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May 2006
Open the Windows:
Enabling and Facilitation of Access to Information Technology
for Persons with Disabilities
 Open
the windows is registered since August 2005, as a Macedonian
NGO, but its activities have started December 2004, as a
project of Handicap International. Two former employees
of Handicap International who have been successful in managing
variety of projects over a period of 5 years, have founded
local association Open the windows. Both of them understand
this humanitarian sector and have extensive knowledge and
experience in working with individuals and organizations
of persons with disabilities.
The Mission of Open the Windows is the Promotion,
Enabling and Facilitation of Access to Information Technology
for Persons with Disabilities.
The Guiding Principle is our Belief that Information and
Knowledge should be accessible to all.
The program activities of Open the windows to enhance opportunities
and capacities of persons with disabilities in field of
Information Technology (e-inclusion) are the following:
- Enabling access to information technology for persons
with severe disabilities, who have complex requirements
for adaptation
(e-access).
- Setting up a framework of capacity building through trainings
and consultations for different groups, which influence
the social situation for persons with disabilities.
- Establishment of a resource centre to transfer technology
know-how to persons with disabilities (e-resource center).
- Making available, financially affordable, assistive information
technology devices for persons with disabilities (e-innovation).
Open the windows is unique in its field and it fosters new
and original ideas on how to make available information
technology for persons with disabilities. The target audiences
are individuals, organizations of persons with disabilities,
educational institutions, day care centers, etc. This approach
will breakdown some of the social, economic and information
barriers which exist today in these latitudes.
 The
Open the windows team is based in Skopje, Macedonia, but
will also manage activities in other towns throughout the
country. In a second phase, as the NGO activities grow,
the Management Board may restructure its activities and
replicate them across the Balkan region, for the benefit
of the Disability Movement in South East Europe.
These NGO activities have been financially supported by
Handicap International, Foundation e-Macedonia and Norwegian
embassy in Macedonia.
Contact information:
Address: Bul. Partizanski Odredi 62/1-16,
1000 Skopje, R. Macedonia
Tell/fax: +389 2 3068-630
e-mail: contact@openthewindows.org
www.openthewindows.org
April
2006
EDF
Balkan Regional Conference
“European models for funding of
organisations of people with disabilities”
The European Disability Forum
(EDF) will organise a conference in Belgrade on 18th March
2006 in the framework of its “Capacity Building of
Disabled People Organisations” project funded by the
European Commission, CARDS Programme.
During the first regional conference in Athens on 27th September
2005, “funding of organisations of people with disabilities”
was identified as a key issue by the activists of the region.
Bringing together stakeholders involved in the field of
disability, the conference proposes to examine the main
aspects linked to this subject. The conference will allow
to discuss issues such as: state funding versus project
funding, criteria of funding and services of funding.
March 2006
Non-EU South Eastern Europe
Consultative Meeting on a Draft Comprehensive Integral International
Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights
and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities
 The
consultative meeting on a draft Comprehensive Integral International
Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights
and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities aimed at supporting
a consultation on the draft Convention by disability stakeholders
of non-EU South Eastern European countries. The United Nations
Department for Economic and Social Affairs was responsible
for the coordination and facilitation of the substance of
the meeting.
The meeting has been organised under the official approval
from the State of Serbia and Montenegro that acknowledges
the significant opportunity to include the perspectives
of persons with disabilities from the region in the draft
process of the UN Convention and in collaboration with the
Ministry of Labour, Employment and social policy of the
Republic of Serbia and Handicap International South-East
Europe.
Similar to the consultative meetings held in Asia, Western
and Southern Africa, Latin America and the Arab region,
this meeting in Serbia and Montenegro aimed at supporting
a consultation on the draft Convention by disability stakeholders
from the following seven countries: Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina,
Bulgaria, Croatia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
Romania, Serbia and Montenegro- at the governmental as well
as non-governmental level.
The meeting had two primary objectives:
1) Sharing of information on the on-going negotiation process,
that is to say, the content of the draft Convention, its
critical issues and the debate around them.
