Contact details
• Name association: ZAVOD ZDRUŽENJE TOLMAČEV ZA SLOVENSKI ZNAKOVNI JEZIK (ZZTSZJ) – The Association of Slovene Sign Language Interpreters (ASLI)
• Name president: DARJA FIŠER, Mrs.
• Address: PREKMURSKA ULICA 6, 1000 LJUBLJANA
• Country: SLOVENIJA
• Phone: +3861-436-47-92
• Fax: +3861-436-47-93
• E-mail: zdruzenjet@t-2.net
• Website: www.tolmaci.si
Country Report: Slovenia 2009
Capital city: Ljubljana (46°03'N, 14°30'E)
Official languages: Slovene, Italian and Hungarian (last 2 are minority language)
Independant: 25th of June 1991 – from Yugoslavia
EU entrance: 01st of May 2004
Area: 20.273 km2
Population: 2.026.655 (around 2.000 deaf – 0,10%)
Money: Evro (€)
Time cone: CET (UTC+1)
Domain: .si
Phone code: +386
Districts: 12
Municipality: 210
Association of Slovene sign language interpreters of Slovenia
Our association of Slovene sign language interpreters has sequent public authorisation on the basis of the Law of using slovene sign language:
- to lead the register of interpreters for sign language
- to suggest the tariff for payment the costs of interpreters
- to assure the covering of all needs for interpreters in whole country
- to lead the register of done services
- to accept the Regulation of disciplin responsability and to solve the objections against the quality of interpretation.
For doing this public authorisation makes the association contract to Ministery for work, family and social affairs by our government.
Asserting the law of using slovene sign language
The Law of using slovene sign language is used since november 2002. The Law started to perform with the Tariff for Slovene sign language interpreters in march 2004. In this two years period the interpreters have correctly done their job and get payment with 2 years delay. But that is solved now and we get payed fluently.
Many institutions are not introduced with this Law, so we had meeting on the Ministery in march this year. The most problems had with medical services but there is satisfactory situation on this field (of health). In 2006 they have closed an Agreement and since then there are no more trouble.
The right to get interpreter for deaf students is still not settled and too much dependable from the interpreting the law of ruling structures. So in former government they interpret this right, that the finance for interpreting to deaf students must be assured in Ordinance for public financiating high school and faculties (that wasn't considered), this governement structure changed this opinion and they interpret the law so, that individual faculties must forsee this cost in their financial planes and than mediate it to the ministery, what accordance to their evidence, no faculty managed that. About this we mediate the call to deaf students throughout the interpreters, that they have to address their application for getting the interpreter to secretariat of their faculty, but unfortunatelly, we don't have feed back information about their following to our instructions.
We warning the ministery for jurisdiction and council of law court about different practise of using The Law of using slovene sign language from 2006. At last we got the opinion of supreme court of Republic of Slovenia in may this year, which we directed to all interpreters, union of the deaf and all associations with purpose, that they acquaint their membership. From this opinion can be comprehend, that deaf persons have right to interpeter of slovene sign language in all proceedings in front of court, considering the principle of non discrimination. In our letter we warn also about the payment, which is not united (some get payed from the Tarif of slovene sign language interpreter (lower), and some from the Rules of court interpreters (higer)). The supreme court of RS has written, that payment must be in accordance to The Rules of court interpreters and that courts aren't bond to our Tarif of slvoene sign language interpreters. But nevertheless still appear the cases that courts pay interpreters at The Tarif. We will warn once more on this point at courts.
To the Association of slovene sign language interpreters there is from the ministery of work, familiy and social affairs confided one, extra task - the performing of experimental project of Calling center for people with hearing trouble. The purpose of this Calling center is to enable the people weith hearing problems getting the information in them addapted technic from the field of state agencies, agencies of community, the perfomers of public mandatory and the performers of public services, the services of public nature and services of Helo-administration. This center will operate 24 hours per day all days in year. The service will provide interpreters of slovene sign language. For this purpose we worked up whole technical solution, functional specification for making and maintainig the web site. We started at September 2009.
The register of Slovene sign language interpreters
Our association leads the register, which is public accessible on the website www.tolmaci.si, which was established in 2005. There are also published the basic data of the association, the register of Slovene sign language interpreters, directions for deaf people – how to assert their right and other activities of the association. In the most cases deaf people order interpreter alone, with SMS through the mobile phone, so also the association web site gives the posibility to order the interpreter on this web site. And people use it more often. Whole list od interpreters is published also on TTX page 723, meant for deaf who don't have computers.
The courses for slovene sign language
Precondition for inclusion in preparing program for getting the certificate is the knowledgement of slovene sign language. So the association performs also starting and continuing courses for slovene sign language in first part of this year. One of them leads deaf woman. Both courses attended 13 persons.
To get the certificate
Our association is also in register for performing the processes for testing the knowledgement and skills, which is lead by the Ministery, competent for invalid and social care.
