survivor of psychiatry and an activist for user involvement in Romania since 1996. I am the Chair of

Horizons Foundation (member of ENUSP). In March 2009, I was co-opted by the Board of ENUSP as the

individual responsible for the Central European Region. Working on behalf of ENUSP, I was the main person

responsible for organizing the 6th

ENUSP Congress held in Thessaloniki in 2010. I was elected as the Chair of

ENUSP and acted so until 15 September 2012 when I resigned.

2010

The 6th

ENUSP Congress in Thessaloniki

October, Thessaloniki, Greece

ENUSP‘s Board members, who were elected in Thessaloniki on 30 September 2010:

Chair: Gabriela Tanasan

Deputy Chair: Rafaël Daem (Belgium)/Erik Olsen

Central region: Stefan Bandol (Romania), Debra Shulkes (Czech Republic/Australia)/Michal Caletka (Czech

Rep)

North West region: Jan Verhaegh (the Netherlands), Sabita Gurney-Branford (UK)/Sean Crudded (Ireland)

South West Region: Rafaël Daem (Belgium), Erveda Sansi (Italy)

Northern Region: Erik Olsen (Denmark), Maths Jesperson (Sweden)

North East Region: Piotr Iwaneyko (Poland), Berthold Kösel (Germany)/Reinhold Hassel (Germany)

South East Region: Katerina Skourtopoulou (Greece)/Marina Lycovounioty (Greece), Asmati Augustin

(Georgia)

Chair between 30 September 2010 – 15 September 2012

For me the two years as a Chair meant hard work and commitment to put into practice the promises I

made in Thessaloniki: creating a functional and solid structure of ENUSP, obtaining financial support, while

following the work plan approved by the General Assembly.

This is what I have done and accomplished during this period:

• Legal registration of the new board and opening a new bank account – a quite difficult first task. This

process took almost 6 months.

• Administrative work.

• Daily correspondence.

• Organizing board meetings and writing the minutes for most meetings: 4 board meetings in 2010, 10

in 2011, and 6 in 2012

• Organizing the Empowerment seminar in Brussels, May 2011 and the one in Zagreb, in October 2012.

• The implementation of the “Re-building ENUSP” Project:

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� Developing the proposal for the project

� Overall coordination

2011

The third Empowerment seminar - “ACTION NOW! HUMAN RIGHTS AND RESOURCES“

May 2011, Brussels, Belgium

ACTION NOW! featured a joint conference and debate among ENUSP and MHE delegates and

representatives from the European Commission and United Nations on the progress of de-

institutionalisation in the EU and the third ENUSP Empowerment seminar organized with support from the

European Commission Progress Programme and assistance from Brussels Uilenspiegel Flemish user group.

25 User/survivor delegates from 17 countries met privately the next day for a working seminar “Building

the European Network: Status, Priorities, Action Plan“. The presentations and discussion within plenary

sessions set emergency goals for ENUSP that balanced practical needs (like finding funding) with the most

vital work. Participants divided into 5 working groups:

• Building the European Network: Planning key actions for the next 12 months, aiming to come up with

a realistic plan of the actions to be taken in the next 12 months;

• Working on the CRPD: Lobbying and raising awareness in our movement, with the aim to bring

European user/survivor representatives together to talk about how we can work more effectively on

the CRPD;

• The European MadPride Human Rights and Culture Festival, based on the idea to use the interactive

format, with participants’ input, to explore and plan different aspects of the Mad Pride human rights

and culture festival;

• ENUSP’s newsletter Advocacy Update focused on forming the basis for a cross-European working

group that to help keeping Advocacy Update alive, and

• Peers in Progress, a peer support training proposal; the goal was to formulate a strategic plan to

make Peers in Progress a reality across Europe.

To carry on this important work, participants signed up for new ENUSP Taskforces, small teams focusing on

these or other topics.

One of the most important outcomes of the seminar was the determination of some people to approach

Open Society Foundations-Mental Health Initiative for financial support in order to address our top

priorities: creating a reliable and interactive structure to manage our work and strengthening internal and

external communications, especially through our website and our newsletter.

Jasna Russo negotiated the possibility of a grant for ENUSP. Elizabeth Winder, Debra Shulkes and Gabriela

Tanasan all worked on the grant application with support from Erik Olsen and Katerina Skourtopoulou.

2011-2012

Re-building ENUSP: Strengthening the network of users and survivors of psychiatry across Europe

The proposal was submitted on August 16th

2011 and was approved in late September.

