Tim za socijalno uključivanje i smanjenje siromaštva

The Association of Students with Disabilities celebrated 18 years of its existence on 6 July. A panel discussion was organized on this occasion on the topic “Status of Youth with Disabilities”. The regular programme activity of the Association provides assistance and supports for its 723 members, among them 542 persons with disabilities, mainly faculty students, as well as secondary school students. Approximately 340 members are active making use of the Association’s support, and 31 members participate in the implementation of activities.

The panel organized as part of the celebration of the anniversary of this association was attended by representatives of the Secretariat for Social Protection, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, the Ombudsman and the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality.

Jovana Đinđić, Coordinator for Gender Equality and Human Rights of the Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit of the Government of the Republic of Serbia spoke about the status of youth with disabilities, emphasizing that youth face various problems, that they are exposed to discrimination, and frequently excluded from political, social, economic and cultural life. Jovana noted that accessibility is a precondition for the full inclusion of persons with disabilities in society, therefore the Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit, in cooperation with the Ombudsman and Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities established last year an award for local self-government units for developing all forms of accessibility, to raise awareness of the importance of this topic, promote good practice examples and formulate recommendations for improving accessibility. Furthermore, Jovana Đinđić announced that the Unit will continue implementing trainings for representatives of local self-government units regarding accessibility and provide support to municipalities to prepare applications for funds intended for the improvement of all forms of accessibility in their environments.

Another area important for the social and economic status of youth with disabilities and their equal participation in society, as Jovana said, is employment. To improve the employment and employability of youth with disabilities, the Unit, as part of their grant scheme “Support for innovative approaches to increasing youth employment and employability”, provided support for the project of the Forum of Youth with Disabilities aimed at improving the employability of youth with disabilities through the development and implementation of working practice programmes. Thus 15 youth with disabilities completed training for the development of professional skills and attended working practice in various companies.

The Unit, in cooperation with the Association of Students with Disabilities, as well as other associations working on similar topics, will continue cooperation and efforts to work further on the improvement of the status of persons with disabilities in all key areas of life and work.