06/01/2024
The Macedonian Information Agency - or MIA for short - regularly covers and reports on the events of Mobility Bitola through its correspondents. Just before the end of 2023, MIA reported on the celebration to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities - December 3 and the National Day of Persons with Physical Disabilities, i.e. Mobility Macedonia - December 4, which took place in Bitola. Due to the numerous news and activities of Mobility Bitola, the editors recognized the need for continuous promotion and support of our programme and statutory goals, and decided the conversation of their correspondent Prof. Dr. Marjan Tanushevski with the president Dr. Niko Jankov to publish it in an expanded form at the beginning of the year. Emphasis was also placed on what was achieved in the past 36 years, and especially during 2023, but also on the plans for the New Year 2024. -Persons with disabilities are equal citizens in this city and country. Everyone wants to enjoy all the rights, to live happily in the community, and for that to happen, we from Mobility Bitola are here, investing our knowledge and experience to help. After all, this is confirmed by the activities carried out throughout the last year, because our program is continuous. Recalling the most important events that we held in 2023, then I cannot help but recall pleasant working meetings that took place in Bitola, Prilep, Resen, but also in neighboring Florina and Thessaloniki in Greece, and of course the great tourism fair in Barcelona. All events were aimed at people with physical disabilities, and we held three workshops on three topics dedicated to mental health, accessibility and use of tourism offers for people with disabilities, and a topic dedicated to the categorization of people with disabilities. This topic is particularly important because throughout their lives persons with disabilities are subject to classification (categorization), but also to redclassification due to a change in their health status. Their condition is usually the same or worsened, and with interventions it can be improved. However, with the classification, the persons will be able to rehabilitate, that is, to be employed and use more benefits from and in the community, said the president of Mobility Bitola for MIA. - In 2023, we completed the international project "Alternative touristic experience - alternative trip" (Alter trip), implemented within the IPA Interreg Programme for cross-border cooperation with Greece (2014-2020) and co-financed by the European Union and the national funds of the participating countries. This project is intended, first of all, to improve accessibility in the tourism and cultural sector, and at the same time, it opened a path or roadmap for how, in cooperation with the institutions of the system, we can enable accessibility to various facilities, but also enrich the lives of people with disabilities. I am not only referring to people with physical disabilities, but also people with visual impairments, blind and partially sighted people, people with hearing impairment or deaf people, he added. A special motive for us are the new social services and social protection, as well as the new legal solutions, especially in the Constuction Law, for which there is support from the National Union of Persons with Physical Disabilities - Mobility Macedonia. - The improvement of the Health Insurance Law, i.e. the amendments and additions from September last year, enabled older persons, i.e. not only persons up to 26 years of age, to be exempted from participation in primary and secondary health services, as well as when taking medicines. In the "hands" of the deputies are also the amendments to the Law on Constuction, 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 institutions because we are aware that in our country there are too many steps, too many insurmountable architectural barriers and obstacles. We noticed this through our research, and within the framework of the "Alter Trip" project, which we presented in March of last year at the international tourism fair "B-Travel" in Barcelona. Namely, together with our partners from Greece, we were in Barcelona, participated in a big event, visited the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Barcelona and shared experiences with good practices from our countries. At the fair, our stand was visited by numerous visitors from all over the world, and some of them announced a visit to our city, where we enabled the improvement of the conditions for tourism that will be used by people with disabilities. We connected with tourist organizations, tourist workers who are invaluable for our establishment in the international space as a respectable partner and responsible organizer and implementer of events and programs, emphasized Yankov. He adds that in 2024 they want to have improved and increased communication with the institutions of the system at the local and national level, as well as support from journalists. Perhaps, Jankov points out, problems are not always visible at a second glance, but they should always come to light. - The fewer obstacles, the greater freedom of movement. We believe that the culture of behavior and approach to solving problems will be improved so that we do not have to constantly repeat that we need parking lots, level entrances, lighted and marked places, elevators... What people with physical disabilities need is written in international and/or domestic norms, and the only thing that needs to be done is the application of those documents in practice. In the meantime, we will continue to support new associations that are being formed to help people with physical disabilities, such as the "Future of Tradition" Association of people with disabilities from Resen, which last year marked the first year of existence, and we signed a Memorandum as a sign of respect and desire to cooperate with them, concluded Primarius Dr. Niko Jankov, president of Mobility Bitola.
