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INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF STUDENTS FROM THE FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION, ZAGREB, 11 TO 13 APRIL 2014
Authors: Irena NOVACHESKA
Number of views: 641
The International Congress of the students from the Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation, named ERFUSS…’14, orga¬nized by the students of Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation, at the University of Zagreb, was held from 11 - 13 April 2014, at University Campus Borongaj. ERFUSS…’14 presents the desire of the students from the Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation for unification of the complementary fields, with one goal - team work and inter/trans/multidisciplinary approach, contained in the name of Congress, which is an abbreviation for: “Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation in collaboration with …”.
At the Congress, which was sponsored by the President of the Republic of Croatia, Mr. Ivo Josipovic, the City of Zagreb and the Association of graduate students of Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation, at the University of Zagreb, there were 247 students from Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Poland and Finland. The rich and the diverse program of the Congress included 6 plenary lectures, 17 workshops, 42 active students’ pre¬sen¬ta¬tions, as well as cultural and entertainment activities. The congress was opened with a welcome speech by the President of the Republic of Croatia, Mr. Ivo Josipovic, which in his absence was read by a member of the Organizational Committee, followed by the speeches of the Dean of the Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation, Prof. Antonija Zhizhak, PhD; the Vice-Rector for Studies and Students at the University of Zagreb, Prof. Blazhenka Divjak, PhD; and the President of the Association of graduate students of Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation, at the University of Zagreb, Prof. Zrinjka Stanchikj, PhD. The program was enriched by the presence of representatives of the City of Zagreb: Lada Zhamarija, an associate at the City Office for social care of persons with disabilities and Vanda Bazmenjak, counselor at the City Office for Education, Culture and Sport. The ceremonial part was completed with a video message from the members of Organizational and Program Committee of Congress, through which they welcomed the present. The students’ presentations were organized in three days, divided into two sessions, morning session and afternoon session, between which interactive workshops were held, which aroused great interest among students.
The Institute for Special Education and Rehabilitation, at the Faculty of Philosophy in Skopje, was represented by 10 undergraduate students, accompanied by Irena Novacheska, MA. Ana Kostadinovska and Lina Miloshevska, under the mentorship of Prof. Daniela Dimitrova-Radojichikj, PhD. They presented the topic: Braille alphabet as a tool of communication of the blind people; Gordana Blagojevska and Lazar Trifunovikj, under the mentorship of Prof. Zora Jachova, PhD, presented the Psychological basis of the signs of filed religion in American Sign Language and Macedonian Sign Language; and under the mentorship of Prof. Vladimir Trajkovski, PhD, 6 students had their presentations: Nermin Rashitovikj and Marija Dimovska on the topic: Early intervention for children with autism; Stefani Nakova and Simona Taneska talked about Nonverbal communication in people with cerebral palsy; and Ema Donevska and Andrijana Kudranovikj presented the topic Inclusion of children with Down syndrome in regular classes. The large number of students’ presentations with different topics, were followed by great interest, numerous questions and productive discussion by the audience, which of course resulted in exchange of theoretical and practical experiences in the field of education and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities, and increasing their professional competencies.
The congress was officially closed by the speech of the Vice Dean for Education, Prof. Mirjana Lenchek, PhD, and a representative of the Committee of the Congress, with hope and desire for reunion, collaboration and fellowship. At the end there was a musical program and lunch for all participants.