In first halfyear 2009 we noticed 2 examinatiopns of knowledge and skills for getting the certificate, which are published on web site www.ric.si, at 12th of March and 14th of May 2009. At first term nobody registered, at second term there was 1 candidate, which resigned later.
Until 30. 06. 2008, there are 39 registered Slovene sign language interpreters in Slovenia.
The preparing program for qualifiying to get the certificate
The association is the only institution in Slovenia, which performs the preparing program for qualifying to get the certificate. The program lasts 9 months at weekends and candidates must pay it for themselves. In school year 2008/2009 this programm atended 7 persons. It concluded in June 2009.
Because of increasing needs for interpreters, we cooperated in first halfyear 2009 on the public call of Institution for employment - public order for institucional qualifying and preparing on national professional qualification. At July this year we get the information, that we are select as economical the most advantageous offerer for performing the preparing program for region of Ljubljana, our offer was evaluated with the higest number of points. At this grounding, 9 persons could include in this program, people, who are seek for job.
The professional and administrative services for the slovene sign language council by governemnt of Republic Slovenia
In first part of the year the council had 1 regular meeting, where they had discussed about:
- they accepted the report of realization the Law of using slovene sign language for period 01. 01. – 31. 12. 2008
- they accepted the report of realization The Council of slovene sign language in year 2008
- they acquainted with the problems interpreting on courts, where is to dependable of each judge, weather he or she would inform the court council
- they estimated the work of Association as very succesful.
The register of deaf people with the decree by the Law
This task is the competence of Centres for social care, but they have this register for their own use and for their own region and there are no common register of all deaf people with decrees. So the association established also this register. There are 868 deaf people with decrees and also 41 students.
The need between deaf people for Slovene sign language interpreters increases in comparison to past years since 2004:
The objections against the quality of interpretations
In accordance to the statute of our association the council of the association had named the disciplin commitee, which work is defined in the Rules of disciplin responsability of interpreter. In 2007 we got the concensus from minister, competent for invalid care to the Rules of disciplin responsability of interpreter. In first half of 200 we got no complaintagainst the quality of interpreting.
The development od slovene sign language
Among tasks, which are not defined as public authorisation, is also the development of slovene sign language. For this task the association don't receive money. The Association has prepared for 2007 special social program with this content and gave it to national association of deaf with intention that they become money from Fundation of humanitary and invalid organisation (fundation for finacing these organisation). In march 2007 we were invaited to the national organisation of the deaf on the theme the development of slovene sign language. They told us, that our program was't sent to Fundation, because the national organisation of the deaf will perform this program for themselves.
About slovene sign language our Association in december 2006 by call of Ministery for work, family and social affairs prepared addition to the proposition of Resolution about national programm for language policy by Ministery of culture. The Resolution of national program for language policy was accepted in State assembly of Republic Slovenia at the end of June 2007 and published in Official gazette. At the review this resolution we happily find out, that our addition was accepted and that slovene sign language is recognized as part of language policy in Slovenia.
We active participated at preparing og Action program for invalids 2007 – 2013, which among provision quote
- consistent use of slovene sign language at daily informative, science and other educational TV broadcast,
- establish the relay centres, which take care for intermediate information among daf and other persons
- stimulate learning the sign language as second language
- stimulate twolanguage education of the deaf.
Among carrier of the perform there is also our Association.
About meaning of standardisation of slovene sign language were spoken also on the last conference, on this theme we also published article in the gazette of Slovene institut for standardisation.
Other activities
- preparing documents for meeting of the council of our association and meeting of council for slovene sign language by government
- at first part of the year we intensively worked on establishing the Call center for people with hearing trouble, which contains the searching for most appropriate technical solution, making the functional lists, making the architectural web site, because the center started in September 2009,
- we informed users (deaf) about lawful provisions and the way of emphasize the right to interpreter in The association of deaf and hard of hearing Koper
- we took part on seminars and meetings (seminar of national association of deaf about preparing new Laww of equal posibilities for invalid)
- in the way of regain the consciuousness the public we published two issues of the internal gazette – When hands speaking, which is published on our web site www.tolmaci.si
- with interpreters we organised the meeting about the way of taking evidence of services, when service is done as free lance, the news on some fields of work and the information about the Call center
- we executed the starting and continuing course of slovene sign language,
- on the invitation of The instituion for deaf and hard of hearing Ljubljana we were at the presentation of teaching programs for deaf and hard of hearings in Finland,
- we prepared professional documents for one meeting of the council of the Association
- in accordance to needs we prepared the initiative for getting the certificate about the konwledge of slovene sign language on CPI; our initiative was introduced to the regional commity and they accepted it,
- in June 2009 we concluded the preparing program for qualifiying for getting the certificate for slovene sign language interpreter.
We value that the management of our association is at first half of this year very succesful. The »hearing« public is more informed to give chance to the deaf people, that they can assert their right. And there are many positive responses. We have still many questions open, which are important to perform the Law of using the slovene sign language. We are trying to solve all that with competent institutions in a dialog.
The report prepared Jasna BAUMAN, the director of The Associtation
Translated to English: Darja FIŠER, the president of the council of the Association