Croation Association of Deafblind Persons (DODIR)

The story continues in 1994 when the Croatian Association of Deafblind Persons Dodir was officially founded, originally called then the Croatian Organisation of the Deafblind- Dodir.

This was also the official beginning of the struggle for an active, equal, and dignified inclusion of deafblind people in Croatian society.

 From the very beginning, Association Dodir has based its activities on the real needs of deafblind people and their family members. The main aim of the organization is to ensure and provide quality support in access to information, communication, mobility, and social interaction.

 As the only organization of deafblind persons at the time, the organization focused its efforts on education and support of the deafblind. The main aim was to help deafblind persons to become more independent and for them to be able to represent themselves. As the number of deafblind persons increased, it opened an opportunity to establish local independent organizations in smaller towns.

 With the establishment of independent local organizations, there was a need to change the structure and functioning of the organization itself.  In May 2012, the former Croatian Organisation of the Deafblind- Dodir became an umbrella association and received the current name Croatian Association of Deafblind Persons Dodir (Dodir Association).

 The umbrella association Dodir, still with the 3 N's in its core (National, Non-governmental, and Non-profit), continued its activities by strengthening its focus on active advocacy and inclusion of deafblind people in the decision-making process.  The slogan "Nothing about the Deafblind without the Deafblind" sends a clear message and is inspired by the main principle of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities "Nothing about us without us!"

The most important activities:

SUSTAINABLE SELF-REPRESENTATION

Continuous education for deafblind persons and them having communication support resulted in the strengthening of their self-confidence, awareness, independent decision-making, and ultimately their self-representation in society.

CENTER FOR CROATIAN SIGN LANGUAGE TRANSLATION

 Innovation, as well as recognition of opportunities that others do not see, certainly implies greater risk and responsibility, but also a lot of courage to start something that no one has done before.

 Dodir can immodestly, and with great pride, say that it has built a lot from the ground up and started from zero. Dodir is a pioneer of many initiatives in the Republic of Croatia. Association Dodir has paved the way for a more inclusive society, and a better life for all deafblind people, and this will always be Dodir’s vision in everything the association does.

EDUCATION

Building and strengthening its educational competencies, under the leadership of its president Sanja Tarczay Ph.D., the  Croatian Association of Deafblind People Dodir has left an all-time mark with its innovations in the field of education, Croatian Sign Language and its adaptations for deafblind people in the Republic of Croatia. Dodir’s goal is to modernize the teaching of Croatian sign language, interactive learning, and communication, using digital and virtual platforms, new methods, and tools. Therefore, "Dodir" has been continuously investing in education and the professional development of its instructors and educators of Croatian sign language for years, to improve their competencies, and thus also the competencies of participants in the Association's sign language courses.

COUNSELING AND PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT

By Dodir’s mission, vision, and goals to always move forward in raising the standards of its activities, and to raise the quality of service and life of Deafblind people, Dodir has also established professional assistance through "Social Counselling" services.

NATIONAL REGISTRY OF DEAFBLIND PEOPLE

So far, Dodir has registered 360 deafblind people in the Republic of Croatia. Dodir has also carried out comprehensive research where Dodir collects and completes the necessary documentation for 156 Deafblind people, and the documentation of those 156 persons has been registered and completely archived. Only those to whom the Commission for Determining the Status of a Deafblind Person has determined the status of a deafblind person and issued a decision are enlisted in the registry.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

 Today, the Dodir Association is one of the leading European and world organizations in the field of deafblindness and one of the initiators of the global Deafblind movement! From 2013 to 2022, the president of Association Dodir, Sanja Tarczay Ph.D. , was also the president of the European Deafblind Union (EDbU), and since October 2022, she has been the president of the World Federation of the Deafblind (WFDB).