International Conference of the Visually Impaired

The Sarajevo Canton Association of the Visually Impaired has enjoyed successful cooperation for more than a decade with the SRF (SRF - The Swedish Association of the Visually Impaired), under the aegis of MyRight, previously the SHIA programme.

As part of these two organisation''''s joint programme, contact was established during 2014 with associations of the visually impaired in the other Yugoslav successor states with a view to agreeing a date and themes for a Joint Conference.

Six associations confirmed their interest in taking part in such a Conference and, after the necessary preparations, an International Conference of the Visually Impaired - Implementing the the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: On Current Conditions and Prospects was duly held on November 27–29, 2014, in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Representatives of six associations of the visually impaired from the region participated at the conference, namely those from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Kosova. Representatives of SRF Stockholm also took part, along with representatives of the cantonal associations of the visually impaired from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and of MyRight it self. Delegations from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, led by the assistant to the Federal Minister, and from the Sarajevo Canton Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, led by the Cantonal Minister, attended the opening ceremony. Some 60 individuals took part in the work of the Conference.

At the close of the Conference, the participants adopted the Conclusions of the Ad Hoc Committees created during the initial session and comprising members of all the participating associations. The LINK Declaration on the Condition of the Visually Impaired and their Organisations in the Countries of the Region was presented and unanimously adopted. The various associations of the visually impaired will present the Declaration to their respective governments.

It was also agreed that the Conference should become an annual event, to be held in a different country of the region each year, by rotation.

For further information see www.slijepi-sa.org.ba