Topic of the issue:Elections

SPRING 2013

Newsletter of the Association for Self-Advocacy Issue 10

2 Newsletter of the Association for Self-Advocacy

Every 4 years there are local electionsand elections for local self-government.

Local elections will be this year in May.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities says thatpersons with disabilities have the right to participate in elections.Participating in elections must be easyso that persons with disabilities could participate in elections.Persons with disabilities have the right to vote how they want.No one can force them to vote for a candidateor political party if they do not want to.Persons with disabilities who participate in electionshave the right to help and adaptation during voting.For example:if you cannot read, you can take someone with youto help you circle the person you want to vote for.

The �ght is not over yetNow it is time for relevant institutionslike State Electoral Commission and Ministry of Administrationto ensure conditionsfor persons with intellectual disabilities to votewhen they come to the polling station.

Written by Senada Halilčević and Sanja Hotko

SITUATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIAA year and a half ago in the Voice of Self Advocateswe wrote that persons deprived of legal capacitycannot vote because they do not have the right to vote.

EDITORIAL

EditorSenada Halilčević

JournalistsHrvoje FornerSnježana KanjirFadil Špuren Nera Bajzec

AssistantsIvana BašićSanja HotkoDamjan Janjušević Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

This newsletter was supported by a grant from the Open Society Fundations.

Dear readers,

We decided to dedicate this issue of the newsletter to elections.

Since elections for the European Parliament are behind us,

and local elections are coming up,

it will be good to get information on elections.

Some self-advocates voted for the first time

so they shared their experiences with us.

Kind regards!

TOPIC OF THE ISSUE: ELECTIONS

Elections are a just and fair way to choose personswho will be in power and who will make decisionswhich concern us and our country.Those persons are called politicians.

Every Croatian citizen gets voting rightswhen he or she turns 18.

Voting rights mean that voters have the right and freedom: • to choose politicians who will govern in their name • or to stand for election themselves.

We choose politicians for a certain period of time.This period of time is called a mandate.In the presidential election we choose a presidentof the Republic of Croatia for a period of 5 years.We also choose Croatian representatives to European Parliamentfor a period of 5 years.In the parliamentary election we choose representativesto Croatian Parliament for a period of 4 years.

This year it is di�erent because self-advocatestogether with association GONG fought for the right to votefor all persons deprived of legal capacity.

Voting list is the collection of all information on all voters.A voter can realize his or her right to voteafter he or she is registered on the voting list.The law says that from now onpersons deprived of legal capacityare also votersand they will be registered on the voting list.

Every voter can check if he or she is registered on the voting listand what his voting rights are.You can check at the website of the Ministry of Administration:https://biraci.uprava.hr/

Written by Senada Halilčević

In Europe many persons still do not have the right to votebecause they were deprived of legal capacity.

However, in some countries, like in Croatia,persons deprived of legal capacity have the right to vote.Those countries are: Austria, Italy, Ireland, Great Britain,the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland.

To allow persons with intellectual disabilities to voteequally to other citizens,they need support and adapted information.

Information needs to be written in a simple wayand give di�erent examples from everyday life.

Elections of Croatian representatives to the European ParliamentThe �rst election of Croatian representatives to the European Parliament was in April.In this election Croatian citizens chose their representativesto the European Union Parliament for the �rst time.This is an important electionbecause persons deprived of legal capacitycould realize their right to vote for the �rst time.

Election was held because Croatia will join the European Union on 1 July 2013.European Union is a community which assembles European countriesto develop economy, increase employment and better protect the rights and interests of citizens.

European Parliament is an important European Union body.It is often said that the European Parliament is the voice of the people.That means that the European Parliament protectsthe interests of citizens of European Union countries.For example, citizens can write a petition to ask the Parliamentto investigate if the other European Union bodies are working properlyand if some citizens' right was violated.

European Parliament has important duties: • it adopts European laws • it monitors the work of the European Commission • it decides on the budget of the European Union.

Each country elects a number of representatives to European Parliamentwhich corresponds to the number of inhabitants of that country.So countries with less inhabitants have less representatives,and countries with more inhabitants have more representatives.There are 766 members in the European Parliament.Croatia elected 12 members to the European Parliament.

Since we are not a European Union member yet,only Croatian citizens elected their representatives to the European Parliament.Usually elections are held every 5 yearsat the same time in all countries which are members of the European Union.Those are regular elections.The next regular elections will be in 2014.

Members of the European Parliaments sit in 7 political groups.Some of those groups are Eurooptimistic,which means that they support European Union policies.Some groups are Eurosceptic,which means that they are against decisions made in the European Union.

Meetings of all members of the European Parliamentare held in Strasbourg in France.

Written by Sanja Hotko

Experiences of self-advocates from the �rst electionswhere they could realize their right to vote

For me this was the �rst election where I could vote.When I gave my identity card,I was happy that the member of electoral board found me on the list of voters.There were many candidates in the ballot,so I took my assistant with me to help me circle the list and candidate I decided to vote for.

Nenad Sekušak

I went to the election, but I did not go alone.I had support because it was my �rst time voting.I made the decision who I wanted to vote for earlierand I was happy when I circled my candidate.

Ivo Pala

In 15 European countries there iseasy to read information on voting and elections.

In 2009 Inclusion Europe wrotean easy to read brochure on electionswhich was translated into 13 European languages.The brochure explains: • why voting is important • what kinds of elections there are • how to vote • how to find the results of voting.

Self-advocates from Great Britain madean easy to read website on voting.They put short videos which show howto vote and what kinds of elections there areon the website.

Self-advocates from Scotland hadseveral workshops on voting.Workshops were for persons with intellectual disabilitieswho participated in elections for the �rst time.

In several European countries there were campaignsand advocacy activities for accessible elections.In France and Scotland guidelines were made for politiciansto make their campaigns more accessiblefor persons with intellectual disabilities.

In Great Britain 3 main political partieswrote their programs in easy to read form.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Municipalities are governed by municipal council and municipal prefect,and towns by town council and the mayor.Counties are governed by county council and county prefect.

In local elections we will choose representativesto municipal council, city council and county assembly,as well as municipal prefect, mayor and county prefect.Citizens of the City of Zagreb will choose their representatives to City Assemblybecause Zagreb has the status of a county.We choose all of them for a period of 4 years.

Municipal council, town council and county assemblydecide on budget of a district, town and county,and on other issues important for districts, towns and counties,like: • social care • health care • education • physical planning • public transportation • cleaning • culture • sports.

Municipal chief, mayor and county prefectare in charge of implementing decisions made bymunicipal council, town council and county assembly.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

How to decide who to vote forYou have the right to vote for any candidate orpolitical party that stands for election.However, you should be informed before you go to elections.

