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SiNHaR '98 - The National Symposium of the Organizations of Disabled People in Romania

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Workshop Conclusions of SiNHaR '98:
  1. Sources Of Funding
  2. Co-operation, Partnership, Networking
  3. Changing Social Life, Computers & Internet
  4. Priorities, Legislation & Disabled People

Introduction

General Theme of the Symposium

Dimension of the Process of Social Insertion of Disabled People in Romania

The Theme of the Seventh Edition

Social Services vs Institutions

Motto

There is a world I knew nothing about, but I never thought it is at a such high level of knowledge.

SiNHaR '98

...took place in Bucharest, 5 - 7 November 1998. This edition was organised by Grupul de Studiu al Problematicii Handicapului, GSPH (The Study Group of the Problems of the Disabled), Societatea Nationala a Handicapatilor Fizic din Romania- fillala Bucuresti, SNHFR Bucharest (The National Society of Physically Disabled in Romania - Bucharest branch) and Organiatia Nationala a Persoanelor cu Handicap din Romania, ONPHR (The National Organisation of Disabled People in Romania).

At the Symposium more than 130 persons attended, representing 60 organisations of disabled people in Russia, Republic Moldavia, United Kingdom, United States of America and Romania, together with representatives of Romanian Presidency, governmental bodies, Research institutes and industrial companies.

SiNHaR '98 was organised as a national forum of Non Goverment Organisations (NGOs) of disabled people, intending to offer to the participants a broad frame for discussions of issues connected to the place and role of the disabled people in actual Romanian Context. The main theme of the sysmposium, SOCIAL SERVICES vs INSTITUTIONS was chosen by the organisers to suggest large discussions on issues like: relation between financing bodies - NGOs - program in community - changes to the public policy; partnership and collaboration between NGOs and local and central administration; technology and information to support disabled people; priorities in legislation.

A second edition of the book "Children in need of special care" by Thomas J Weihs, was launched during the sympoisum. The book is a fundamental study for those who try to approach problems of the child with adapting difficulties, a speech in support of the acceptance of the uniquesness, value and dignity of human being.

One workshop was organised as a focused group led by a sociologist, on the theme of soical intergration of people with mental disabilities.

A real suprise and concern for the organisers and participants was the fact that the broadest financing organisations were not present at the Symposium, even if their intention to attend to the workshops was confirmed beforehand.

Conclusions of workshops at SiNHaR '98

Workshop 1 - Sources Of Funding

Workshop on relation between financing bodies / NGOs; other sources for funding projects; social impact of social services offered by NGOs.

The participants regret that the representatives of the main financing organisations were missing. The proposals of the workshop come from only one part, the organisations financed, that had no first-hand information from the financers. Here are the proposals of the participants to the workshop:

• a longer duration of time between the announcement of starting a finance programme and the dead-line for application
• large media coverage of the financing programme
• a shorter time during application and the answer to that, and the final contract
• a simpler content of the application forms
• a new balance between the components of the application for funds, with less importance to the formal elements and more weight given to the fundemental points
• it was suggested to introduce a letter of intention to finance a specific program, beofre the contract of financing is to be signed
• it was suggested that it should be appropiate to visit the applicant organisation, before a decision of financing a program is taken
• it was asked if it was possible to reallocate part of the budget in order to finance specific areas of the project
• the participants ask the financing bodies to analyse if they could collaborate in order to come to a uniform distribution of their dead-lines along the year
• the guides of financing organisations should continue to be published periodically
• the financing program should take into account the inflation and the evloution of prices
• it was suggested that the financiers should co-operate to create projects, programmes of advocacy and programmes for raising awareness on issues not known enough about by the public
• financiers were asked to establish international relations, aiming to establish direct contacts between NGOs in Romania and financing boides abroad
• partners not meeting the financial agreemets set out in the contract can potentially be taken to court
• areas of research and development gaining priorty in regards to finiancing are: information technology and INTERNET; projects developed in partnership by NGOs or with local and central administration; programmes developping activities aiming to social and economic insertion of disabled people; institutional development of the NGOs; programmes that highlight the scientific, cultural, art and sports capabilities of disabled people

Workshop 2 - Co-operation, Partnership, Networking

Co-operation and partnership with local and central administration, networking of NGOs.

