Association of students with special educational needs

Equal education for the handicapped people

The Association of students with special educational needs (ASSEN) from Skopje is the only association in Macedonia that treats the problem of university education of students who, due to various etiologic factors or injuries inherited or got later in life certain damage. The association was founded in December 2002 by a group of young enthusiasts, mostly defectologists who, supported by the Faculty of Philosophy from Skopje - Institute of Defectology, that is, the dean, PhD. Trajan Gocevski. For less than a year, the association has gathered 12 members (two are defectologists, two defectology students and one professor, who are also members of the managerial board of the association) and about 16 students with different handicap - deaf, seeing impaired or bodily invalids.

The association's goal is promotion of the university education process of handicapped people, their equal participation in the educational process through providing the necessary conditions for adequate learning. Through its programme, the association tends to provide conditions for approaching all faculties; breaking the architectonic barriers and alleviating the transport for the bodily handicapped to the faculties; creating conditions for a sign language interpreter for the deaf-and-dumb population, as well as providing Braille's literature and other audio-visual equipment.

ASSEN cooperates with the other similar civic organizations n Macedonia and abroad. In June, the association became a participant in the project "Share See (Self-Help &Advocacy for rights equal opportunities)". Fro 2-6 June 2003 in Sofija, this association signed a declaration for entering an international network with the other countries from South-Eastern Europe, such as Serbia, Montenegro, Moldavia and Bulgaria. At the same meeting, the association managed to make an agreement for implementing a mutual international project, financed by the Open Society Institute - Budapest, a project to be realized in 2003/2004, covering a research that will enable the necessary registration of the students with special needs, which did not exist in the past, and then a media campaign that will introduce the public with the research data, a web portal for information about every association of the member-countries, etc.

The association is open for cooperation for the realization of all their goals and activities and all interested can contact the ASSEN president, Daniela Stojanovska at the phone number 070/756-030 or via e-mail: assen@mt.net.mk.

 

D.M.