Winter 2013
Newsletter of the Association for Self-Advocacy
WE GOT THE RIGHT TO VOTE
Issue 9
EDITORIAL Dear readers, at the very beginning I wish you all the best in the new year. Last year was very good and successful for self-advocates. In this newsletter we decided to point out the most important things that happened in 2012. One of them is that the Law on Voting Lists was adopted which gives the right to vote to persons deprived of legal capacity. I hope you will find something that will interest you in this issue.
HOW PERSONS DEPRIVED OF LEGAL CAPACITY GOT THE RIGHT TO VOTE
Editor Senada Halilčević Journalists Hrvoje Forner Snježana Kanjir Fadil Špuren Braco Nera Bajzec Assistants Ivana Poslon Ivana Bašić Sanja Hotko Damjan Janjušević This newsletter was supported by a grant from the Open Society Fundations and the City of Zagreb.
The condition before the new Law on Voting Lists The right to vote means that we have the right to participate and vote in elections. It is a fundamental human right. However, according to the old Law on Voting Lists, persons deprived of legal capacity could not be entered on the voting list. Many persons with intellectual disabilities are deprived of legal capacity. That means that many persons with intellectual disabilities did not have the right to vote. That was against the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities or the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia. Process of changes That is why Association for Self Advocacy offered to help its members to fight for the right to vote.
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We held many informational workshops. Day before the parliamentary elections we organized a workshop where all of our members could vote. We spoke to State Election Commission, Ministry of Administration and other relevant institutions. We told them that the existing law violated fundamental human rights. Ombudsperson for Persons with Disabilities, other associations of persons with disabilities and Association GONG advocated for change, besides Association for Self Advocacy. Joint efforts pay off On 14 December 2012 Croatian Parliament adopted the new Law on Voting Lists. According to the new Law persons deprived of legal capacity are registered in the voting list. That means that those persons got the right to vote. That allows persons deprived of legal capacity to participate in political and public life on equal basis as other citizens. The fight is not over Now it is up to relevant institutions like the State Election Commission and Ministry of Administration to ensure conditions for persons with intellectual disabilities to vote when they get to polling stations.
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It is their duty to enter persons deprived of legal capacity in the voting list. Voting list is the official list of persons who have the right to vote. It is also their duty to familiarize members of election committees with the new law. Many persons with intellectual disabilities still live in social care institutions. Polling stations must be ensured in institutions to allow them to realize their right to vote. Press conference Association for Self Advocacy together with association Shine and association GONG held a press conference. The objective of the conference was to familiarize the public that persons deprived of legal capacity now have the right to vote. At the conference we warned the relevant institutions that they have to do their job so that persons deprived of legal capacity can realize their right to vote in the next elections. Fadil Špuren, self-advocate deprived of legal capacity whose right to vote was restored, said: „It is with pride that I await the day of elections, that Sunday when I will give my vote to my favourite candidate, equally with other citizens of this country. I hope that this law will not remain a dead letter and that I will be able to realize my right to vote in the local elections next year.“ Written by Sanja Hotko and Senada Halilčević
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Newsletter of the Association for Self-Advocacy
The right to live in the community Croatia signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Convention says that people should live in the community. Unfortunately, many persons with intellectual disabilities in Croatia still live in institutions. That is why Croatia decided to start the process of deinstitutionalization. That means that less people will live in institutions, and more people will live in the community. Persons who leave the institutions will get support they need to live in the community. Unfortunately, some people think that persons with intellectual disabilities are safer in institutions and that life in the community would be very difficult for them, even impossible. However, self-advocate Nenad Sekušak proved that living in the community for persons with intellectual disabilities is definitely possible. Read the interview with Nenad and learn his story! Written by Ivana Poslon
INTERVIEW WITH NENAD Can you describe life in institution? In the institution I always lived by the same programs. I had to go to bed in the afternoon when I was not sleepy and help dress other users, or I would get a minus. Voice of Self-Advocates
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If I was late for lunch, I would not get anything to eat. I was locked in the room and ordered what to do. I did the job that the cleaning lady was supposed to do. I was tired of all of that. How did you decide to leave the institution? In the institution we had a group where we did self-advocacy. There I learned what is living in the community. It was my big wish to leave the institution and live in the community and I told my social worker. Where do you live now? Now I live in an apartment in Savska Street. I clean and do chores here too, but no one makes me do it. I share chores with my roommates. Assistants help us with the chores. What does living in the community mean to you? Living in the community means a lot to me. I feel more independent and I am not afraid of anything anymore. I have a lot of freedom and I can organize my own time myself. I have to be careful not to be late for work. Was the change difficult for you? The hardest thing was to learn to get around town and which tram to take. I got support when I needed it. What is your job? I work in the work centre. There I saw, draw and write. I feel rich because it develops my motor skills. Still, I would like to have a real job so I could make money for a laptop.
