President Milanović Meets the Croatian Association of Deafblind Persons on the International Day of Deafblindness
The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović received today the delegation from the Croatian Association of Deafblind Persons “Dodir” to mark the first anniversary of the International Day of Deafblindness, adopted by the UN General Assembly on the proposal of the Association “Dodir” and the World Federation of the Deafblind, with the support of Croatian institutions.
During the meeting, the President of the Association, Dr. Sanja Tarczay, acquainted President Milanović with the process and background of declaring 27 June as the International Day of Deafblindness by the UN General Assembly. She stated that the proposal to declare the International Day of Deafblindness originated from the Croatian Association of Deafblind Persons “Dodir” two years ago. A year later, the UN General Assembly adopted the proposal on 16 June 2025. This recognition was preceded by a side event for the deafblind within the framework of the 18th Conference of States Parties, organized by the World Federation of the Deafblind and the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Croatia to the UN in New York, with the support of the Government of the Republic of Croatia and the International Disability Alliance.
The Croatian Association of Deafblind Persons “Dodir” is a national, non-governmental, and non-profit organization founded in 1994 to ensure a dignified and equal life for deafblind persons in the community. Deafblindness is a specific and unique dual sensory impairment of both hearing and vision in various combinations of intensity, which is the reason why deafblind persons fundamentally require the assistance of others in their daily lives; it was stated the President of the Association, Dr. Sanja Tarczay.
She emphasized that the Association is the only organization of its kind in Croatia providing the necessary assistance and support to deafblind persons. According to the 2023 data, there are 166 deafblind persons in Croatia. She also acquainted President Milanović with the specific problems that deafblind persons face on a daily basis, one of which is funding of costs for interpreters for deafblind persons.
Furthermore, she stated that the Association “Dodir” – together with its member organisations from Zagreb, Split, Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Osijek-Baranja, and Varaždin counties – promotes and implements unique educational programs on the topic of deafblindness, as well as professional training for interpreters and communication facilitators.
Apart from the President of the Croatian Association of Deafblind Persons “Dodir”, Dr. Sanja Tarczay, the meeting at the Office of the President of the Republic was attended by the presidents and representatives of the members of the Association: Josip Tonžetić and Christopher Dougal from Zagreb, Željko Bosilj from Osijek, Tomislav Švađumović from Varaždin, Lorenta Radić from Split, and Anđela Curić. Interpreters for deafblind persons Dijana Adžić, Roko Fazinić, Manuela Komorski, Tajana Tarczay Uzun, Ana Jakopović, and Andrea Palijaš were also in attendance.
Alongside the representatives of the Association, the meeting was attended by the Ombudsperson for Persons with Disabilities, Darijo Jurišić; the Head of the Study Centre for Social Work at the Faculty of Law at the University of Zagreb, Gordana Berc; the Vice-Dean for Science, Arts, and International Cooperation at the Faculty of Teacher Education at the University of Zagreb, Kristina Cergol; and the Assistant for Developmental, International, and Digital Programmes at the National Foundation for Civil Society Development Ines Katić.
President Milanović was accompanied by the Adviser of the President for Education, Jadranka Žarković.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Tomislav Bušljeta