Elections were organized beforein our center for rehabilitation,but this was the �rst election where I could vote.electoral board explained what I had to do.I would like the letters in the ballotto be bigger in the next electionso it would be easier for me to read them.

Tamara Kolak

I went to voteright after I had my morning co�ee.I was proud that my vote also counts now.

Monika Mihelec

Local electionsOnly a month after elections for Croatian representatives to European Parliament,we have a new opportunity to vote.It is time for local elections.Local elections will be on 19 May 2013.

In the local elections we have the opportunity to choose politicianswho will represent our interestsin the area where we live.The area where we live can be a municipality, town or county.That is why in local electionsyou only have the right to votein the municipality, town or countywhere your address is.

A municipality is an area smaller than a town.A town is a place which has more than 10 thousand inhabitants.A county is an area which includes several districts and towns.In Croatia there are 20 countiesand the City of Zagreb which has the status of a county.

That way you can give your voteto the candidate or political partythat advocate things which are especially important to you.

There are several waysto �nd information on what candidates advocate.One of them is to follow election campaignon television, radio, election rallies,election lea�ets and newspapers.

During the election campaigncandidates present their programsand try to get as many votes as they can.However, you need to be careful.During the election campaign candidates and political partiesoften make big promises to get more votes.

That is why you should get information in other ways as well.For example, you can talk to persons close to youand ask their opinion on candidates and political parties.You can talk to family members, relatives, friendsand other people you trust.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

NEWSPublic performance Welcome into my shoesOn 30 January 2013, Coalition for Community Livingheld a public performance called Welcome into my shoes.Coalition for Community Living assembles 7 associationswhich work on protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.Association for Self Advocacy is also a member of this Coalition.

The Coalition had a public performance in Zagrebto warn about the prejudice towardspersons with disabilities.Celebrity guests participated in the eventto support the Coalition.Guests had the roles of persons with disabilities.Some of the guests were actors Nikša Marinović and Luka Vidović and singer Jelena Radan.In this way, Coalition sent the messagethat persons with disabilities in Croatiaunfortunately do not have the same opportunitieslike other people.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Conference on easy to read materialsOn 22 February 2013, Association for Self Advocacy organizeda national conference on easy to read materialsand involving persons with intellectual disabilities in lifelong learning programs.It was one of the activities in the project Pathways 2.Association for Self Advocacy is a partner in this project together with Inclusion Europe.

At the conference, self-advocates and assistants from the Associationpresented brochure in Croatian created in this project.

Titles of the brochures are: • Information for all • Do not write for us without us • Training lifelong learning sta� • Teaching can be easy.

You can �nd the brochures on our websitein the section Our materials.

Self-advocate from France Fabrice Vannobelspoke at the conference.He talked about the way easy to read materials are used in France.Other experts in the �eld of education and disability spoke at the conference.Representative of the Delegation of European Union Paolo Berizzi also spoke at the conference.Together we concluded that unfortunately in Croatiathere are no lifelong learning programsfor persons with intellectual disabilities.However, we hope that our conference contributedto starting such programs in the future.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Study visit of self-advocates from SarajevoIn March we had a visit fromguests from organization Sumero from Sarajevo.Self-advocates Zlatan, Rasim, Adis and Ismar,and their assistants Amila and Vedrana visited us.We presented the work of our associationand talked about self-advocacy and self-determination.We presented our brochures, newsletter,website and Facebook page.Guests joined a meeting of our self-advocates.We saw a video abouthow some persons with intellectual disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovinalive in institutions, and some live in the community.We agreed that we have similar problems.

Our guests especially liked that we succeeded in our �ght for the right to vote,which they will use as an example of good practice for their �ghtbecause in Bosnia and Herzegovina persons deprived of legal capacitystill do not have the right to vote.

Written by Fadil Špuren

Trainings on self-determination and self-advocacyFrom January to March 2013, Association for Self Advocacyheld 3 trainings on self-determination and self-advocacy.We held trainings for employeesof Centre for rehabilitation Stančićand Centre for rehabilitation Zagreb.We told them why it is importantfor persons with intellectual disabilitiesto make decisions about their life as much as possibleand about their rights.Trainings were part of the projectProviding support in the process of transformingtwo state institutions for persons with intellectual disabilities.The project is implemented by Association for Promoting Inclusion.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

News on project GONGThere was no easy to read informationon the right to vote for persons deprived of legal capacity.Many persons deprived of legal capacitydid not know that they got the right to voteor did not know how to realize their right to vote.That is why Association for Self Advocacyin cooperation with association GONG,made a brochure on elections in easy to read.We also made a lea�et with instructionson how to vote in elections,and we made a video as well.

Written by Senada Halilčević

Filming a TV videoIn the projectAchieving the right to vote for persons with intellectual disabilitieswhich we are implementing together with association GONG,self-advocates �lmed a TV video My vote, my strength.

We made the video to informall persons deprived of legal capacitythat they can go to elections and vote now.Filming the video was not as easy as we thought.We made the video for several cold and rainy days.We had to repeat the scenesuntil every little thing was as the screenwriter imagined it.Although this was not the �rst time �lming a videofor some self-advocates,it was a little hard for all of us.But our e�orts paid o�because the message we conveyedwas important for all citizens.

Written by Snježana Kanjir

Workshop before elections to European ParliamentOn Friday before elections we had a workshopto prepare with what would happen on Sunday.Elections to the European Parliament were more di�cult because they were the �rst European elections.There were many lists of candidates and candidates.The workshop had a busy atmosphere.We all listened carefully, participated and asked questions.We said what is the European Unionand what is European Parliament.We made a list of all parties and candidates which stood for election.We practiced how to �ll out a valid ballot.We emphasized that polls were opened from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.and that we had to take an identity cardso that electoral board can �nd our name in the list of voters.

Written by Fadil Špuren

ANNOUNCEMENT

Conference Europe in ActionConference Europe in Action will be heldfrom May 29 until June 1 in Ljubljana, Slovenia.Inclusion Europe will organize this conference.Topic of the conference is ageing of persons withintellectual disabilities and their families.Participants will talk about problems which persons with intellectual disabilities and their families face when they grow old.

Experts and self-advocates will discusspolitics and laws which can helpelderly persons with intellectual disabilities and their families.They will also talk about what kind of support persons with intellectual disabilities and their families need.General assembly of EPSA will be held during the conference.

Written by Ivana Bašić

I have a big problem.Sometimes I feel like my girlfriends does not care about me.We only see each other when she wants to,we go where she wantand we do what she wants.She never wants to do something I suggest.I love my girlfriend,but I do not like her behavior.

Did you tell your girlfriend that you do not like that?Why does she want to decide on everything?It is ok that you want to make some decisionson how you spend your time together.Think about what you want to change and talk to her about it.If nothing changes,maybe you should think aboutwhether you want to be with a person who does not care about your opinion.