2) Favoring a dialogue among regional stakeholders in order
to define the region priorities with respect to the future
Convention.
communique
| saopštenje
| list
of participants
The regional conference on accessibility
Access 2006:
Freedom of Movement – an (in)accessible right?!
The 5th regional conference on accessibility
«Access 2006: Freedom of Movement – an (in)accessible
right?!» took place from the 22nd to the 23rd of February
2006 in hotel Jugoslavija in Belgrade.
The conference was organized by the Center for Independent
Living of Serbia, with the support of Handicap International
and the Association of paraplegics and quadriplegics of
Serbia.
The conference was attended by participants from Serbia
and Montenegro, as well as from other countries, and they
included representatives of people with disabilities, as
well as professionals dealing with issues concerning people
with disabilities. Representatives from the Council of Europe,
urban planners, architects, organizations of people with
disabilities from South East Europe and special guests from
France.
An exhibition of photographs on how people with disabilities
overcome architectural barriers in the region was held on
the 21st of February at 19h30 in hotel Jugoslavija as an
opening to the conference.
For more information, please contact the Center
for Independent Living in Belgrade by e-mail: cilsrbija@digit.co.yu
or phone +381 11 360 55 09.
Download the summary
and the conclusions of the conference:
english
| serbian
February 2006
The Second Regional
Award for Good Practices of Social Services Providers in
the Field of Disability 2005
 Within
the program of supporting local stakeholders to the develop
social services for persons with disabilities, Handicap
International South East Europe organized in 2005 the second
regional award for good practices of social services providers
in the field of disability.
The purpose of the award was to promote and enhance the
awareness of good practices in the field of social services
at community level, promoting the principles of human rights
approach, user participation, self-determination, and sustainable
partnerships between different stakeholders. In January,
based on the selection of an international jury,  five
organisations were awarded: DODIR- the
Croatian Association of deaf-blind persons, PORAKA-
the Republic Centre for support of persons with intellectual
disabilities in Macedonia, The Muscle Dystrophy
Association in Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro,
PUZ– Association of Parents of children
with special needs in Croatia and Veliki Mali–
initiative for professional assistance to children with
disabilities in Pancevo in Serbia and Montenegro that received
the jury’s special prize. The total amount of the
awards was 10 750 EUR.
For more information about the awards, please visit www.cbs.hi-see.org.
January 2006
Share-SEE supports
a civic campaign for a systematic law on the rights of people
with disabilities in Macedonia
18.968 signatures presented
to the
Macedonian Parliament
Members of Polio Plus, the Union of Students
with Disabilities and members of the Disability Pensioners’
Union have presented the books with the citizens’ signatures
to the Parliament deputies at 12:00 p.m. on the 6th of January
2006.
On November 11th 2005, Polio Plus, by creating the
draft version of the Law for the Rights and Dignity of People
with Disabilities in Macedonia, and also by suggesting its
adoption by the Macedonian Parliament, has, indeed, started
a major civic initiative. This landmark enterprise was to
collect 10,000 signatures from Macedonian citizens in order
to support the adoption of this Law. People were allowed to
express their support of this legal initiative, by giving
their signature, until December the 30th 2005. Within that
period, exactly 18.968 signatures were collected, far exceeding
the minimum requirement of 10,000! In addition to having nearly
twice as many signatures as required, it was done in half
the time normally allotted for it (the standard is three months).
The citizens of Macedonia gave an overwhelming support to
this initiative and we hope that the Parliamentary procedure
will be as efficient and as successful.
December 2005
"Our voice 2005"
conference,
Belgrade, 6th-7th December 2005
This significant national event provided
an opportunity for representatives of parliamentarian parties
and of the national government and national disabled peoples'
organizations, to discuss, share experiences regarding “Antidiscrimination
legislation for disabled people” and “National
disability strategy”, and to create a common platform
regarding disability issues and international standards
in the frame of the EU Accession Process for Serbia.