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Newsletter of the Association for Self-Advocacy
How do you see your future? Now I want to stay in the community living program. But some day when I do not need that program, I would like to get married and live completely independently. Interview by Fadil Špuren
NEWS Participation of persons with disabilities in political life and sports and media A conference was organized on International day of persons with disabilities on 3 December 2012 in the European Commission in Brussels. The subject of the conference was participation of persons with disabilities in political life and sports and on media appearances of persons with disabilities. At the conference we learned that persons with intellectual disabilities can not vote in most European countries. We talked about what support persons with disabilities need to realize their right to vote. We met some athletes with disabilities. They talked about how they fought and succeeded in sports. We saw several short films which talk about the rights of persons with disabilities. The city of Berlin won a prize for accessibility for persons with disabilities. Senada Halilčević participated at the conference with the support of her assistant. Written by Senada Halilčević and Ivana Bašić
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Visit to Croatian Parliament On the Day of persons with disabilities self-advocates visited the Croatian Parliament. There we had info stalls, together with other associations of persons with disabilities. At the stall we presented our Association, handed out brochures and newsletter. President of Parliament Josip Leko and members of parliament visited the stalls. We were glad that we could talk to them and tell them our messages. Written by Snje탑ana Kanjir Finished projects financed by the City of Zagreb In 2012 Association for Self Advocacy got money from the City of Zagreb for two projects. The first project was I exist, too! We used the money for that project to hold computer workshops in our association. Many self-advocates learned to write on the computer or use the Internet. The rest of the money we used to hold meetings of self-advocates. Users from Centre for Rehabilitation Zagreb participated in the meetings. The second project for which we got money was Allow us to introduce ourselves. We made a film about 2 conference of Croatian self-advocates with the money from this project. The title of the film is Equal rights for all people. You can see the film on our website. We used the rest of the money to pay for printing this newsletter. Written by Ivana Poslon
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Newsletter of the Association for Self-Advocacy
Presenting the project Human rights advocacy through learning by doing At the end of last year we started working on the project Human rights advocacy through learning by doing. We are implementing this project in cooperation with GONG. The project is funded by the European Commission. With this project we want to improve protection of human rights of persons with intellectual disabilities. The right to vote is especially important. Implementation of the project is going very well. Together with partners from GONG we participated in adopting the Law on Voter Lists. aw on Voter Lists determined who will be able to vote in elections in Croatia. Together with partners from GONG and other organizations we succeeded to give equal right to vote to all citizens. In the future persons deprived of legal capacity will have the right to vote and will be able to participate in elections. We will continue our good cooperation with GONG in 2013. We will make brochures and hold workshops on the right to vote in 13 cities across Croatia. We will film a TV commercial and several short films. With these activities we want to encourage self-advocates to use their right to vote and participate in elections. Written by Damjan Janjuťević Expanding the self-advocacy network in Croatia Association for Self Advocacy continues to cooperate with self-advocacy groups in Croatia.
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This year self-advocates from 13 Croatian cities will talk about their rights in workshops. Some of the subjects of workshops will be: • the right to vote, • the right to live in the community, • education, • employment, • legal capacity, • fighting discrimination. We will make a short film about the work of self-advocacy groups in Croatia. We will also write a brochure about the work of Association for Self Advocacy which celebrates 10 years this year. We will present the film and brochure at the European conference of self-advocates ZABAVNIK which will be held in Zagreb in October. We want as many persons with intellectual disabilities to be familiar with their rights. We got money for this project from Open Society. Written by Ivana Poslon How we celebrated New Year Association for Promoting Inclusion and Association for Self Advocacy organized a New Year's party together. We assembled with fun music. We greeted midnight with fireworks and champagne. In the raffle everyone picked their lucky number and got a New Year's gift.