3Voice of Self-Advocates

Every 4 years there are local electionsand elections for local self-government.

Local elections will be this year in May.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities says thatpersons with disabilities have the right to participate in elections.Participating in elections must be easyso that persons with disabilities could participate in elections.Persons with disabilities have the right to vote how they want.No one can force them to vote for a candidateor political party if they do not want to.Persons with disabilities who participate in electionshave the right to help and adaptation during voting.For example:if you cannot read, you can take someone with youto help you circle the person you want to vote for.

The �ght is not over yetNow it is time for relevant institutionslike State Electoral Commission and Ministry of Administrationto ensure conditionsfor persons with intellectual disabilities to votewhen they come to the polling station.

Written by Senada Halilčević and Sanja Hotko

SITUATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIAA year and a half ago in the Voice of Self Advocateswe wrote that persons deprived of legal capacitycannot vote because they do not have the right to vote.

Dear readers,

We decided to dedicate this issue of the newsletter to elections.

Since elections for the European Parliament are behind us,

and local elections are coming up,

it will be good to get information on elections.

Some self-advocates voted for the first time

so they shared their experiences with us.

Kind regards!

TOPIC OF THE ISSUE: ELECTIONS

Elections are a just and fair way to choose personswho will be in power and who will make decisionswhich concern us and our country.Those persons are called politicians.

Every Croatian citizen gets voting rightswhen he or she turns 18.

Voting rights mean that voters have the right and freedom: • to choose politicians who will govern in their name • or to stand for election themselves.

We choose politicians for a certain period of time.This period of time is called a mandate.In the presidential election we choose a presidentof the Republic of Croatia for a period of 5 years.We also choose Croatian representatives to European Parliamentfor a period of 5 years.In the parliamentary election we choose representativesto Croatian Parliament for a period of 4 years.

This year it is di�erent because self-advocatestogether with association GONG fought for the right to votefor all persons deprived of legal capacity.

Voting list is the collection of all information on all voters.A voter can realize his or her right to voteafter he or she is registered on the voting list.The law says that from now onpersons deprived of legal capacityare also votersand they will be registered on the voting list.

Every voter can check if he or she is registered on the voting listand what his voting rights are.You can check at the website of the Ministry of Administration:https://biraci.uprava.hr/

Written by Senada Halilčević

In Europe many persons still do not have the right to votebecause they were deprived of legal capacity.

However, in some countries, like in Croatia,persons deprived of legal capacity have the right to vote.Those countries are: Austria, Italy, Ireland, Great Britain,the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland.

To allow persons with intellectual disabilities to voteequally to other citizens,they need support and adapted information.

Information needs to be written in a simple wayand give di�erent examples from everyday life.

Elections of Croatian representatives to the European ParliamentThe �rst election of Croatian representatives to the European Parliament was in April.In this election Croatian citizens chose their representativesto the European Union Parliament for the �rst time.This is an important electionbecause persons deprived of legal capacitycould realize their right to vote for the �rst time.

Election was held because Croatia will join the European Union on 1 July 2013.European Union is a community which assembles European countriesto develop economy, increase employment and better protect the rights and interests of citizens.

European Parliament is an important European Union body.It is often said that the European Parliament is the voice of the people.That means that the European Parliament protectsthe interests of citizens of European Union countries.For example, citizens can write a petition to ask the Parliamentto investigate if the other European Union bodies are working properlyand if some citizens' right was violated.

European Parliament has important duties: • it adopts European laws • it monitors the work of the European Commission • it decides on the budget of the European Union.

Each country elects a number of representatives to European Parliamentwhich corresponds to the number of inhabitants of that country.So countries with less inhabitants have less representatives,and countries with more inhabitants have more representatives.There are 766 members in the European Parliament.Croatia elected 12 members to the European Parliament.

Since we are not a European Union member yet,only Croatian citizens elected their representatives to the European Parliament.Usually elections are held every 5 yearsat the same time in all countries which are members of the European Union.Those are regular elections.The next regular elections will be in 2014.

Members of the European Parliaments sit in 7 political groups.Some of those groups are Eurooptimistic,which means that they support European Union policies.Some groups are Eurosceptic,which means that they are against decisions made in the European Union.

Meetings of all members of the European Parliamentare held in Strasbourg in France.

Written by Sanja Hotko

Experiences of self-advocates from the �rst electionswhere they could realize their right to vote

For me this was the �rst election where I could vote.When I gave my identity card,I was happy that the member of electoral board found me on the list of voters.There were many candidates in the ballot,so I took my assistant with me to help me circle the list and candidate I decided to vote for.

Nenad Sekušak

I went to the election, but I did not go alone.I had support because it was my �rst time voting.I made the decision who I wanted to vote for earlierand I was happy when I circled my candidate.

Ivo Pala

In 15 European countries there iseasy to read information on voting and elections.

In 2009 Inclusion Europe wrotean easy to read brochure on electionswhich was translated into 13 European languages.The brochure explains: • why voting is important • what kinds of elections there are • how to vote • how to find the results of voting.

Self-advocates from Great Britain madean easy to read website on voting.They put short videos which show howto vote and what kinds of elections there areon the website.

Self-advocates from Scotland hadseveral workshops on voting.Workshops were for persons with intellectual disabilitieswho participated in elections for the �rst time.

In several European countries there were campaignsand advocacy activities for accessible elections.In France and Scotland guidelines were made for politiciansto make their campaigns more accessiblefor persons with intellectual disabilities.

In Great Britain 3 main political partieswrote their programs in easy to read form.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Municipalities are governed by municipal council and municipal prefect,and towns by town council and the mayor.Counties are governed by county council and county prefect.

In local elections we will choose representativesto municipal council, city council and county assembly,as well as municipal prefect, mayor and county prefect.Citizens of the City of Zagreb will choose their representatives to City Assemblybecause Zagreb has the status of a county.We choose all of them for a period of 4 years.

Municipal council, town council and county assemblydecide on budget of a district, town and county,and on other issues important for districts, towns and counties,like: • social care • health care • education • physical planning • public transportation • cleaning • culture • sports.

Municipal chief, mayor and county prefectare in charge of implementing decisions made bymunicipal council, town council and county assembly.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

How to decide who to vote forYou have the right to vote for any candidate orpolitical party that stands for election.However, you should be informed before you go to elections.

Elections were organized beforein our center for rehabilitation,but this was the �rst election where I could vote.electoral board explained what I had to do.I would like the letters in the ballotto be bigger in the next electionso it would be easier for me to read them.

Tamara Kolak

I went to voteright after I had my morning co�ee.I was proud that my vote also counts now.

Monika Mihelec

Local electionsOnly a month after elections for Croatian representatives to European Parliament,we have a new opportunity to vote.It is time for local elections.Local elections will be on 19 May 2013.