Grant start and end date (month/day/year): 1 November 2011 – 11 May 2012 (with an approved no cost

extension until 11 June 2012)

Grant award amount: 31.060 USD

ENUSP contribution: 4.190 EUR

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Project workers:

Debra Shulkes, project coordinator* – 6 months

Elizabeth Winder, project assistant – 4 months

Jasna Russo – 1 month, strategy

Noemi Kiry Ambrus – 3 months, membership and fundraising

Claus Bech Nielsen, accountant – 6 months

Rodica Anton, web design and webmaster – 6 months

*I promised from the very beginning that I would give my full support to the project implementation and

therefore, I took over the project coordination (dealing with all the bureaucracy and with various

administrative activities) to support Debra who clearly specified that she prefers not to deal with these

aspects.

The project had three main goals:

I. Set up organisational support systems, build up the membership and, draw up a 3-year strategy to

steer the work of ENUSP

Objective 1: Appoint Project Co-ordinator and Project Assistant and re-establish a central ENUSP

contact point

Objective 2: Create new member database and produce report outlining efforts to improve connections

with members and identifying potential members (Reference document for ENUSP strategy

development)

Objective 3: Draw up a detailed 3-year Strategic Action Plan for ENUSP based on widespread

consultation with the membership

II. Improve ENUSP’s internal and external communications and strategically review representation in

external forums

Objective 1: Engage a web designer + webmaster

Objective 2: Develop, launch and maintain new website

Objective 3: Produce report on ENUSP’s current representation in external forums, current procedure

for consulting membership, and trainings/resources needed by representatives (Reference document

for developing representation section of ENUSP strategy)

Objective 4: Prepare and publish one issue of ENUSP’s newsletter Advocacy Update and six monthly

ENUSP bulletins

III. Take strategic steps to ensure the long-term independent financing of ENUSP

Objective 1: Investigate and report on at least 3 options for long-term operating funding

Objective 2: Take all preparatory steps to make at least one application for long-term operating funding

Objective 3: Prepare and submit at least one application for long-term operating funding by two months

before the end of the project period

Concrete outcomes:

• One of the most important achievements of the project is that after 20 years of existence finally

ENUSP has a strategic plan which outlines the path of activities the organization should take; having a

Strategy ENUSP is no longer an organisation that reacts to what is happening around it and become

an organisation that looks forwards and plans our path through the opportunities and threats ahead

• Membership issues up to date and a continuous communication towards the members

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• Active communication with our members about events and successes via the Info Bulletins and as

well the new website.

• Meaningful representation in external forums

Despite some minor animosities as we embarked on very challenging organizational work together, the

project has initiated an important new development phase in ENUSP’s life. We decided to take the journey

knowing that there is no way back. The 6 month project was only the boost, the generator of further work.

Milestones reached:

The milestones reached followed completely the structure of the project:

• renewing membership

• designing and adopting the strategy

• communicating actively within the organization and outside (6 Info Bulletins and website)

• increasing fundraising capacity

Difficulties/setbacks:

During the implementation of the project ENUSP has encountered several difficulties, had to overcome

several challenges

• Challenges in project management and time management – for quite a long time this was the first

project ENUSP has managed alone as an organization and was responsible for. It became very clear

that at the time of developing the proposal we were far too ambitious and planned much more than

it was possible to achieve – this lead to increased workload of project staff, to their health problems

and ultimately to delays in the outcomes of the project.

• Lack of active involvement of the members – with both the membership renewal and the

consultation for the strategy the response rate was very low. In the future we definitely need to map

the human resources capacity existing in the organization, to concretely activate the taskforces

ENUSP through an adequate policy of cooperation to be sure that we can achieve the goals.

• Slow decision-making process.

*Needs for development

Some of the training needs which were stated are:

- Human rights and advocacy/lobbying, methods of lobbing of politicians in the implementation of

CRPD and the promotion of transformation.

- Fundraising trainings as well as information on funding sources and information on organizations

interested in partnership projects

- Training on capacity building.

Overall:

We knew that managing change it is a difficult process, but maybe we were not aware how differently

people would react and bear change. Old patterns switch on really easily and the task is to keep the

rhythm, to maintain the spirit of having a strategy and to make sure secured funding for the coming years

and for the planned projects is available. Hopefully by assuring human resources and financial resources we

can keep up the work we have started and re-building ENUSP as a concept develops building ENUSP to

become a professional organization that can’t be left out from the human rights arena.

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The 4th

Empowerment seminar 2012

Zagreb, Croatia, October 2012

FROM STRATEGY TO REALITY - Mobilizing Users-X-users and survivors of psychiatry in Europe, based on

support from Mental Health Europe (MHE) under the European Commission Progress Program. Organized

with assistance of Shine, ENUSP member organization, the two-day seminar was held in Zagreb, 19-21

October 2012.

