It is very important that Montenegro, as a leading tourist destination, recognizes the importance of creating an accessible tourist offer for people with disabilities (PWD) as a special category of tourists, both in respect of human rights and in terms of economic benefits for the state, said the executive director of the non-governmental organization. Equivalent" Svetlana Cicvarić.
As announced, that NGO organized the final conference within the implementation of the project "Accessible tourism as a human right and a development opportunity for Montenegro!" thanks to the financial support of the American Embassy in Podgorica.
"At the opening of the final event in front of the non-governmental organization "Equivalent", the executive director Svetlana Cicvarić addressed the attendees, who on that occasion expressed her exceptional gratitude to the American Embassy in Podgorica for the support provided for the implementation of this project, which is aimed at the field of accessible tourism for persons with disabilities in Montenegro. ", it is written in their statement.
In her presentation, Cicvarić pointed out that it is very important that Montenegro, as one of the leading tourist destinations, recognizes the importance of creating an accessible tourist offer for this category of tourists, both in terms of respecting the human rights of persons with disabilities, and in terms of economic benefits for Montenegro, "especially if taking into account the fact that our country achieves significant income in the total gross social product precisely through the participation of income from tourism".
In her presentation, she stated that certain countries, members of the EU, have recognized the benefits of providing tourist services to people with disabilities for a long time and have developed accessible tourism projects in this regard. At the end of her opening presentation, she pointed out that by ratifying the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Montenegro committed itself to ensure that persons with disabilities have the right to access products, goods and services that are part of Montenegro's tourist offer.
In front of the American Embassy in Podgorica, the deputy head of the department for media, culture and education, Mrs. Suzanne Schaefer, addressed the audience.
"Supporting people with disabilities is not only a moral duty but also a matter of basic human rights. In addition, compliance with laws and regulations related to accessibility is not only a legal obligation, but also a reflection of our commitment to providing equal opportunities and dignity for all. US Embassy in Montenegro gladly supports projects that promote tolerance, diversity and inclusion in Montenegrin society. Through our grant programs, exchange programs and other initiatives, we strive to positively influence the lives of people with disabilities," Schaefer pointed out.
On behalf of the non-governmental organization "Equivalent", the project coordinator, Mr. Milorad Hajrović, addressed the audience, who in his presentation referred to the results of the project, highlighting the importance and advantages of accessible tourism in terms of the application and respect of the human rights of persons with disabilities and the economic development of our country.
Hajrović pointed out that during the implementation of the project, a large number of meetings were held with relevant state and local institutions and organizations in the field of the protection of human rights of persons with disabilities, as well as in the field of tourism.
He stated that as part of the implementation of this project, a certain set of assistive technology equipment was procured, which was used through the pilot project, emphasizing that the said equipment relates to the provision of accessibility of sandy beaches and urban tourist settlements for people who have difficulty moving and information about the tourist content of certain localities for visually or hearing impaired persons.
The project coordinator then said that within the pilot phase of the project, research was primarily carried out with both persons with disabilities and with relevant institutions and organizations, after which a selection of institutions and organizations was made with which the Agreement on the assignment of the use of assistive technology equipment was concluded.
On this occasion, the mentioned equipment was presented to the "Association of Persons with Physical Disabilities of Montenegro", "Organization of the Blind for Bar and Ulcinj", "Natural History Museum of Montenegro" and "Library for the Blind of Montenegro." In the continuation of his address, he pointed out that during the duration of the pilot project, technical support was provided to tourists with disabilities and the project activities were continuously promoted. At the end of his presentation, he expressed the hope that the area of accessible tourism will be more significantly recognized by all relevant institutions and that significantly greater support will be provided for its promotion and development.
At the conference, a review was given of the results of the analysis of the legal framework that governs the field of tourism in Montenegro, by a collaborator on the project, a law graduate, one of the authors of the Study, Luka Stijepović, who pointed out that the legal regulations governing the field of tourism are in good shape. is aligned with the expected standards of accessibility for persons with disabilities, but that a major problem is the poor application of legal norms in practice.
He then referred to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, emphasizing that all actors who directly or indirectly participate in the creation of an accessible tourist offer should be guided by the concept of "universal design" (design for everyone), which includes the design of products, environments and services , so that all persons with disabilities can use them to the greatest extent possible without additional adaptations.
After that, the president of the Association of Persons with Physical Disabilities of Montenegro, Andrija Marićević, addressed the audience, the organization that is the user of the equipment provided as part of the implementation of this project. In his presentation, Marićević stated that his organization was assigned a scooter for the movement of persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility in narrower city areas and that in the period from May to the beginning of October, the scooter was used by 59 tourists with disabilities who did not hide their satisfaction at the possibility of using it .
After that, Božidar Denda, director of the "Library for the Blind of Montenegro," addressed the audience, one of the institutions that is a user of assistive technology equipment.
In his presentation, Denda pointed out that thanks to the assigned equipment, tablet devices with installed software for accessing information for people with impaired vision and hearing, the availability of services and content of the "Library for the Blind of Montenegro" was ensured. He used the opportunity to thank the non-governmental organization "Equivalent" as the project holder and the American Embassy in Podgorica as the project donor, pointing out the extremely great importance and role of equipment that enables people with disabilities to access tourist services and facilities.
At the end of this event, one of the users of the assistive technology equipment, Nikola Zekić, a graduate of ethnomusicology, addressed the audience, who pointed out in his presentation that thanks to the tablet device that was given to the Natural History Museum of Montenegro, for the first time he had the opportunity to completely independently and without with the assistance of another person, with the use of this device, get acquainted with all the exhibited exhibits located in the gallery of the Natural History Museum of Montenegro. This is very important for the reason that people with disabilities can in this way, without violating their personal dignity, independently access the contents and services that are part of the tourist offer.
The final conference was held with the aim of presenting the results of the project and recognizing the importance of promoting and developing accessible tourism for persons with disabilities in Montenegro.
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