In the local elections we have the opportunity to choose politicianswho will represent our interestsin the area where we live.The area where we live can be a municipality, town or county.That is why in local electionsyou only have the right to votein the municipality, town or countywhere your address is.

A municipality is an area smaller than a town.A town is a place which has more than 10 thousand inhabitants.A county is an area which includes several districts and towns.In Croatia there are 20 countiesand the City of Zagreb which has the status of a county.

That way you can give your voteto the candidate or political partythat advocate things which are especially important to you.

There are several waysto �nd information on what candidates advocate.One of them is to follow election campaignon television, radio, election rallies,election lea�ets and newspapers.

During the election campaigncandidates present their programsand try to get as many votes as they can.However, you need to be careful.During the election campaign candidates and political partiesoften make big promises to get more votes.

That is why you should get information in other ways as well.For example, you can talk to persons close to youand ask their opinion on candidates and political parties.You can talk to family members, relatives, friendsand other people you trust.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

NEWSPublic performance Welcome into my shoesOn 30 January 2013, Coalition for Community Livingheld a public performance called Welcome into my shoes.Coalition for Community Living assembles 7 associationswhich work on protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.Association for Self Advocacy is also a member of this Coalition.

The Coalition had a public performance in Zagrebto warn about the prejudice towardspersons with disabilities.Celebrity guests participated in the eventto support the Coalition.Guests had the roles of persons with disabilities.Some of the guests were actors Nikša Marinović and Luka Vidović and singer Jelena Radan.In this way, Coalition sent the messagethat persons with disabilities in Croatiaunfortunately do not have the same opportunitieslike other people.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Conference on easy to read materialsOn 22 February 2013, Association for Self Advocacy organizeda national conference on easy to read materialsand involving persons with intellectual disabilities in lifelong learning programs.It was one of the activities in the project Pathways 2.Association for Self Advocacy is a partner in this project together with Inclusion Europe.

At the conference, self-advocates and assistants from the Associationpresented brochure in Croatian created in this project.

Titles of the brochures are: • Information for all • Do not write for us without us • Training lifelong learning sta� • Teaching can be easy.

You can �nd the brochures on our websitein the section Our materials.

Self-advocate from France Fabrice Vannobelspoke at the conference.He talked about the way easy to read materials are used in France.Other experts in the �eld of education and disability spoke at the conference.Representative of the Delegation of European Union Paolo Berizzi also spoke at the conference.Together we concluded that unfortunately in Croatiathere are no lifelong learning programsfor persons with intellectual disabilities.However, we hope that our conference contributedto starting such programs in the future.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Study visit of self-advocates from SarajevoIn March we had a visit fromguests from organization Sumero from Sarajevo.Self-advocates Zlatan, Rasim, Adis and Ismar,and their assistants Amila and Vedrana visited us.We presented the work of our associationand talked about self-advocacy and self-determination.We presented our brochures, newsletter,website and Facebook page.Guests joined a meeting of our self-advocates.We saw a video abouthow some persons with intellectual disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovinalive in institutions, and some live in the community.We agreed that we have similar problems.

Our guests especially liked that we succeeded in our �ght for the right to vote,which they will use as an example of good practice for their �ghtbecause in Bosnia and Herzegovina persons deprived of legal capacitystill do not have the right to vote.

Written by Fadil Špuren

Trainings on self-determination and self-advocacyFrom January to March 2013, Association for Self Advocacyheld 3 trainings on self-determination and self-advocacy.We held trainings for employeesof Centre for rehabilitation Stančićand Centre for rehabilitation Zagreb.We told them why it is importantfor persons with intellectual disabilitiesto make decisions about their life as much as possibleand about their rights.Trainings were part of the projectProviding support in the process of transformingtwo state institutions for persons with intellectual disabilities.The project is implemented by Association for Promoting Inclusion.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

News on project GONGThere was no easy to read informationon the right to vote for persons deprived of legal capacity.Many persons deprived of legal capacitydid not know that they got the right to voteor did not know how to realize their right to vote.That is why Association for Self Advocacyin cooperation with association GONG,made a brochure on elections in easy to read.We also made a lea�et with instructionson how to vote in elections,and we made a video as well.

Written by Senada Halilčević

Filming a TV videoIn the projectAchieving the right to vote for persons with intellectual disabilitieswhich we are implementing together with association GONG,self-advocates �lmed a TV video My vote, my strength.

We made the video to informall persons deprived of legal capacitythat they can go to elections and vote now.Filming the video was not as easy as we thought.We made the video for several cold and rainy days.We had to repeat the scenesuntil every little thing was as the screenwriter imagined it.Although this was not the �rst time �lming a videofor some self-advocates,it was a little hard for all of us.But our e�orts paid o�because the message we conveyedwas important for all citizens.

Written by Snježana Kanjir

Workshop before elections to European ParliamentOn Friday before elections we had a workshopto prepare with what would happen on Sunday.Elections to the European Parliament were more di�cult because they were the �rst European elections.There were many lists of candidates and candidates.The workshop had a busy atmosphere.We all listened carefully, participated and asked questions.We said what is the European Unionand what is European Parliament.We made a list of all parties and candidates which stood for election.We practiced how to �ll out a valid ballot.We emphasized that polls were opened from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.and that we had to take an identity cardso that electoral board can �nd our name in the list of voters.

Written by Fadil Špuren

ANNOUNCEMENT

Conference Europe in ActionConference Europe in Action will be heldfrom May 29 until June 1 in Ljubljana, Slovenia.Inclusion Europe will organize this conference.Topic of the conference is ageing of persons withintellectual disabilities and their families.Participants will talk about problems which persons with intellectual disabilities and their families face when they grow old.

Experts and self-advocates will discusspolitics and laws which can helpelderly persons with intellectual disabilities and their families.They will also talk about what kind of support persons with intellectual disabilities and their families need.General assembly of EPSA will be held during the conference.

Written by Ivana Bašić

I have a big problem.Sometimes I feel like my girlfriends does not care about me.We only see each other when she wants to,we go where she wantand we do what she wants.She never wants to do something I suggest.I love my girlfriend,but I do not like her behavior.

Did you tell your girlfriend that you do not like that?Why does she want to decide on everything?It is ok that you want to make some decisionson how you spend your time together.Think about what you want to change and talk to her about it.If nothing changes,maybe you should think aboutwhether you want to be with a person who does not care about your opinion.

4

Every 4 years there are local electionsand elections for local self-government.

Local elections will be this year in May.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities says thatpersons with disabilities have the right to participate in elections.Participating in elections must be easyso that persons with disabilities could participate in elections.Persons with disabilities have the right to vote how they want.No one can force them to vote for a candidateor political party if they do not want to.Persons with disabilities who participate in electionshave the right to help and adaptation during voting.For example:if you cannot read, you can take someone with youto help you circle the person you want to vote for.