The participants agreed that:

• inside a partnership, collaboration or co-operation, parts should accept and value mutual respect, sincerness, competence of each partner, continuous activity and transparence
• co-operation is possible and necessary because one may not live by oneself, we want to change something, we want to be efficient, we watn to improve our lives, we know we have limited competence, we want to informa nd to be infrmed, we are aware that collaboration diminishes the duration of a specific action
• reasons for co-operation could be: identifying customers, assessment of real needs, solving together cases, mutual information, uses of spaces for programmes, advocacy, access to financial support
• co-operation is possible not only between NGOs, but also between these and local and central administration
• the main condition for developing a partnership is to ellaborate a specific working plan establishing competencies, priorities and responsibilities
• in order to have a continuous partnership, based on mutual respect, inter-personal relations are fundemental; written materials a necessary but not sufficient support of a collaboration
• the workshop ellaborated a guide aiming to help those that intend to make a partnership formal
• the workshop suggests an original definition of collaboration: "Collaboration is an useful process, developped in common by partners that act together, based on mutual understanding, trust, interaction and unity, process that aim to materialise the ideas of progress, security, efficiency and power."
• there is a fact each of the participants in a partnership brings something, achieves something but have to accept that will loose something too
• as citizens in the same country, people with special needs can not accept exclusion and discrimination in a law concerning their problems. Any law concerning problems of a specific group with different needs should repsect at least three basic principles: appropiateness of the services to the needs, monitoring mechanisms of law enforcing and assessment of the quality of services

Workshop 3 - Changing Social Life, Computers & Internet

Change in public policy as related to social projects developed by NGOs; computers for changing life of disabled people; information on INTERNET.

Among the conclusions of the participants to the workshop there are:

• the projects developed by NGOs of disabled people are highly valued social services; these projects bring a better image of the NGOs and stimulate collaboration with local and central administration
• the projects developed by NGOs of disabled people result in changes of the public policy, even if these changes do not appear as soon as the initiators of the project would like
• every of organising a project, every stage of development of a program has an influence in local community, in the relations with local and central administration
• the relation: organisation - project developed - central/local authority - change of public policy is mainly a human relation and for this reason differs from case to case
• all the programmes have a long term effect, trancending the initial objectives; these effects come from the changes and development of thinking of the initiators, customers, community in general
• technology is a means, not a purpose, technology creates support, without solving problems
• teleworking represents for disabled people a chance for changing life, maybe the only way to fully participate to economic and social life
• it is possible to live without INTERNET but the same applies to the telephone, central heating or automobile. We live in a society where the INTERNET does exist and it is our interest to use its facilities
• electronic communication changes the individual and the society where the INTERNET does exist and it is in our interest to use its facilities
• electronic communication changes the individual and the society, in general, by faster and more economical access to more information
• by collaboration one may get more when developing a programme, in advocacy, in better access to and transfer of information. The attendants to the workshop launch to all the non-governmental organisations the appeal to collaborate, to network, no matter the risc to lose something of their own personality. There were identified specific ways of co-operation between organisations in the four countries that participated to the workshop
• by communication, information, understanding, knowledge and mutual acceptance, it is possible to achieve a real good image, changes of the mentalities, participation and through these, a full social intergration

Workshop 4 - Priorities, Legislation & Disabled People

Priorities in specific legislation concerning disabled people

The participants to the workshop recommend:

• a non-discriminatory law of equal chances of participation to social life should modify actual legislation concerning social intergration of disabled people in Romania. The law should contain
• correct definition of the concept "special protection"
• mechanisms of co-operation between governmental institutions and NGOs of disabled people at the assessment of the status of the person with a handicap. Representatives of NGOs should paly an equal part in any common body, not only observers
• the assessment of the present medical condition should aim to the establishment of individual programmes of rehabilitation and medical-social assistance; actual qualification in three degrees of invalidity or handicap should be avoided
• disabled person should be pensioned according to a "factor of disability" established by a specialised institution
• the law should provide possibility to be monitored by NGOs; institutions depending on local and central administration should hire up to 10% of disabled staff.
• the law should provide a possibility to be monitored by NGOs
• institutions depending on local and central administration should hire up to 10% of disabled people
• the law should advocate clear sanctions against all that disrepsects its provisions
• Instructions for Law enforcement should be approved by the Government
• the participants ask VAT exemption for the economic activities developed by NGOs of disabled
• the participants ask for the coverage of the running costs of the NGOs of disabled people from local budgets, in order to use as much of the resources as possible for the development of social programmes
• a law concerning voluntary activities should be adopted soon, with provisions on social status and benefits of the voluntary person
• taking into account the present economic situation, the support of the programmes of the NGOs is only possible by stimulation of sponsorship, as an alternative (in a certain degree) to the contribution to central Budget. Actual norms and legislation lead to a confusion between charity and sponsorship (as a conscient, social act, with concrete aims, objectives and results)
• legislation regarding NGOs is out of use in actual conditions; a new law is necessary, ellaborated by a large consultance of the NGOs themselves. The participants ask for a clear definition of the status of organisation of public utility
• the image of the NGOs depend not only on the services provided, but also on the professional emission of information to the external environment
• organisations are encouraged to qualify staff for PR, to avoid negative actions that could compromise the image of the sector as a whole, to promote oppinion leaders and persons of high expertise as valued examples for the community

Depending on financial conditions, the organisers of this edition of the symposium, SiNHaR 98, intend to go on with the analysis of the discussions during the workshops and publish a series of papers on specific issues. We'll be honoured to communicate the final results to all the attendants, to whom we thank for their interest and highly valued participation.

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