SAVEZ GLUVIH I NAGLUVIH SRBIJE (SGNS)
(Association of Deaf and Hard of Hearing of Serbia)

Established: 1944

Full member of EUD since: 2003

Address: Vuka Karadžića 8/1, Beograd, 11 000, Serbia   

Contact details: 

Email: sgns@sbb.rs   

Fax: (+381) 11 26 21 168 or (+381) 11 26 27 638

Tel: (+381) 11 26 21 168 or (+381) 11 26 27 638 

Website link: http://www.savezgluvihsrbije.org.rs/

Mission statement of the organisation

SAVEZ GLUVIH I NAGLUVIH SRBIJE is a voluntary, associative, nonpolitical socio-humanitarian organisation gathering Deaf and Hard of hearing people with the goal of realising their common interests and needs. 

SAVEZ's main goals and tasks are:   

• Enabling hearing-impaired people to access professional rehabilitataion and integration in social and working environment.
• Giving help in early diagnosis and professional treatment.
• Stimulating scientific and research institutions in the field of diagnosis and prevention of causes of Deafness.
• Monitoring Deaf and hard of hearing people's social conditions, promoting initiatives and undertaking measures at relevant institutions in the Republic of Serbia (Government and Ministeries), some economic organisations, companies and institutions, for the sake of the general protection of Deaf and hard of hearing people, with the goal of realising their wishes to be equal with other citizens.
• Be engaged in promoting and developing systems of social and health protection of Deaf and hard of hearing people.
• Promoting the solution of health, social and other problems of significancy for Deaf and hard of hearing people, giving professional legal help to organisations and individuals and advising on the rights of Deaf and hard of hearing people.
• Working on improving and applying up-to-date methods in the educational system, and to the systems for Deaf and hard of hearing people's professional rehabilitation and their employment.
• Stimulating, helping, and working on the invention and perfection of devices and hearing device parts and other external aids for hard of hearing people, and to work on their supplying and distribution.
• Organising cultural educational, artistic, sport, chess and other social activities with the goal of creating a  universally developed Deaf and hard of hearing individual.
• Working on the wider community's perception about Deaf and hard of hearing people through mass media to increase social affirmation for Deaf and hard of hearing people.
• Monitoring SAVEZ's work on organisations and institutions for Deaf and hard of hearing people and sharing experiences with organisations and institutions in both nationally and internationally.
• Working on parents' education in for the early and most successful treatment of Deaf and hard of hearing children in the family. 
• Co-operation with companies and institutions for health, social welfare and child protection, dealing with education, employment, and academic success. 
• Organising symposiums, seminars, professional meetings, occasional lessons and other forms of public work where are being examined significant problems of Deaf and HoH people.
• Other projects relating to legal and administrative organisations.
• In completion of its goals and tasks the SAVEZ GNS co-operates with the State, social organisations, companies, institutions, citizen associations and other organisations.

Details of the Board 

President: Mr MILOSAV JOVANOVIC - D

Board Members: Mr Dragan Markovic, Vicepresident - D, Mr Mile Crevar, Member - D, Mr Radoje Kujovic, Member (Secretary) - H, Mr Slobodan Milivojevic, Member - D, Mr Dobrivoje Jovanovic, Member - H, Mr Svetomir Radisavljevic, Member - HOH, Mr Ismet Budjevac, Member - H, Mrs Suzana Maslac-Matovic, Member - HOH, Zivorad Marjanovic, Member - H, Ljubomir Papuga, Member - HOH.

(Marked D, HoH and H)

Details of the Staff

Executive Director: Izvršni Odbor.

Other staff:

(Marked D, HoH and H)

Statistics

General Population of your country? (Including hearing people) In Serbia there are 10,056.000 people.

Official or approximate figures of the number of Deaf people living in your country? Upon 2004. evidence in Serbia there are 32.000 Deaf people.

Official or approximate numbers of Deaf people who use sign language as their primary language?  Upon 2005. evidence in Serbia there are about 25.000 Serbian SL users.

Does your National Association of the Deaf publish any magazine or newsletters for your members? Once was edited `Naš glas`(Our voice), and from 2001. has been edited review `Naš svet` (Our  world) in 4 issues yearly.

Does your National Association of the Deaf have Youth section? There is `Omladinska Sekcija Gluvih i Nagluvih Srbije` (Deaf Youth Section of Serbia) within Savez from 2005.

Status of Sign Language

Is Sign Language legally recognised as part of your Government's constitution? N/A

Is there any campaign to get the sign language legally recognised? In frame of Educational and Health Protection Laws there are prescribed rights on exercise lessons in Serbian SL, and rights to have interpreteur during medical visit to the physician, but in practice it is rarely used.  Activities has been promoted to ratificate Sign Language Law and to regolate these questions in terms of jurristic norms.

Status of Sign Language Interpreters

Approximate number of qualified sign language interpreters:

Details of training centre/courses:  Last registration of legal interpreteurs in Ministery of Justice has been made 1988.  Once there were ratified Savez Gluvih Jugoslavije`s diplomas, and now it is expected a normative solution and instruction about which person and under which conditons might be a legal interpreteur?

In last 7 years Savez GNS has organized and produced 7 seminaries:  "SL School", and in that period  35 persons has obtained the diplomas "Legal Deaf Interpreteur", while the diplomas "SL Translater " has obtained more than 150 persons.