The �ght is not over yetNow it is time for relevant institutionslike State Electoral Commission and Ministry of Administrationto ensure conditionsfor persons with intellectual disabilities to votewhen they come to the polling station.

Written by Senada Halilčević and Sanja Hotko

SITUATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIAA year and a half ago in the Voice of Self Advocateswe wrote that persons deprived of legal capacitycannot vote because they do not have the right to vote.

Dear readers,

We decided to dedicate this issue of the newsletter to elections.

Since elections for the European Parliament are behind us,

and local elections are coming up,

it will be good to get information on elections.

Some self-advocates voted for the first time

so they shared their experiences with us.

Kind regards!

TOPIC OF THE ISSUE: ELECTIONS

Elections are a just and fair way to choose personswho will be in power and who will make decisionswhich concern us and our country.Those persons are called politicians.

Every Croatian citizen gets voting rightswhen he or she turns 18.

Voting rights mean that voters have the right and freedom: • to choose politicians who will govern in their name • or to stand for election themselves.

We choose politicians for a certain period of time.This period of time is called a mandate.In the presidential election we choose a presidentof the Republic of Croatia for a period of 5 years.We also choose Croatian representatives to European Parliamentfor a period of 5 years.In the parliamentary election we choose representativesto Croatian Parliament for a period of 4 years.

This year it is di�erent because self-advocatestogether with association GONG fought for the right to votefor all persons deprived of legal capacity.

Voting list is the collection of all information on all voters.A voter can realize his or her right to voteafter he or she is registered on the voting list.The law says that from now onpersons deprived of legal capacityare also votersand they will be registered on the voting list.

Every voter can check if he or she is registered on the voting listand what his voting rights are.You can check at the website of the Ministry of Administration:https://biraci.uprava.hr/

Written by Senada Halilčević

In Europe many persons still do not have the right to votebecause they were deprived of legal capacity.

However, in some countries, like in Croatia,persons deprived of legal capacity have the right to vote.Those countries are: Austria, Italy, Ireland, Great Britain,the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland.

To allow persons with intellectual disabilities to voteequally to other citizens,they need support and adapted information.

Information needs to be written in a simple wayand give di�erent examples from everyday life.

Elections of Croatian representatives to the European ParliamentThe �rst election of Croatian representatives to the European Parliament was in April.In this election Croatian citizens chose their representativesto the European Union Parliament for the �rst time.This is an important electionbecause persons deprived of legal capacitycould realize their right to vote for the �rst time.

Election was held because Croatia will join the European Union on 1 July 2013.European Union is a community which assembles European countriesto develop economy, increase employment and better protect the rights and interests of citizens.

European Parliament is an important European Union body.It is often said that the European Parliament is the voice of the people.That means that the European Parliament protectsthe interests of citizens of European Union countries.For example, citizens can write a petition to ask the Parliamentto investigate if the other European Union bodies are working properlyand if some citizens' right was violated.

European Parliament has important duties: • it adopts European laws • it monitors the work of the European Commission • it decides on the budget of the European Union.

Each country elects a number of representatives to European Parliamentwhich corresponds to the number of inhabitants of that country.So countries with less inhabitants have less representatives,and countries with more inhabitants have more representatives.There are 766 members in the European Parliament.Croatia elected 12 members to the European Parliament.

Since we are not a European Union member yet,only Croatian citizens elected their representatives to the European Parliament.Usually elections are held every 5 yearsat the same time in all countries which are members of the European Union.Those are regular elections.The next regular elections will be in 2014.

Members of the European Parliaments sit in 7 political groups.Some of those groups are Eurooptimistic,which means that they support European Union policies.Some groups are Eurosceptic,which means that they are against decisions made in the European Union.

Meetings of all members of the European Parliamentare held in Strasbourg in France.

Written by Sanja Hotko

Experiences of self-advocates from the �rst electionswhere they could realize their right to vote

For me this was the �rst election where I could vote.When I gave my identity card,I was happy that the member of electoral board found me on the list of voters.There were many candidates in the ballot,so I took my assistant with me to help me circle the list and candidate I decided to vote for.

Nenad Sekušak

I went to the election, but I did not go alone.I had support because it was my �rst time voting.I made the decision who I wanted to vote for earlierand I was happy when I circled my candidate.

Ivo Pala

In 15 European countries there iseasy to read information on voting and elections.

In 2009 Inclusion Europe wrotean easy to read brochure on electionswhich was translated into 13 European languages.The brochure explains: • why voting is important • what kinds of elections there are • how to vote • how to find the results of voting.

Self-advocates from Great Britain madean easy to read website on voting.They put short videos which show howto vote and what kinds of elections there areon the website.

Self-advocates from Scotland hadseveral workshops on voting.Workshops were for persons with intellectual disabilitieswho participated in elections for the �rst time.

In several European countries there were campaignsand advocacy activities for accessible elections.In France and Scotland guidelines were made for politiciansto make their campaigns more accessiblefor persons with intellectual disabilities.

In Great Britain 3 main political partieswrote their programs in easy to read form.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Municipalities are governed by municipal council and municipal prefect,and towns by town council and the mayor.Counties are governed by county council and county prefect.

In local elections we will choose representativesto municipal council, city council and county assembly,as well as municipal prefect, mayor and county prefect.Citizens of the City of Zagreb will choose their representatives to City Assemblybecause Zagreb has the status of a county.We choose all of them for a period of 4 years.

Municipal council, town council and county assemblydecide on budget of a district, town and county,and on other issues important for districts, towns and counties,like: • social care • health care • education • physical planning • public transportation • cleaning • culture • sports.

Municipal chief, mayor and county prefectare in charge of implementing decisions made bymunicipal council, town council and county assembly.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

How to decide who to vote forYou have the right to vote for any candidate orpolitical party that stands for election.However, you should be informed before you go to elections.

Elections were organized beforein our center for rehabilitation,but this was the �rst election where I could vote.electoral board explained what I had to do.I would like the letters in the ballotto be bigger in the next electionso it would be easier for me to read them.

Tamara Kolak

I went to voteright after I had my morning co�ee.I was proud that my vote also counts now.

Monika Mihelec

Local electionsOnly a month after elections for Croatian representatives to European Parliament,we have a new opportunity to vote.It is time for local elections.Local elections will be on 19 May 2013.

In the local elections we have the opportunity to choose politicianswho will represent our interestsin the area where we live.The area where we live can be a municipality, town or county.That is why in local electionsyou only have the right to votein the municipality, town or countywhere your address is.

A municipality is an area smaller than a town.A town is a place which has more than 10 thousand inhabitants.A county is an area which includes several districts and towns.In Croatia there are 20 countiesand the City of Zagreb which has the status of a county.

