04/12/2023
On the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities - December 3 and the Day of Persons with Physical Disabilities in Macedonia - December 4, Mobility Bitola and Mobility Macedonia jointly organized a suitable event that took place on December 3, 2023, in the "Glamour" restaurant in Bitola. The event was attended by members of the Union from several cities, including: Skopje, Shtip, Prilep, Strumica, Debar, Struga, Kochani, Kumanovo, Kichevo, Sveti Nikole, Radovish, Veles, Gevgelija, Kavadarci, Resen, Demir Hisar and Bitola, and it was covered by several local and national media. At the very beginning, statements were made to the media by the president of Mobility Macedonia - Branimir Jovanovski, the president of Mobility Bitolа, Dr. Niko Jankov and Prof. Dr. Sasho Kochankovski, who attended the thematic workshop as a lecturer. President Jovanovski, among other things, emphasized some of the successes of the National Union achieved in 2023. "As an example, I will point out the improvement of the Health Insurance Law, i.e. the amendments and additions from September of this year when we finally succeeded in getting older people, i.e. not only people up to 26 years old, to be exempted from participation in the primary and secondary health services, as and when taking medication. This was important because, in principle, people with physical disabilities, and people with disabilities in general, are on the margins of society, with low incomes, and much more often they need to go to the doctor in order to improve their health condition, which means this cost, even though it is up to 70 percent of the minimum wage, is still enough for some families, and therefore we believe that the decision of the Parliament to adopt the amendments to the Law on Health Insurance was justified. By the way, we are currently working on the new text of the Law on Building, which is very important for us because it solves perhaps the biggest problem of people with physical disabilities, which is the possibility of accessibility, independent living, free movement, the possibility to enter in institutions because we are aware that in our country there are too many stairs, too many insurmountable architectural barriers and obstacles, and we sincerely hope that the inclusion of accessibility elements will be the basis for construction. This is the only way to solve this issue," said Jovanovski. The president of Mobility Bitola, on the other hand, referred to the importance of thematic meetings - workshops, which the Association has been organizing for 25 years. "At all these meetings, a certain topic was discussed that is of interest to people with disabilities, especially people with physical disabilities. This year, we had 3 such workshops. The first one was about the categorization and recategorization of persons with disabilities, with the path to the realization of the legal possibilities for improving the overall living. The second theme was about accessibility with universal design, as an opportunity for everything that is built and repaired in the future to be usable and accessible for everyone. Special emphasis at this workshop was given to the international project of 'Mobility Bitola' - 'Alter Trip' - and the manual for accessible tourism developed within its framework. This third workshop, as part of the manifestation for the Day of Persons with Physical Disabilities in the Republic of North Macedonia - December 4, is on the topic of mental health among persons with disabilities. This topic is very important, especially for maintaining the balance of the person in relation to the external environment, or harmonious well-being", Dr. Jankov explained. Prof. Dr. Sasho Kochankovski, a long-time friend and supporter of Mobility Bitola, spoke in more detail about the importance of mental health. "Mental well-being as part of overall health is very important because it is a basic human right. Unfortunately, there is still work to be done to overcome several problems, first of all, the stigmatization of physical disability, to respect the human rights of people with physical disabilities and not to feel discriminated against. People with physical disabilities need social inclusion, as opposed to social exclusion that causes dissatisfaction, frustration, anxiety, stress and other problems. A particular problem is isolation and loneliness, which affect the feeling of self-confidence, and therefore we help to strengthen and encourage every person with a physical disability," said the university professor and lecturer of the workshop. The event was enriched by the performance of CAS "Ilinden" - Bitola, under the direction of Nikola Angelkovski. With flutes and drums, young dancers and musicians delighted the audience by performing a series of traditional games and dances. Our friends from TA "Mig Travel" took care of their transportation. No event of Mobility Bitola would be complete without the creativity of its members, so the attendees of this event were treated to a poetry reading by our artists Biljana Todorovska from Bitola, Sotir Chaushewski from Resen and Kire Ognenovski from Demir Hisar. Within the framework of the thematic workshop, a rich discussion developed, in which members from several associations participated, and the pleasant atmosphere continued until late in the afternoon. All in all, this event was another in a series of successful events for this year, and we hope to continue with the same intensity. Activities continue.