19 mental health service users and psychiatric survivor representatives of ENUSP member organizations

from 13 European countries came to Zagreb for an active and participatory working event, with the goal of

strengthening ENUSP and its participating members.

On Saturday 20 October, the program started with a plenary Open Thematic Dialogue, in which all

participants shared their current activities, work, achievements and challenges and gave a short country

report. This was very inspiring and unifying, and gave us opportunities to build bridges amongst ourselves.

In the afternoon four working groups focused on the main lines of ENUSP’s Strategic Plan (2012-2015). The

thematic groups were:

1. Fundraising – facilitator Noémi Kiry Ambrus,

2. Communication – facilitator Erik Olsen,

3. Lobbying and representation – facilitator Jasna Russo,

4. Preparation of the next GA – facilitator Gabriela Tanasan.

The working groups came up with a list of priorities and a concrete plan of the actions needed in the next

14 months, which to enable the concrete development of ENUSP and implementation of the strategic

moves as planned in the ENUSP Strategic Plan (2012-2015).

On Sunday 21 October 2012, the working groups reported in a plenary session, and the working papers

were integrated into the ENUSP Action Plan 2012-2013.

1. Fundraising and Preparation of the next GA, facilitators Noemi Kiri Ambrus and Gabriela Tanasan

Actions to be taken:

� Develop By-laws to be approved by GA

� Develop induction packages for new members of ENUSP to be approved by GA

� Develop new structure of ENUSP to be approved by GA

� Organise the GA itself

� Funding application(s):

- Establishment of a fundraising group

- Funding from: The State of the host country, ENUSP project(s), Member organizations' projects, MHE

– for EU countries, OSI projects for non-EU countries

2. Communication – improve internal and external communication, facilitator Erik Olsen

Actions to be taken:

� Web site administration

1. Appointment of: a website administrator, proofreader(s), translator(s), coordinator of all incoming

information, editorial board

2. Create discussion forum as a tool for internal and external communication: (a) Forum with limited access

to Board (and project workers) for discussion and decision-making purposes, (b) Forum restricted to

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members only, and (c) Open forum for members and guests for all kinds of info, experience and idea

exchange purposes

3. Provide other offers on web site:

� Issuing ENUSP bulletin, advocacy update + other media

1. Appointment of an Editorial Board and a PR person for other media

2. ENUSP Bulletin should be published 4 times a year

3. Advocacy Update should be published 2 times a year

� Gaining more members and co-operating with them better

1. Draw up a centralized list of all paying ENUSP members

2. Draw up a centralized list of ENUSP potential members

3. Use more personal contact (e.g., phoning with the help of this list) to recruit members.

3. Lobbying and representation, facilitator Jasna Russo

Actions to be taken

Position papers on fundamental issues:

� forced treatment, including community forced treatment

� harmful treatment methods such as ECT, restraint and seclusion

� deinstitutionalization

� legal capacity

� understanding of madness and human crisis

ENUSP representation TEMPLATE – designed by the group

ENUSP involvement TEMPLATE – designed by the group

ENUSP policy on involvement in research projects – SOME SUGGESTIONS

The main purpose of the templates is to outline some principles of our involvement for anybody wishing to

collaborate with ENUSP in research. The document should cover two main parts:

I. Type of research

II. Type of ENUSP involvement

2012-2014

ENUSP Supporter for two years

After two years of intensive work, in September 2012, for personal and organizational reasons, I made the

decision to resign. Still, I promised Erik Olsen, who replaced me, that I would help him and the Board as

much as I can.

Keeping the promise I continuously advised, supported, and helped the Board.

The organisation of the 5th

Empowerment, “Strategy for empowerment - Key areas of action”

December 2013, Bucharest, Romania

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Based on support from Mental Health Europe (MHE) under the European Commission Progress Programme

and with assistance of Horizons Foundation

The seminar brought together 19 representatives of users/survivors groups from 12 EU countries.

EPF Fundraising Training

As an ENUSP representative, in August 2014, I attended the EPF’s Fundraising Training for EPF full

members. The purpose of the training was to deliver training and coaching on fundraising and assist the

trainees with developing a fundraising strategy and plan for their organisation.

With the assistance of the trainers after the face-to-face training and great help of Stephanie Wooley and

Olga Kalina, I start drafting the ENUSP Fundraising Strategy.

The organisation of the GA

Besides the organisation itself of the event, I supported the Board with preparing the documents for the

GA. Many thanks and my gratitude go to Karl-Bach Jensen, Claus Bech Nielsen, Stephanie Wooley and Olga

Kalina for their support and assistance.

During all these more than four years, I have enjoyed working with everyone and I appreciate all that I have

learned from all of you. Thank you for the trust that you have placed in me.

Thank you! Mulţumesc!