That way you can give your voteto the candidate or political partythat advocate things which are especially important to you.

There are several waysto �nd information on what candidates advocate.One of them is to follow election campaignon television, radio, election rallies,election lea�ets and newspapers.

During the election campaigncandidates present their programsand try to get as many votes as they can.However, you need to be careful.During the election campaign candidates and political partiesoften make big promises to get more votes.

That is why you should get information in other ways as well.For example, you can talk to persons close to youand ask their opinion on candidates and political parties.You can talk to family members, relatives, friendsand other people you trust.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

NEWSPublic performance Welcome into my shoesOn 30 January 2013, Coalition for Community Livingheld a public performance called Welcome into my shoes.Coalition for Community Living assembles 7 associationswhich work on protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.Association for Self Advocacy is also a member of this Coalition.

The Coalition had a public performance in Zagrebto warn about the prejudice towardspersons with disabilities.Celebrity guests participated in the eventto support the Coalition.Guests had the roles of persons with disabilities.Some of the guests were actors Nikša Marinović and Luka Vidović and singer Jelena Radan.In this way, Coalition sent the messagethat persons with disabilities in Croatiaunfortunately do not have the same opportunitieslike other people.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Conference on easy to read materialsOn 22 February 2013, Association for Self Advocacy organizeda national conference on easy to read materialsand involving persons with intellectual disabilities in lifelong learning programs.It was one of the activities in the project Pathways 2.Association for Self Advocacy is a partner in this project together with Inclusion Europe.

At the conference, self-advocates and assistants from the Associationpresented brochure in Croatian created in this project.

Titles of the brochures are: • Information for all • Do not write for us without us • Training lifelong learning sta� • Teaching can be easy.

You can �nd the brochures on our websitein the section Our materials.

Self-advocate from France Fabrice Vannobelspoke at the conference.He talked about the way easy to read materials are used in France.Other experts in the �eld of education and disability spoke at the conference.Representative of the Delegation of European Union Paolo Berizzi also spoke at the conference.Together we concluded that unfortunately in Croatiathere are no lifelong learning programsfor persons with intellectual disabilities.However, we hope that our conference contributedto starting such programs in the future.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Study visit of self-advocates from SarajevoIn March we had a visit fromguests from organization Sumero from Sarajevo.Self-advocates Zlatan, Rasim, Adis and Ismar,and their assistants Amila and Vedrana visited us.We presented the work of our associationand talked about self-advocacy and self-determination.We presented our brochures, newsletter,website and Facebook page.Guests joined a meeting of our self-advocates.We saw a video abouthow some persons with intellectual disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovinalive in institutions, and some live in the community.We agreed that we have similar problems.

Our guests especially liked that we succeeded in our �ght for the right to vote,which they will use as an example of good practice for their �ghtbecause in Bosnia and Herzegovina persons deprived of legal capacitystill do not have the right to vote.

Written by Fadil Špuren

Trainings on self-determination and self-advocacyFrom January to March 2013, Association for Self Advocacyheld 3 trainings on self-determination and self-advocacy.We held trainings for employeesof Centre for rehabilitation Stančićand Centre for rehabilitation Zagreb.We told them why it is importantfor persons with intellectual disabilitiesto make decisions about their life as much as possibleand about their rights.Trainings were part of the projectProviding support in the process of transformingtwo state institutions for persons with intellectual disabilities.The project is implemented by Association for Promoting Inclusion.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

News on project GONGThere was no easy to read informationon the right to vote for persons deprived of legal capacity.Many persons deprived of legal capacitydid not know that they got the right to voteor did not know how to realize their right to vote.That is why Association for Self Advocacyin cooperation with association GONG,made a brochure on elections in easy to read.We also made a lea�et with instructionson how to vote in elections,and we made a video as well.

Written by Senada Halilčević

Filming a TV videoIn the projectAchieving the right to vote for persons with intellectual disabilitieswhich we are implementing together with association GONG,self-advocates �lmed a TV video My vote, my strength.

We made the video to informall persons deprived of legal capacitythat they can go to elections and vote now.Filming the video was not as easy as we thought.We made the video for several cold and rainy days.We had to repeat the scenesuntil every little thing was as the screenwriter imagined it.Although this was not the �rst time �lming a videofor some self-advocates,it was a little hard for all of us.But our e�orts paid o�because the message we conveyedwas important for all citizens.

Written by Snježana Kanjir

Workshop before elections to European ParliamentOn Friday before elections we had a workshopto prepare with what would happen on Sunday.Elections to the European Parliament were more di�cult because they were the �rst European elections.There were many lists of candidates and candidates.The workshop had a busy atmosphere.We all listened carefully, participated and asked questions.We said what is the European Unionand what is European Parliament.We made a list of all parties and candidates which stood for election.We practiced how to �ll out a valid ballot.We emphasized that polls were opened from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.and that we had to take an identity cardso that electoral board can �nd our name in the list of voters.

Written by Fadil Špuren

ANNOUNCEMENT

Conference Europe in ActionConference Europe in Action will be heldfrom May 29 until June 1 in Ljubljana, Slovenia.Inclusion Europe will organize this conference.Topic of the conference is ageing of persons withintellectual disabilities and their families.Participants will talk about problems which persons with intellectual disabilities and their families face when they grow old.

Experts and self-advocates will discusspolitics and laws which can helpelderly persons with intellectual disabilities and their families.They will also talk about what kind of support persons with intellectual disabilities and their families need.General assembly of EPSA will be held during the conference.

Written by Ivana Bašić

I have a big problem.Sometimes I feel like my girlfriends does not care about me.We only see each other when she wants to,we go where she wantand we do what she wants.She never wants to do something I suggest.I love my girlfriend,but I do not like her behavior.

Did you tell your girlfriend that you do not like that?Why does she want to decide on everything?It is ok that you want to make some decisionson how you spend your time together.Think about what you want to change and talk to her about it.If nothing changes,maybe you should think aboutwhether you want to be with a person who does not care about your opinion.

GOOD EXAMPLES FROM EUROPE

Newsletter of the Association for Self-Advocacy

5Voice of Self-Advocates

Every 4 years there are local electionsand elections for local self-government.

Local elections will be this year in May.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities says thatpersons with disabilities have the right to participate in elections.Participating in elections must be easyso that persons with disabilities could participate in elections.Persons with disabilities have the right to vote how they want.No one can force them to vote for a candidateor political party if they do not want to.Persons with disabilities who participate in electionshave the right to help and adaptation during voting.For example:if you cannot read, you can take someone with youto help you circle the person you want to vote for.

The �ght is not over yetNow it is time for relevant institutionslike State Electoral Commission and Ministry of Administrationto ensure conditionsfor persons with intellectual disabilities to votewhen they come to the polling station.

