Country report: Croatia
Croatia is a relatively small country (56,594 km²), but due to its location and shape, has the most fascinating gifts of the nature; its territory encompasses wide variety of different landscapes; crystal clear Adriatic see with more than 1,000 islands, mountains, lowlands, rivers, lakes, cities and villages. It extends from the furthest eastern edges of the Alps in the north-west to the Pannonia lowlands and the banks of the Danube in the east; its central region is covered by the Dinara mountain range, and its southern parts extend to the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Croatia is proud of its 7 National parks and 6 sites included in UNESCO World heritage list.
The population of Croatia is 4,5 million. Statistics are poor and unsatisfactory so it is impossible to know the exact number of deaf people in Croatia, but according to some researches, almost 12,000 people in Croatia are deaf or hard of hearing. No Croatian law has recognized the very existence of Deafblind people yet, so they are registered either as deaf or blind. Croatian Sign Language has also not been legally recognized yet. Due to this unfavorable situation, it is also very hard to have quality and organized interpreting service. SL interpreters, as a profession, are also not recognized and their rights and protection are not stipulated by any law. Therefore, it is difficult to handle numbers, and the total number of SL interpreters in Croatia is unknown. However, Croatian Association of Deafblind Persons “Dodir” managed to establish Support service, which includes Interpreting service, Interveners and Volunteers. It exists for almost ten years already and the number of clients is increasing year by year. Dodir’s Support service is located in Zagreb, the capital, and has branches in 2 major cities- Osijek and Split.
There are over 70 SL interpreters working for Dodir, but the problem is that being an interpreter is only a second or third job to most of the interpreters, due to the legal inabilities of employment as SL interpreter in Croatia.
There is no formal education for SL interpreters at universities or schools in Croatia. Dodir association conducts courses of SL, from beginners to advanced, taught by the native speakers, Deaf persons. After completing all four levels of SL course (two years), students are expected to practice certain number of hours with different clients on less demanding assignments to gain knowledge, experience, self-confidence and to see what interpreting looks like in reality. Next step is attending the wide spectrum of workshops that are organized by Dodir’s Interpreting service on a regular base. The workshops deal with different topics, covering the fields of ethics, specificities of interpreting to a Deafblind person, professional attitude towards clients, colleagues and profession itself, as well as other issues. After the series of preparation courses and workshops, attendants can register to Dodir’s Interpreting service and start taking different assignments. This Service provides continuous education through further workshops, interpreter's meetings with the coordinator and other.
“Dodir” is highly motivated and active association, involved in various fields concerning sign language, interpreters and deafblindness. Association creates numerous projects and participates in various activities. Some of the most important events for Dodir in the past year are being a member of the professional workgroup for drafting a Sign Language Act, constant and persistent campaign for the legal recognition of Croatian Sign Language, for the right of the Deaf and Deafblind persons to have an interpreter and the need for having standard and available educational system for SL interpreters. Dodir also organizes a great deal of public events, as conferences, round tables, lectures and other activities in order to increase the level of public awareness and to improve the living conditions for Deaf and Deafblind Community in every possible way. Efsli summer school 2009 was organized by Dodir association in Zagreb, on the topic “Interpreting for people with deafblindness”. Future activities and events of the Association will remain in the same problem-fields; developing the Sign Language Act, which would recognize CSL and regulate some aspects of SL interpreting profession, such as necessary training and rates. The campaign “My right to communication and information”, for public and legal recognizing of the need for SL interpreters and the significance of that right in achieving active participation of Deaf and Deafblind persons in all segments of life, will continue in the coming year. As a part of this campaign, Dodir organizes lectures and one-day workshops in the health and educational institutions allover Croatia to train its staff how to approach and communicate with people with deafness or deafblindness.
here is a long road ahead of us, many things to do and many more things to change, and in this situation, where the very SL Act is still being developed, every, even the smallest effort in making things better, counts.