Bogdan, Cătălin, Crina, Delia, Emina, Iohana, Ionel, Iulian, Mădălina, Mario and Oana, the 11 participants in the workshop I too have a voice!, the third workshop organised within the project "The voice of people with deafblindness in Romania", took the decision to found an association of people with deafblindness in Romania.

During the workshop that took place in Predeal, between December 14-17, 2023, the 11 participants, together with 3 family members and the rest of the Sense International Romania team, discussed and debated the challenges faced by people with deafblindness in Romania. Thus, the main strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the deafblind community were identified and some priorities for the future were outlined.

The discussions were facilitated by a Romanian sign language interpreter, Monica Cătuțoiu, a graduate of our initiation course in deafblindness for interpreters in RSL, organised in the fall of this year.

The fact that a working team has already been created, a diverse group of people with deafblindness with different life experiences, with self-confidence and desire for change, a group that is starting to know their rights and demand their respect: here are some from the strengths identified by the participants.

Collaboration with other associations of people with deafblindness in the world, but also with Sense International Romania, with authorities and educational institutions, identifying and attracting new members to the group, the diversity of communication methods and the emergence of new technologies that support communication, all these are just some of the opportunities discussed.

Isolation, limited access to information and insufficient support resources, low visibility, poor knowledge and understanding of deafblindness are some of the weaknesses identified, alongside perhaps the most important weakness: the lack of a representative association for people with deafblindness.

Added to these are external threats related to the small number of identified deafblind people, the fact that although deafblindness is recognized by Romanian legislation as a distinct disability, the criteria for classifying it as a specific disability are missing. The lack of deafblind adapted sign language interpreters or a communication guide was another difficulty identified by participants.

I was very happy to be able to take part in this activity. It was a very beautiful and valuable experience from many points of view. Thus, it was an opportunity to broaden my horizon of knowledge regarding the specific characteristics of deafblindness and to reflect, together with my fellow participants, on the main challenges it entails, as well as on potential solutions. I also had the joy of seeing old friends again and making new friendships.

Throughout the three days spent at Predeal, the atmosphere was warm, the work sessions being seasoned with group walks, with special culinary experiences and finished with a surprise moment prepared by the Sense International Romania team, in the form of a campfire and gifts given on the occasion of the approaching Christmas.B

Bogdan S.

Starting from those identified above, the participants present established together a series of priorities for the future: first of all, the establishment of an association of people with deafblindness in Romania.

Then, this newly established association will be able to actively campaign for the improvement of the legislation, mainly regarding the creation of criteria for inclusion in the type of disability "deafblindness" and the resolution of issues related to the adapted sign language interpreter/communication guide. It can increase the level of awareness and sensitization of the general public and the authorities regarding the specifics of deafblindness and actively engage in programs to develop personal autonomy.

In January, we will continue the process with the fourth and final workshop, where a larger number of deafblind participants will continue the discussions and, if they wish, will join the process of establishing the association.

In March 2024, we will organize the closing conference of the project in Bucharest, on which occasion all those involved, people with deafblindness, family members, Romanian sign language interpreters, together with guests from the national authorities, will share the results obtained in the two years of implementation and will together draw up the strategy for the near future.

The Voice of people with Deafblindness in Romania is implemented by the Foundation Sense International Romania in partnership with Sense International UK, with the financial support of Active Citizens Fund Romania, programme funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Grants Grants 2014 -2021. The content of this materiale does not necessarily reflect the official position of the EEA and Norway Grants 2014-2021; for more information visit www.eeagrants.org. More details about Active Citizens Fund Romania are available at www.activecitizensfund.ro.

Working together for a green, competitive and inclusive Europe

During the second half of March, in 20-23 March 2023, we organised in Predeal the workshop of the group of people with deafblindness, an activity which is part of the project The Voice of People with Deafblindness in Romania.

A group of 19 young women and men, together with 9 parents, 1 teacher, 2 sign language interpreters and Sense International Romania team took the first steps together in setting up the group of people with deafblindness in Romania.

Together, we approached topics such as: what is deafblindness, what are the causes, how people with deafblindness communicate, the importance of sign language interpreters for people with deafblindness, the red and white cane, Vasile Adamescu and Helen Keller. We went through some rights and principles in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities: accessibility, work, participation to political life, freedom and safety. Through role play, theatre, drawing and painting, we learned from each other how important it is to look after one another and ourselves.

”I was happy to attend all activities. It was a great opportunity to interact, for the first time, with a group consisting of people with deafblindness, to be in contact with numerous valuable information, to meet new people and spend a couple of days in a warm atmosphere, characterised by a constant preoccupation for the well being of everyone present. ” B.S., Young man with deafblindness attending the workshop.

This workshop was the second in a series of four such activities, where we have already managed to identify a group of 43 people with deafblindness, supporting them to have a voice, know and fight for their own rights.

”This meeting helped us, the mums, to better know ourselves and to share experiences, learn from each other, be strong, not give up and fight for our children, regardless of the situation, the conditions and everything the society has to offer”, the group of 9 mothers.

Sign language interpretation was ensured by Rodica Halus and Monica Savin, from the Romanian National Association of the Deaf, whom we kindly thank for their effort and congratulate for their participation and involvement.