Written by Senada Halilčević and Sanja Hotko

SITUATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIAA year and a half ago in the Voice of Self Advocateswe wrote that persons deprived of legal capacitycannot vote because they do not have the right to vote.

Dear readers,

We decided to dedicate this issue of the newsletter to elections.

Since elections for the European Parliament are behind us,

and local elections are coming up,

it will be good to get information on elections.

Some self-advocates voted for the first time

so they shared their experiences with us.

Kind regards!

TOPIC OF THE ISSUE: ELECTIONS

Elections are a just and fair way to choose personswho will be in power and who will make decisionswhich concern us and our country.Those persons are called politicians.

Every Croatian citizen gets voting rightswhen he or she turns 18.

Voting rights mean that voters have the right and freedom: • to choose politicians who will govern in their name • or to stand for election themselves.

We choose politicians for a certain period of time.This period of time is called a mandate.In the presidential election we choose a presidentof the Republic of Croatia for a period of 5 years.We also choose Croatian representatives to European Parliamentfor a period of 5 years.In the parliamentary election we choose representativesto Croatian Parliament for a period of 4 years.

This year it is di�erent because self-advocatestogether with association GONG fought for the right to votefor all persons deprived of legal capacity.

Voting list is the collection of all information on all voters.A voter can realize his or her right to voteafter he or she is registered on the voting list.The law says that from now onpersons deprived of legal capacityare also votersand they will be registered on the voting list.

Every voter can check if he or she is registered on the voting listand what his voting rights are.You can check at the website of the Ministry of Administration:https://biraci.uprava.hr/

Written by Senada Halilčević

In Europe many persons still do not have the right to votebecause they were deprived of legal capacity.

However, in some countries, like in Croatia,persons deprived of legal capacity have the right to vote.Those countries are: Austria, Italy, Ireland, Great Britain,the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland.

To allow persons with intellectual disabilities to voteequally to other citizens,they need support and adapted information.

Information needs to be written in a simple wayand give di�erent examples from everyday life.

Elections of Croatian representatives to the European ParliamentThe �rst election of Croatian representatives to the European Parliament was in April.In this election Croatian citizens chose their representativesto the European Union Parliament for the �rst time.This is an important electionbecause persons deprived of legal capacitycould realize their right to vote for the �rst time.

Election was held because Croatia will join the European Union on 1 July 2013.European Union is a community which assembles European countriesto develop economy, increase employment and better protect the rights and interests of citizens.

European Parliament is an important European Union body.It is often said that the European Parliament is the voice of the people.That means that the European Parliament protectsthe interests of citizens of European Union countries.For example, citizens can write a petition to ask the Parliamentto investigate if the other European Union bodies are working properlyand if some citizens' right was violated.

European Parliament has important duties: • it adopts European laws • it monitors the work of the European Commission • it decides on the budget of the European Union.

Each country elects a number of representatives to European Parliamentwhich corresponds to the number of inhabitants of that country.So countries with less inhabitants have less representatives,and countries with more inhabitants have more representatives.There are 766 members in the European Parliament.Croatia elected 12 members to the European Parliament.

Since we are not a European Union member yet,only Croatian citizens elected their representatives to the European Parliament.Usually elections are held every 5 yearsat the same time in all countries which are members of the European Union.Those are regular elections.The next regular elections will be in 2014.

Members of the European Parliaments sit in 7 political groups.Some of those groups are Eurooptimistic,which means that they support European Union policies.Some groups are Eurosceptic,which means that they are against decisions made in the European Union.

Meetings of all members of the European Parliamentare held in Strasbourg in France.

Written by Sanja Hotko

Experiences of self-advocates from the �rst electionswhere they could realize their right to vote

For me this was the �rst election where I could vote.When I gave my identity card,I was happy that the member of electoral board found me on the list of voters.There were many candidates in the ballot,so I took my assistant with me to help me circle the list and candidate I decided to vote for.

Nenad Sekušak

I went to the election, but I did not go alone.I had support because it was my �rst time voting.I made the decision who I wanted to vote for earlierand I was happy when I circled my candidate.

Ivo Pala

In 15 European countries there iseasy to read information on voting and elections.

In 2009 Inclusion Europe wrotean easy to read brochure on electionswhich was translated into 13 European languages.The brochure explains: • why voting is important • what kinds of elections there are • how to vote • how to find the results of voting.

Self-advocates from Great Britain madean easy to read website on voting.They put short videos which show howto vote and what kinds of elections there areon the website.

Self-advocates from Scotland hadseveral workshops on voting.Workshops were for persons with intellectual disabilitieswho participated in elections for the �rst time.

In several European countries there were campaignsand advocacy activities for accessible elections.In France and Scotland guidelines were made for politiciansto make their campaigns more accessiblefor persons with intellectual disabilities.

In Great Britain 3 main political partieswrote their programs in easy to read form.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Municipalities are governed by municipal council and municipal prefect,and towns by town council and the mayor.Counties are governed by county council and county prefect.

In local elections we will choose representativesto municipal council, city council and county assembly,as well as municipal prefect, mayor and county prefect.Citizens of the City of Zagreb will choose their representatives to City Assemblybecause Zagreb has the status of a county.We choose all of them for a period of 4 years.

Municipal council, town council and county assemblydecide on budget of a district, town and county,and on other issues important for districts, towns and counties,like: • social care • health care • education • physical planning • public transportation • cleaning • culture • sports.

Municipal chief, mayor and county prefectare in charge of implementing decisions made bymunicipal council, town council and county assembly.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

How to decide who to vote forYou have the right to vote for any candidate orpolitical party that stands for election.However, you should be informed before you go to elections.

Elections were organized beforein our center for rehabilitation,but this was the �rst election where I could vote.electoral board explained what I had to do.I would like the letters in the ballotto be bigger in the next electionso it would be easier for me to read them.

Tamara Kolak

I went to voteright after I had my morning co�ee.I was proud that my vote also counts now.

Monika Mihelec

Local electionsOnly a month after elections for Croatian representatives to European Parliament,we have a new opportunity to vote.It is time for local elections.Local elections will be on 19 May 2013.

In the local elections we have the opportunity to choose politicianswho will represent our interestsin the area where we live.The area where we live can be a municipality, town or county.That is why in local electionsyou only have the right to votein the municipality, town or countywhere your address is.

A municipality is an area smaller than a town.A town is a place which has more than 10 thousand inhabitants.A county is an area which includes several districts and towns.In Croatia there are 20 countiesand the City of Zagreb which has the status of a county.

That way you can give your voteto the candidate or political partythat advocate things which are especially important to you.

There are several waysto �nd information on what candidates advocate.One of them is to follow election campaignon television, radio, election rallies,election lea�ets and newspapers.