We had a great pleasure to welcome Mr. Boris Tadic,
President of the Republic of Serbia and his Excellency Mr.
David Gowan, Ambassador of the United Kingdom in
Serbia and Montenegro who both stressed the importance of
people with disabilities to realize their rights and become
equal members of their society. The opening speeches were
also delivered by Mrs. Vesna Piperski-Tucakov, assistant
to the minister of labor and social affairs, Mrs. Sladjana
Markovic, deputy minister of labor and social affairs for
disability issues, Mrs. Ljubinka Borizovski, president of
the Union of Associations of people with disabilities and
Damjan Tatic, member of the Center for Independent living
of Serbia and member of the working group for the draft
Law on Antidiscrimination.
The Conference gathered representatives of Organizations
of people with disabilities from Serbia, parliamentary political
parties, as well as representatives of the European Disability
Forum.
You can download the conclusion of the conference
in english and in serbian by clicking on the links bellow:
English
| Srpski
Share-SEE supports a civic campaign for a systematic
law on the rights of people with disabilities in Macedonia
"My signature
is the law"
Polio Plus, a local DPO in Macedonia spearheaded
the campaign, "My Signature is the Law", a civic
initiative aimed at collecting 10,000* signatures of support
for the adoption of a new systemic Law on the Protection
of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities.
Zvonko Savreski, PolioPlus president, said that this law
will not present any new demands on any new rights.
"This Law aims to implement the existing rights and
standards and to provide that the investments and efforts
should yield greater benefits", said Savrevski.
The campaign officially began on November 1st with the opening
of 34 regional offices where citizens are able to sign the
petition in support of the new law. This campaign will provide
another opportunity to hear the voices of the people with
disabilities. The whole process will raise the awareness
of the public about issues regarding people with disabilities.
The large number of signatures will enable Polio Plus to
put demands before the state and will increase pressure
on the state forcing government to consider the systematic
law.
The project is carried out in collaboration with local DPOs
in Macedonia in an effort to develop stronger partnerships
and increase capacity of local organizations. Local DPOs
joined together for the collection of signatures and will
partake in awareness raising and monitoring activites.
As a part of this project, a country-wide marathon is planned
led by Mile Stojkoski, a wheelchair user from Prilep. Mile
will travel throughout Macedonia in his wheelchair to discuss
the law with others. Mile will be joined by other people
either walking or in wheelchairs to show support for the
project by completing "mini-marathons" with him.
.
Public debates on selected legal topics such as anti-discrimination
provisions and protective mechanisms will take place to
inform the public on the systematic law. The seminars will
include legal experts and will be held at different locations
throughout Macedonia.
*10,000 is the minimum number
of signatures required by the Republic of Macedonia to adopt
legislation.
"Freedom
of Movement: an inaccessible right?" - a traveling
exibition
Handicap International with the support of the French embassy
in Bosnia and Herzegovina presents, “Freedom of Movement:
an inaccessible right?” a photo exhibition documenting
how people with disabilities in South East Europe face and
overcome physical and architectural barriers to mobility.
The show is based on eight series of photos, each one bearing
witness to an individual with disabilities and their daily
struggle to surpass the many obstacles to unrestricted movement.
All of the photographic series are accompanied by texts
telling each person’s own story about how they confront
an inaccessible environment and how they attempt to exercise
their right to freedom of movement.
The exhibition will be displayed throughout December beginning
in Sarajevo from the 2nd-5th, in Tuzla the 8th-15th, in
Mostar the 16th-22nd and in Banja Luka the 25th-31st.
Speakers include:
Suad Zahirovic, Executive Director of Information Centre
for People with Disabilites “Lotos”
Ambassador Henry Zipper de Fabiani, the Ambassador to the
French embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Community Based Services
Workshop
19th -20th of December in Montenegro
The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare
of the Republic of Montenegro, with facilitation from Hnadicap
International, is organizing a workshop „Quality standards
and principles of good governance: the premises for the
development of community-based social services for persons
with disabilities in Montenegro”. The work shop is
going to take place 19th -20th of December 2005 in Budva,
in hotel “Mogren”. Participants will be: representatives
of central and local authorities, service providers, representatives
of NGOs, DPOs and parents’ organizations, together
with representatives of international agencies and organizations,
which are active in the field of social services sector.
