December 3 was designated by the United Nations – the International Day of People with Disabilities. This year, Sense International Romania organizes a series of activities to mark this day, dedicated to the one who was Professor Vasile Adamescu (05.09.1944 – 06.12.2018), a person with deafblindness who, despite the lack of sight and hearing, succeeded extraordinary performances.
At a very young age, Vasile Adamescu completely lost his vision and hearing. Having an extraordinary will and supported by his teachers at the Special High School for Visually Impaired Children Cluj Napoca, Vasile Adamescu became a teacher, a sculptor, an artist, a writer and fought for the rights of people with deafblindness as a Board member of the Sense International Romania.
Various activities such as clay modeling, sculpture, pottery, pantomime, experiential theatre, painting, drawing, candle making, glass painting are just a few examples of the multitude of activities that children with deafblindness and multisensory impairments, their parents and teachers from 15 special schools in Arad, Bucharest, Buzău, Cluj Napoca, Craiova, Focşani, Galaţi, Iaşi, Oradea, Sibiu, Târgu Frumos and Timisoara, partner schools of Sense International Romania, will run at the beginning of December as part of the project “Vasile Adamescu – Beyond senses”.
In parallel, Sense International Romania takes part in the 10th edition of the Diversity Week organized by British Council Romania under the umbrella of diversity, equal opportunities and inclusiveness. On Tuesday, December 3rd, on the occasion of the International Day of People with Disabilities, Sense International Romania invites you to a unique experience through the activity “Beyond senses – about deafblindness, inside the sensory tent”, at the British Council Library. On December3-4, between 14:00-17:00, those present will have the opportunity to experiment for a few minutes, inside the sensory tent, what a person with deafblindness feels.
Vasile Adamescu and Viorel Micu inside the Sensory Tent
«On December 3, every year, we are celebrating the International Day of People with Disabilities, a day when, every time, we think about equal opportunities, inclusion, normality, a country that is capable of genuinely supporting people with special needs.
This year, at the special initiative of Sense International Romania, December 3rd will be a special one dedicated to Professor Vasile Adamescu, a person with deafblindness, who is no longer among us and who has been and remains a standard, an example to follow. In the pages of his autobiographical book, titled suggestively “Confronting Life”, Vasile Adamescu describes the greatest success in Romanian special education, educating and training a person without hearing and sight. As he said so many times, I also urge you to fight for each child, to have a lot of patience, to put in a lot of work and to be a united team: child, teachers and parents.
It is our duty not to forget Vasile Adamescu, the teacher, the mentor, the writer, the artist and the MAN, who once surrounded us with warmth, who smiled upon us, gave advice, loved us, and who used all his skills to educate children with disabilities in our country.»
Viorel Micu, interpreter of Professor Vasile Adamescu, member on the Board of the Sense International Romania