President Milanović Meets with Representatives of Croatian Association of Deafblind Persons
The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović met today at the Office of the President with representatives of Dodir, the Croatian Association of Deafblind Persons, its President Sanja Tarczay, deafblind interpreter Dijana Adžić and spokeswoman Nives Zemba.
At the meeting, representatives of the Dodir Association of Deafblind Persons presented to President Milanović the activities of the national NGO/NPO established in 1994 to ensure a life of dignity and equality for deafblind people. Deafblindness is a specific dual sensory impairment of hearing and vision in different combinations of intensities, they explained, and therefore deafblind people inevitably need someone else’s help for everyday life. The Dodir Association is the only organisation of its kind in Croatia that provides the necessary help and support to deafblind people.
The Association’s goals are to provide education, rehabilitation, communication and socialisation, so the Dodir Association has been continuously promoting and implementing unique educational programmes on deafblindness and professional training of interpreters for deafblind people, since its establishment 28 years ago. The Association is also the only publisher of the complete curriculum for sign language and the creator of one of the first online courses in Croatian Sign Language, it was said at the meeting. The Association President informed President Milanović about the problems they face, such as covering the costs of interpreters for deafblind people.
Association President Sanja Tarczay has long been active in international organisations of deafblind people and the Dodir Association therefore participates in organising international conferences, in cooperation with the European Deafblind Union (EDbU). From 17 to 26 June 2022 the 1st EDbU Deafblind Youth Camp: “Deafblind? And, so what!”, the 9th EDbU General Assembly, the 1st Deafblind Elderly Forum, the 3rd Deafblind Youth Forum and the 4th Deafblind Women Forum will be held in Belgium. The meetings will discuss the position of deafblind people in society, opportunities in exercising their rights and good practice examples in the countries where EDbU is active.
Adviser to the President of the Republic for Human Rights and Civil Society Melita Mulić was alongside President Milanović at the meeting.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Ana Marija Katić