A system of social services should respond to the identified
and expressed needs of persons with disabilities, in order
to provide equal opportunities for inclusion and full participation
in society. Social services should also comply with quality
and efficiency requirements. In order to achieve these goals,
each country implements a set of regulatory mechanisms,
like: the needs assessments (the mapping of needs and services
at a local level), the sets of quality standards, the procedures
of licensing/authorization, the contracting and funding
procedures, the monitoring and evaluation of the service.
Globally, these regulatory mechanisms can be adjusted in
relation with the national policies of social protection,
but also with the stage of development of the system of
services. That’s why, in a system which is in transition,
their role is crucial: they are one of the levers to work
towards a universal access of persons with disabilities
to qualitative services.
Among these regulatory mechanisms, the issue of quality
standards and principles plays a crucial role in order for
the state to support and fund these services in a cost-efficient
way, but also to ensure their population an equal access
to qualitative services.
Most of the countries of the region
are facing a similar transition phase: the open market and
the new paradigm of rights based approach to services delivery
require a diversity of providers, from the public, private
and non-profit sector. Since in Montenegro there is a legislation
that enables private entities to provide services in the
social field, the need for framing and ensuring the quality
of services, as well as developing new types of services,
have been acknowledged. The Montenegro State wants to develop
these quality standards based on the capacities in the community,
thus a dialogue is important between NGO and public authorities
and institutions.
"Disability and Poverty in Bosnia and Herzegovina"
conference in Sarajevo
The World Bank in collaboration with the
Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina is sponsoring
the conference, Disability and Poverty in Bosnia and Herzegovina,
organised by Information Centre Lotos. The conference will
take place in Sarajevo on November 28th. It will bring together
representatives of Government and Non governmental sector
in B&H, representatives of international organizations
and development agencies in B&H, representatives of
Embassies residing at B&H, representatives of business
sector in B&H, representatives of academic institutions
in B&H and representatives of disabled peoples' organizations
in B&H, with the aim to:
- Present qualitative and quantitative
analysis of causes of poverty for persons with disabilities;
- Present current implementation of Poverty Reduction Strategy
in B&H;
- Present results of monitoring of the current Poverty Reduction
Strategy implementation in B&H done by NGO sector and
recommendations for further implementation;
- Analyse status of persons with disabilities in B&H
in relation to the current economic situation in B&H;
- Identify and recommend measures which would lead to poverty
reduction of persons with disabilities in B&H.
6th
meeting of states parties to the Mine Ban Treaty
Sixth meeting of states parties to the mine
ban treaty to take place in Zagreb, Croatia from 28 November
to 2 December 2005. Around 600 delegates representing over
100 countries along with many international NGOs are expected
to gather in Zagreb for the 6th meeting of states parties
to the Mine Ban Treaty. This annual meeting is the first
formal gathering to assess the implementation of the Nairobi
Action Plan from 2005-2009, adopted by states parties in
2004 to ensure that antipersonnel mines are eliminated.
November 2005
The conference "Our voice
2005" will be organized in Belgrade, Serbia-Montenegro
from the 6th to the 7th of December 2005.
This significant
national event will provide an opportunity for representatives
of parliamentarian parties and national government and national
disabled peoples' organizations, to discuss, share experiences
regarding “Antidiscrimination legislation for disabled
people” and “National disability strategy”,
and to create a common platform regarding disability issues
and international standards in the frame of the EU Accession
Process for Serbia.
The Conference will gather representatives of Organisations
of people with disabilities from Serbia, as well as parliamentary
political parties. Representatives of the European Disability
forum and the Council of Europe have also confirmed their
attendance.