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Newsletter of the Association for Self-Advocacy
We celebrated and danced until early morning hours. We wish that this year is full of dancing, laughter and great fun as our party was! Written by Snježana Kanjir
ANNOUNCEMENTS Pathways conference A conference about easy to read materials and lifelong learning will be held in Zagreb on 22 February 2013. At the conference we will present brochures on writing easy to read materials. Persons with intellectual disabilities need information in easy to read form to understand and learn new things. We will talk about lifelong learning for persons with intellectual disabilities. Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities says that persons with intellectual disabilities have the right to learn and get education all their life, even after they finish school. Unfortunately, in Croatia persons with intellectual disabilities still cannot participate in lifelong learning programs. That is why we will invite representatives of the Ministry of Science, Education and Sport and representatives of lifelong learning institutions. We will talk about the ways in which lifelong learning programs can be adapted so that persons with intellectual disabilities can participate in them. Written by Ivana Bašić and Snježana Kanjir
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FUN PAGES SPORTS Football In 2012 the football representation of Croatia played great. Now it is 2013 and in March qualifications for world championship 2014 will begin. On 26 March Croatia will play with Wales, on 7 June with Scotland, on 9 September with Serbia, on 11 October with Belgium. I hope we will play well and go to the world championship. Written by Nera Bajzec What can you do in your free time? Visit a library and read. To borrow books, you have to be a member of the library. You can become a member by filling out an application form and pay the fee at the library. The fee is 50 HRK for one year. You can borrow up to 4 books. You have to read and return the books in 21 days. In the summer you can borrow 5 books. In libraries which have a reading section you can also read newspapers. Book recommendation The best book I have read is called Quantum of Solace. The book was written by Ian Fleming.
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Newsletter of the Association for Self-Advocacy
It is about a secret agent James Bond 007. It is a crime novel about a spy. Written by Fadil Ĺ puren Goga's quizzes Which head does not have a nose? A head of lettuce! Written by Gordana Huzek
ADVICE CORNER How can I approach a girl? Around me I see girls I like, but I do not know how to approach them. If you like a girl, try to get to know her better first. In conversation find out what she is like as a person, what she likes, what she wants in life. You can invite her for a walk or coffee. When you know her better, you will see if you are good for each other. Then you can ask her to be your girlfriend. If you like a girl you do not know, do not ask her to be your girlfriend right away. That could scare her. It is better to try to meet her first. When you tell a girl you like her, if she says she does not like you, you have to respect that and leave her alone. HOROSCOPE FOR 2013 Horoscope tells us how stars influence our lives. The position of the stars in the moment you were born tells us what our future looks like. Check the date of your birth and take a look in your future!
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ARIES (31 MARCH - 20 APRIL) You will talk a lot to persons of the opposite sex. New love is close. You will show what it means to be a good worker. TAURUS (21 APRIL - 20 MAY) You will feel romantic temptations. Trust your heart and you will not go wrong. You will be very successful in jobs you do yourself. BLIZANAC (21.5.- 20.6.) You will fall in love in the 1 half of the year. The 2 part of the year is a chance to save some money. CANCER (21 JUNE - 20 JULY) Something new is waiting for you in love. Be open to it. There will be more good business opportunities. You have the strength to realize them. LEO (21 JULY - 21 AUGUST) If you like someone, tell him or her. A surprise is waiting for you. Be active, go for walks in the nature and socialize with people. VIRGO (22 AUGUST - 22 SEPTEMBER) You will put on pink glasses. For you the world is full of love. Rely on yourself and you will have success at work. LIBRA (23 SEPTEMBER - 22 OCTOBER) In love you know what you want, but sometimes you need to adapt. In business there will be a lot of activity. You will need your creativity. SCORPIO (23 OCTOBER - 22 NOVEMBER) Good development in your love life is up to you. Relax and everything will work out. SAGITTARIUS (23 NOVEMBER - 21 DECEMBER) In the 1 part of the year you will have a happy event. Maybe even a wedding! You will do your work tasks easily. CAPRICORN (22 DECEMBER - 20 JANUARY) In the 2 part of the year you will have some nice romantic opportunities. Good healthy habits are making you strong. Keep it up! AQUARIUS (21 JANUARY - 19 FEBRUARY) You will have a lot of fun, and some may fall in love. In business you could have great results. PISCES (20 FEBRUARY - 20 MARCH) Relax! Now is the time for love! You will become an expert in your work.
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Newsletter of the Association for Self-Advocacy
QUIZ Who makes laws? a) President of the Parliament
b) Government
c) Parliament
What is on the coat of arms of the European Union? a) Eagle
b) Stars
c) Red and white chess field
b) Medvedgrad
c) Mali Lošinj
What is the smallest town in the world? a) Hum
Created by Neno Medić, Ivo Pala and Snježana Kanjir
CONTACT US
Bleiweisova 13, 10 000 Zagreb Phone: 01 555 66 80, Fax: 01 555 66 89 E-mail: kontakt@samozastupanje.hr Visit our web site: www.samozastupanje.hr or visit us on Facebook! You can contact us Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.