The European League of Stuttering Associations (ELSA) was set up in 1990 by organisations in 12 countries to promote a greater knowledge and understanding of stuttering and to bring together, as a top

umbrella organisation An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...

, the national stuttering self-help organisations of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. ELSA is a trans-national, cross-cultural organisation. It seeks resources only open to multi-national groups, extends the exchange-of-information network, and lobbies for stutterers at a prominent international level. ELSA's work has been recognised by the

International Labour Office The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and ol ...

in Geneva, the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...

in Geneva and the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

Office in Vienna. ELSA is also a founding member of the European Disability Forum, an umbrella disability organisation based in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Purposes

Its main roles are: * to link together and further the co-operation of Europe's national organisations. * to provide a forum for exchange of concepts and experiences in stuttering therapy and self-help. * to help represent the interests of stutterers to European and international bodies. * to put stuttering onto the European agenda to ensure that the needs and challenges faced by people who stutter are considered in a European context.

Governance

The current executive board consists of Edwin Farr MBEMBE"> (Chair), Anita Blom (Vice-Chair) and Richard Bourgondiën (Webmaster).

Publications

The Association publishes a newsletter, ''One Voice'', which is published twice a year and is a joint project with the International Stuttering Association.

International Stuttering Awareness Day (ISAD)

Together with the International Fluency Association and the International Stuttering Association, the International Stuttering Association celebrates, every 22 October, International Stuttering Awareness Day (ISAD) which includes an online conference on stuttering and a media campaign.

References

External links