As we can conclude from the experience of other countries
that have recently integrated the EU, or countries like
Bulgaria and Romania, the EU accession process brings a
strong political momentum favourable for improvement of
the disability policy framework.
We are confident that this process will enable better collaboration
between government and civil society regarding disability
issues.
The National Conference is organized by the Association
of paraplegic and quadriplegic of Serbia, the Association
of children and cerebral palsy of Serbia, the Republic association
for help and support of persons living with autism and the
Centre for Independent Living (CIL, Serbia), with support
of Handicap International and Department for International
Development UK (DFID) through the Self Help and Advocacy
for Rights and Equal Opportunities in South East Europe
(Share-SEE) project.
April
2005
"Step Towards Europe 2005"
– A regional conference about disability policy and the
process of accession to the European Union
A regional Conference “Step Towards Europe
2005”, gathering representatives of organizations of people
with disabilities, government representatives from 9 countries,
representatives of European institutions and international
NGOs, has been held from March 15 – 17, 2005 in Sarajevo
with the purpose to discuss the issue of disability policy
within the accession process to the European Union in
South East Europe.
The Conference has been organized by the Information Centre
for Persons with Disabilities «Lotos» ( Bosnia
and Herzegovina ), the Centre for Independent Living Serbia
(CIL), Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and Handicap International
(HI) with the support of the Development Cooperation Ireland
(DCI), the Department for International Development UK (DFID)
and the Government of BiH.
All Participants agreed to be sharing the core values of
the European Union and the Council of Europe as mentioned
in the European convention of human rights and other instruments
and accepted a common platform which should give broad guidance
for governments and civil society in the countries of the
South East Europe to further develop policies that contribute
to build a society for all.
• List of participants (english
XLS; bosanski
XLS)
• Program (english
PDF; bosanski
PDF)
• Compendium of presentations (english
PDF; bosanski
PDF)
• Conclusions (english
PDF; bosanski PDF)
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February
2005
Towards a strong
advocacy platform, SHARE-SEE project has supported several
Unified Voice conferences
in South-East Europe.
Throughout November and December 2004, several unified voice
conferences have been organised in all parts of the region.
These conferences aim at solving conflicts and disagreements
among disabled people's organisations that make up the disability
movement and at working together to build a common approach
on crucial issues such as accessibility or anti-discrimination.
The stake of a strong and unified disability movement is
to gain sufficient weight in order to significantly influence
states' policies and their implementation.
These unified voice conferences successfully took place
in Albania , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Kosovo , Macedonia
, Montenegro and Serbia where conclusions have been each
time agreed by all participants.
To have an overview and see the conclusions of each conference,
please click on these links below and download the
PDF. document:
• Unified voice in Tara – Serbia , 10-12 November
2004 (srpski
PDF)
• Unified voice in Niksic – Montenegro , 26-27
November 2004 (english
PDF ; srpski
PDF)
• Unified voice in Pristina – Kosovo, 26-27 November
2004 (english
PDF)
• Unified voice in Tirana – Albania , 3 December
2004 (english
PDF )
• Unified voice in Skopje – Macedonia , 4 December
2004 (english
PDF)
• Unified voice in Neum – Bosnia and Herzegovina
, 19-20 December 2004 (bosanski
PDF)
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December
2004
VISIT of the World Bank advisor for
disability and development – Judith Heumann – in Sarajevo
and Belgrade
 Judith Heuman who is the main advisor of the World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn for development issues related to people with disabilities and in visit to Central and Eastern Europe as part of her assessment mission, participated in round tables in Sarajevo and Belgrade, co-organised by the World Bank and partners of the Share-See project . At these roundtables, were gathered representatives of disabled peoples' organisations, ministers and representatives of international organizations, with a special discussions' focus on education and employment.