Working together for a green, competitive and inclusive Europe

The project is implemented by the Foundation Sense International Romania in partnership with Sense International UK and benefits from a 149.668,89 euros grant from Active Citizens Fund Romania, programme funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Grants Grants 2014 -2021. The content of this materiale does not necessarily reflect the official position of the EEA and Norway Grants 2014-2021; for more information visit www.eeagrants.org. More details about Active Citizens Fund Romania are available at www.activecitizensfund.ro.

said Professor Vasile Adamescu, a friend and ambassador of people with deafblindness in Romania. Under this motto, we organised the National Conference ”Education of Children with Deafblindness: Together for 22 Years!”, on February 2 - 3 2023, in Bucharest.

The event marked the 22^nd anniversary of Sense International Romania, 22 years of activity celebrated on February 2^nd.

We were extremely honoured to have with us at this conference more than 60 participants, representatives of the Ministry of Education, partner special schools and universities. For two days, specialists in the education of children and young people with deafblindness shared experience and work methods under the three sub-themes of the conference: early intervention for babies born with sensory impairments, education for children with deafblindness and vocational services for youth with this type of disability.

On the evening of February 2^nd, we celebrated our anniversary in the presence of His Excellency, the Ambassador of Great Britain in Romania, Andrew Noble, Kavita Prasad, Director of Sense International, parents, youth with deafblindness, partners, friends of supporters of the organisation.

On this wonderful occasion, we were honoured to present the Sens(e) Awards to some of those who have been by our side throughout the years, a first edition of these awards:

Nelumbo Foundation – Award for Trust and Support

Orange Foundation – Award for Impact and Friendship

Liana Mitran – Award for Excellence and Perseverance

Coca Vasiliu – Award for Excellence and Perseverance

Florica Stoica – Award for Excellence and Perseverance

Eva Oprea – Aknowledgement and Involvement Award

Gabriela Jianu – Aknowledgement and Involvement Award

Ioana Tufar – Aknowledgement and Involvement Award

Cristian Buică-Belciu – Aknowledgement and Involvement Award

Viorel Micu – Promoter of the Rights of People with Deafblindness

We have also organised an exhibition of clay works created by students from the 21 partner schools attending the I too have a voice! Campaign organised as part of the project The Voice of People with Deafblindness in Romania, implemented by the Foundation Sense International Romania in partnership with Sense International UK with financial support from Active Citizens Fund Romania, programme funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Grants 2014 -2021.

Here is what some of the participants shared:

A new lesson – EVERYTHING MAKES SENSE! I enjoyed everything in this conference, the involvement, the project, the achievements and the presence of so many wonderful people coming to our support, us who carry various unseen and unheard problems. Thank you!

E.S. young woman with deafblindness in Sense International Romania programmes.

Happy Birthday, Sense International Romania! Thank you for the meaning you give year after year to project meant for children and young people with deafblindness and multisensory impairments! It has been an honour for me to meet you and attend such a learning environment. This exchange of experience is beneficial to all partners in special education. Together with my colleagues from the Special Technological Highschool Gheorghe Atanasiu in Timisoara, we will continue running beautiful projects together!

L.B. teacher

I spent 2 days together with true professionals in the field of deafblindness, 2 days where we gained from the expertise of practitioners and co-created new contexts and directions. Thank you to the Sense International Romania team for this wonderful opportunity to learn and share experience, such useful!

What is deafblindness? What are the challenges and difficulties faced by people with deafblindness?

”Deafblindness is when you can't hear at all or partially; you see a little or nothing at all"

concluded Iulian, one of the young people attending the first workshop organised as part of the project The Voice of People with Deafblindness in Romania. The workshop took place in November 3 - 6, in Predeal. A group of 19 young women and men with deafblindness, together with 3 parents, 3 accompanying teachers and the Sense International Romania team, took together their first steps in becoming a group of people with deafblindness.

How can we make deafblindness better known and understood by the others?

”By becoming a group, attending activities together and telling others that we are with deafblindness”

are just some of the ideas shared by Delia, a young participant with deafblindness.

Why become a group of people with deafblindness?

Emina, a participant to the workshop, beautifully summarised the group discussions on this theme:

”Because it is important that we are all united by a goal, a plan or a project, because we must pay attention to one another, trust each other and our own successes. As a group, we share pleasant activities, we get to know our qualities, find solutions to our problems, and group experiences help us all. We get to know reasons to appreciate one another, to accept our qualities and impairments, we learn the couraje to evolve, we learn to live happy moments at our meetings. We learn to smile and be happy about our successes.”

The participants familiarised themselves with the red and white cane, recently selected as a symbol of deafblindness by the World Federation of the Deafblind, while using it in a outdoor hiking trip. They created and acted in plays about accessibility, the right to work, to participate to the political life, freedom and safety, starting from an easy-to-read version of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. In the end, using paint, paint brushes and palms, they created beautiful paintings starting from words such as freedom, opportunity, equality, respect and equal access, as they imagined it.

This workshop was the first in a series of four such activities where we aim to identify a group of 40 people with deafblindness, a group that has a voice, know and fight for their rights.

The project "The Voice of people with Deafblindness in Romania" is implemented by the Foundation Sense International Romania in partnership with Sense International UK, with financial support from Active Citizens Fund Romania, programme funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Grants Grants 2014 -2021. The content of this material does not necessarily reflect the official position of the EEA and Norway Grants 2014-2021; for more information visit www.eeagrants.org.