A meeting of the Board of Directors of the Association for Independent Living (AVI), headed by Mr. Agustí Montal, president of AVI, and held on July 1st 2009, approved the incorporation of L’Aliança and Agrupació Mutua as new partners.

The ministry of Innovation, Universities and Entrerprise of the Catalan Government Josep Huguet, and the ministry of Social Affairs, Carme Capdevila, opened on Monday 2nd of June, the Independent Living Centre.

The AVANTE fair, held in Barcelona between the 5th and the 7th of June, is the first multisectorial fair that promotes the creation, development and commercialization of new technologies, products and services for the improvement of personal autonomy and the quality of life of dependent people.

The secretary of the Association for the Independent Life (AVI), Mr. Antonio López, welcomed the assistants and thanked them for their collaboration in the creation of CVI. In his intervention he highlighted the importance of all the work done so far, but also the fact that the project follows ahead and that he expects the CVI will achieve its goal of improving the autonomy of persons with disability or some degree of dependence with the contributions and the work of all them.

The Association for Independent Living (AVI) has received the "Pelfort i Xinxó" award by the "Societat Econòmica Barcelonina d'Amics del País" for its task in helping people with physical and psychical limitations. The prize is conceded annually to a private institution that works in this area.