Judith E. Heumann
| Visit in Sarajevo |Visit
in Belgrade | In the news
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Judith E. Heumann
In June of 2002, Judith E. Heumann was appointed as the World Bank's first Adviser on Disability and Development. In this position, Ms. Heumann, an internationally recognized expert on disability and diversity issues, leads the World Bank's disability work and highlights the importance of including disability in the Bank's discussions with client countries. Prior to her current position, she served as the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in the Department of Education from 1993-2000. Ms. Heumann was one of the co-founders of the World Institute on Disability. She also served as the Assistant National Secretary for the U.S. Council on International Rehabilitation (now the U.S. International Council on Disabilities). In addition, she has served on several local, national and international boards of directors and has received numerous awards for her work. Ms. Heumann is a graduate of Long Island University and received her Masters in Public Health from the University of California at Berkeley.
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Visit in Sarajevo
On the occasion of Judith Heumann's visit in Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Handicap International with its equal partner IC LOTOS from
Tuzla, in frame of the Share-See project, and in close cooperation
with the World Bank office in Sarajevo successfully organised
a roundtable on the 26 th of October 2004
at the Hotel Hollywood Ilidza.
The topic of the roundtable was “ How can Disabled
Peoples' Organisations in Bosnia and Herzegovina improve
their advocacy and lobbying skills in achieving their equal
human rights ”. During the three hours discussion
at the roundtable, over 40 participants, all coming from
Disabled Peoples' organisations and at the same time Persons
with Disabilities had opportunity to discuss “one to one”
with Ms. Judith on the issue. The participants were local
NGOs-Unions-Cantonal of: Blind, Deaf and Hard Hearing Persons,
Mentally retarded, Dystrophy Suffers, Poliomyelitis, Civilian
Victims of War, children with special needs, amputees, paraplegics
from Mostar, Livno, Gorazde, Banjaluka, Tuzla, Doboj and
Sarajevo. The moderator of this roundtable was Mr. Zeljko
Bajic, a blind person with a Master in International policy/Faculty
of Journalism with over 12 years of working experience in
this field.
The round table was also an excellent opportunity for Ms.
Heumann to be introduced on one hand to problems related
to education, employment, social and medical status and
approach of responsible authorities towards persons with
disabilities, and on the other, to the important work that
the present organizations achieve in the field of equal
opportunities creation. Ms. Heumann also presented several
examples of lobbying and advocacy activities that were implemented
in the United States and also shared some of her personal
experiences, being herself a person with a disability and
a wheelchair user, and difficulties that she faced during
her education and work. Today after over 20 years of international
experience in handling disability issues all over the world,
Ms. Heumann also “stepped” into the difficulties that people
with disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina are facing.
After the roundtable, informal conversations took place
and Ms. Heumann received more details from some participants
on all standing difficulties of persons with disabilities
in the country.
As she promised, she will certainly come back to Bosnia
and Herzegovina again to learn more and we will be more
than happy to welcome her again.
Share-See Program, Sarajevo
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Visit in Belgrade
Judith Heumann, Adviser on
Disability and Development, World Bank, visited Belgrade
the 28 th and 29 th of October 2004. On that occasion
two important meetings were held:
The Round Table, which was held on the 28 th of October
2004 ( see the list of participants), was about the following
issues: education, employment and maintenance of economic
security of persons with disabilities, in the context
of the Poverty Reduction Strategy in Serbia. The basis
for the discussion was given through the presentation
of following subjects:
• Disability and poverty ( Judith
Heumann, Adviser on Disability and Development, World
Bank),
• Information about
PRSP (Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper) in Serbia ( Vesna
Piperski Tucakov, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Labour,
Employment and Social Policy; Mihail Arandarenko, Lead
Adviser, Deputy Prime Minister's Office, PRSP),
• Disability issue in the context of
the PRSP process ( Gradimir Zajic, Senior Researcher
for Handicap International).
The discussion was about two main subjects: (1) education
with a focus on reform of the commission for categorization,
inclusive education and professional qualification. (2)
employment and maintenance of economic security, specific
costs of the disability, approach to employment, employment
law for people with disabilities and their pensions.