Technology

Does your country provide Video Interpreting Service? No,  In Serbia there is no organized SL interpreteurs service in form of `Video Service`.

If not, when will it be implemented? N/A

Deaf centre/clubs

How many deaf centres/clubs? 43.

Details of the deaf centre/clubs: SGNS in its system has 43 organizations. The organizations have sport clubs or sections, cultural-artistic societies or cultural sections.

Developed are sport-recreative activities and Culture Creation Festivals with goal of socialization and integration. There is being organized Elementary - Basic Serbian SL courses for Hearing persons employed in public services and institutions, on the levell of basic organizations.

Universities/Sign Language Units

Are there any Universities that deals with Sign Language? (Deaf Studies, Linguistics, Interpreting) The students attend lessons about SSL during two (2) semesters in Belgrade University's Faculty for special education and rehabilitation in Surdology Department.

Deaf Schools

Number of Deaf Schools: Within regolary statal schools where Deaf children are inclused in `inclusive educational model` there are no enabled teachers and teaching personelle comunicating in Sign Language. 

There are 8 Deaf and Hard of Hearing chidren`s Schools (Subotica, Zemun - Beograd, Beograd, Jagodina, Kragujevac, Niš, Prizren - Kosovo i Metohija), and 2 classes for Deaf and HoH children in ordinary schools (Novi Sad - elementary, Užice - high).

Education method (Sign Language, Oral or other methods): SL is being used in lessons as assistive mean in oral speech development, depending on class structure and levell of students speech development.

A  number of teaching personelle is enabled to use SL in courses.

History of the NAD

The very first Deaf persons Society was established February the 7^th 1926. under name of  "Udruženje Gluvonemih za Beograd i okolinu" (Deaf-mute Association for Beograd and environments), with headquarters in Belgrade. 

Later in Belgrade was founded Septembre the 20^th 1935. "Udruženje gluvonemih Kraljevine Jugoslavije"(Yugoslavia Kingdome Deaf-mute Association) which Aprile the 2^nd 1939. had modified system and operating rules on its Extraordinary Assembly, and so did the title in "Društvo školovanih gluvih i njihovih prijatelja"(Society of schooled Deaf persons and their friends).

Immediately after the liberation, more exactly November the 2^nd 1944. in Beograd in "Dom Gluvonemih Društva Kralj Dečanski"(Deaf-mute Home od Society King Dečanski) was founded "Narodno-Oslobodilački Front gluvonemih Beograda" (People`s National liberating Deaf-mute Beograd Front), and its initatators were Mirko Zivlaković and Jovan Odavić, later eminent functioneries of Deaf peoples Yugoslav and Serbian Associations.

Proposals were to denominate the society "Odbor Narodno-Oslobodilačkog Fronta gluvonemih Beograda"(People`s National Liberating Deaf-mute Beograd Front Board) or "Udruženje gluvonemih radnika i radnica za Srbiju"(Deaf-mute working men and women Association for Serbia), so there was a division and paralel life of two associations.

It was only a short period until March the 4^th 1945. when united in one association. As there were in Ljubljana (now Slovenia) and Zagreb (now Croatia) similary associations, it was decided to found one unique association in Federative People`s Republic of Yugoslavia FNRJ area October the 14^th 1945. in Zagreb under denomination "Udruženje defektnih sluhom FNRJ" (Hear Defect Association FNRJ), and the republics had used this title adding "Zemaljski Odbor za ... (Srbiju, ...)"(Country board for .... Serbia, ....)".

In its Assembly "Udruženje defektnih sluhom FNRJ - Zemaljski Odbor za Srbiju" November 1947.  had changed its name in "Udruženje defektnih sluhom Srbije"(Hear Defect Association of Serbia) - UDES. Later UDES had changed the title several times "Glavni Odbor za Srbiju" - 1949. (Main Board for Serbia), and "Savez Gluvih Srbije" - 1951. (Serbian Deaf Federation) "Republički Odbor Saveza Gluvih Srbije"(Republic Board of ...) - 1957. "Republička Konferencija Saveza gluvih i nagluvih Srbije" (Republic Conferention of Serbian Deaf and Hard of Hearing Federation) - 1970, "Savez lica oštećenog sluha"(Federation of Hear Impaired persons) - 1979, "Savez Gluvih i Nagluvih Srbije - Republički Odbor"(Deaf and HoH Federation of Serbia - Republic Board) - 1980, "Savez gluvih i nagluvih Srbije"(Association of Deaf and Hard of Hearing of Serbia) - 1997.

"Udruženje defektnih sluhom FNRJ" as massive organization, had its goal and intention to make "Deaf-mute" people organized, and  in cooperation with organs of local people`s authorities resolve their crucial life questions and conditions.

Instantly they inititated founding Deaf associations and boards in entire Yugoslavian territory. Then: evidenting, registering, and undertaking measures for efficacious social and health protection, rehabilitation, education, enabling and employing.

Programme tasks are distributed in action spheres - sectores:  organizative, social-health, economic-industrial, cultural-educational, and physical culture.

Who are the most important people in your country's history?

From the foundation the most significative personalitites were Mr Jovan Odavić and Mr Mirko Zivlaković, and later Mr DRAGOLJUB VUKOTIĆ - WFD PRESIDENT in 7 mandates (28 years)!