It has been concluded that the PRSP document for poverty
reduction contains a good approach for the solution of
questions on disability, that important processes have
been started in key (main) areas, but also that rapid
changes are necessary, as well as further concretisation
and operational process of this approach through the National
strategy about disability in whose approach a full participation
of people with disabilities should be provided.
On the second day , October 29 2004. a round table was
organized with the subject : Advocacy and development
of the movement of people with disabilities, with the
participation of representatives from associations of
people with disabilities.
Judith Heumann, the World Bank Advisor
on Disability and Development is one of the founder of
the organization “People with disabilities in action”.
She presented the development of the disability movement
in the USA. The most important experience of this movement
and the message to people with disabilities and their
associations is that it is very important to cooperate
with other associations. Numerous initiatives
and results they achieved are showing the valuable knowledge
that changes are not possible without cooperation
of the associations of people with disabilities
among them and organizations of people with disabilities
with other organizations.
The discussion which was held and the raised questions
showed the similarities and differences which exist between
the associations of persons with disabilities. The impression
is that the knowledge of how important the gathering about
common questions and interests is spreading (with all
the respect to the specific needs and different activities)
because the “ one voice” strategy
gives the strength in pleading
the basic needs of people with disabilities and chances
for an influence in realization of the basic right – right
to equal opportunities.
Share-See Program, Belgrade.
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Roundtable on Disability and Education, Employment and
Sustainable Livelihood in the Context of the Serbian PRSP
October 28, 2004
LIST OF INVITEES |download|
Judith Heumann's visit in the news
From the country news of World Bank website
Bosnia And Herzegovina: World Bank Top Advisor For Disability And Development Visits
SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
October, 22, 2004 –As a part of her assessment
mission to the Central and Eastern Europe, t he top World
Bank advisor for Disability and Development , Ms. Judith
Heumann , will be visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina between
October 23 and 27. While in country, Ms. Heumann will
meet representatives of disabled peoples' organizations,
a number of state and entity ministers and representatives
of international organizations.
During her visit, Ms. Heumann, who is the main advisor
of the World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn for development
issues related to people with disabilities, will assess
specific problems and challenges facing disabled people
in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as possibilities for
the World Bank to assist in these issues.
While in Sarajevo, Ms. Heumann will participate in
an informal discussion with representatives of disabled
peoples' organizations on the subject “Making voices
heard: How can Disabled Peoples' Organizations in Bosnia
and Herzegovina improve advocacy and their work with
Governments.” She will also participate at the roundtable
“Disability, Education and Employment” which will convene
representatives of disabled people's organizations,
entity ministries for education and labor and employment
issues and international agencies involved in this area.
This roundtable will be used for a discussion on innovate
ways to ensure sustainable livelihoods for people with
disabilities through improving access to education and
employment opportunities and to share experiences from
within Bosnia and Herzegovina and internationally. Both
of these events will be co-organized by the World Bank,
Handicap International and the Information Center for
People with Disabilities “Lotos” Tuzla under the SHARE-SEE
Program.
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ECA Newsletter (the monthly newsletter of the World bank's Europe and Central Asia region) - November 2004
Disability and Development Advisor Assesses Bosnia and Herzegovina
Judith E. Heumann, World Bank Disability and Development Advisor, spent 5 days in Bosnia and Herzegovina last month. Her goal was to look at problems and challenges facing disabled people in the country, and to determine how the World Bank might assist in these issues. She met members of various disabled persons organizations as well as President Tihic, State Minister Halilovic, heads of donor agencies, and civil society representatives. Heumann visited a Community-Based Rehabilitation Center providing services to people with both physical and emotional disabilities. Heumann also visited an “inclusive” school that she hopes can be used as a model for the World Bank and other donors to follow. Discussions with civil society focused on how to improve advocacy efforts on behalf of the disabled, and how education and employment opportunities for the disabled can lead to sustainable livelihoods.
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Bosnia and Herzegovinia Daily “Nezavisne”, Tuesday, October 26, 2004
"MONEY FOR DISABLED IN BiH is badly distributed" |download article|
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