During the election campaigncandidates present their programsand try to get as many votes as they can.However, you need to be careful.During the election campaign candidates and political partiesoften make big promises to get more votes.

That is why you should get information in other ways as well.For example, you can talk to persons close to youand ask their opinion on candidates and political parties.You can talk to family members, relatives, friendsand other people you trust.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

NEWSPublic performance Welcome into my shoesOn 30 January 2013, Coalition for Community Livingheld a public performance called Welcome into my shoes.Coalition for Community Living assembles 7 associationswhich work on protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.Association for Self Advocacy is also a member of this Coalition.

The Coalition had a public performance in Zagrebto warn about the prejudice towardspersons with disabilities.Celebrity guests participated in the eventto support the Coalition.Guests had the roles of persons with disabilities.Some of the guests were actors Nikša Marinović and Luka Vidović and singer Jelena Radan.In this way, Coalition sent the messagethat persons with disabilities in Croatiaunfortunately do not have the same opportunitieslike other people.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Conference on easy to read materialsOn 22 February 2013, Association for Self Advocacy organizeda national conference on easy to read materialsand involving persons with intellectual disabilities in lifelong learning programs.It was one of the activities in the project Pathways 2.Association for Self Advocacy is a partner in this project together with Inclusion Europe.

At the conference, self-advocates and assistants from the Associationpresented brochure in Croatian created in this project.

Titles of the brochures are: • Information for all • Do not write for us without us • Training lifelong learning sta� • Teaching can be easy.

You can �nd the brochures on our websitein the section Our materials.

Self-advocate from France Fabrice Vannobelspoke at the conference.He talked about the way easy to read materials are used in France.Other experts in the �eld of education and disability spoke at the conference.Representative of the Delegation of European Union Paolo Berizzi also spoke at the conference.Together we concluded that unfortunately in Croatiathere are no lifelong learning programsfor persons with intellectual disabilities.However, we hope that our conference contributedto starting such programs in the future.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Study visit of self-advocates from SarajevoIn March we had a visit fromguests from organization Sumero from Sarajevo.Self-advocates Zlatan, Rasim, Adis and Ismar,and their assistants Amila and Vedrana visited us.We presented the work of our associationand talked about self-advocacy and self-determination.We presented our brochures, newsletter,website and Facebook page.Guests joined a meeting of our self-advocates.We saw a video abouthow some persons with intellectual disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovinalive in institutions, and some live in the community.We agreed that we have similar problems.

Our guests especially liked that we succeeded in our �ght for the right to vote,which they will use as an example of good practice for their �ghtbecause in Bosnia and Herzegovina persons deprived of legal capacitystill do not have the right to vote.

Written by Fadil Špuren

Trainings on self-determination and self-advocacyFrom January to March 2013, Association for Self Advocacyheld 3 trainings on self-determination and self-advocacy.We held trainings for employeesof Centre for rehabilitation Stančićand Centre for rehabilitation Zagreb.We told them why it is importantfor persons with intellectual disabilitiesto make decisions about their life as much as possibleand about their rights.Trainings were part of the projectProviding support in the process of transformingtwo state institutions for persons with intellectual disabilities.The project is implemented by Association for Promoting Inclusion.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

News on project GONGThere was no easy to read informationon the right to vote for persons deprived of legal capacity.Many persons deprived of legal capacitydid not know that they got the right to voteor did not know how to realize their right to vote.That is why Association for Self Advocacyin cooperation with association GONG,made a brochure on elections in easy to read.We also made a lea�et with instructionson how to vote in elections,and we made a video as well.

Written by Senada Halilčević

Filming a TV videoIn the projectAchieving the right to vote for persons with intellectual disabilitieswhich we are implementing together with association GONG,self-advocates �lmed a TV video My vote, my strength.

We made the video to informall persons deprived of legal capacitythat they can go to elections and vote now.Filming the video was not as easy as we thought.We made the video for several cold and rainy days.We had to repeat the scenesuntil every little thing was as the screenwriter imagined it.Although this was not the �rst time �lming a videofor some self-advocates,it was a little hard for all of us.But our e�orts paid o�because the message we conveyedwas important for all citizens.

Written by Snježana Kanjir

Workshop before elections to European ParliamentOn Friday before elections we had a workshopto prepare with what would happen on Sunday.Elections to the European Parliament were more di�cult because they were the �rst European elections.There were many lists of candidates and candidates.The workshop had a busy atmosphere.We all listened carefully, participated and asked questions.We said what is the European Unionand what is European Parliament.We made a list of all parties and candidates which stood for election.We practiced how to �ll out a valid ballot.We emphasized that polls were opened from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.and that we had to take an identity cardso that electoral board can �nd our name in the list of voters.

Written by Fadil Špuren

ANNOUNCEMENT

Conference Europe in ActionConference Europe in Action will be heldfrom May 29 until June 1 in Ljubljana, Slovenia.Inclusion Europe will organize this conference.Topic of the conference is ageing of persons withintellectual disabilities and their families.Participants will talk about problems which persons with intellectual disabilities and their families face when they grow old.

Experts and self-advocates will discusspolitics and laws which can helpelderly persons with intellectual disabilities and their families.They will also talk about what kind of support persons with intellectual disabilities and their families need.General assembly of EPSA will be held during the conference.

Written by Ivana Bašić

I have a big problem.Sometimes I feel like my girlfriends does not care about me.We only see each other when she wants to,we go where she wantand we do what she wants.She never wants to do something I suggest.I love my girlfriend,but I do not like her behavior.

Did you tell your girlfriend that you do not like that?Why does she want to decide on everything?It is ok that you want to make some decisionson how you spend your time together.Think about what you want to change and talk to her about it.If nothing changes,maybe you should think aboutwhether you want to be with a person who does not care about your opinion.

6 Newsletter of the Association for Self-Advocacy

Every 4 years there are local electionsand elections for local self-government.

Local elections will be this year in May.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities says thatpersons with disabilities have the right to participate in elections.Participating in elections must be easyso that persons with disabilities could participate in elections.Persons with disabilities have the right to vote how they want.No one can force them to vote for a candidateor political party if they do not want to.Persons with disabilities who participate in electionshave the right to help and adaptation during voting.For example:if you cannot read, you can take someone with youto help you circle the person you want to vote for.

The �ght is not over yetNow it is time for relevant institutionslike State Electoral Commission and Ministry of Administrationto ensure conditionsfor persons with intellectual disabilities to votewhen they come to the polling station.

Written by Senada Halilčević and Sanja Hotko

SITUATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIAA year and a half ago in the Voice of Self Advocateswe wrote that persons deprived of legal capacitycannot vote because they do not have the right to vote.

Dear readers,

We decided to dedicate this issue of the newsletter to elections.

Since elections for the European Parliament are behind us,

and local elections are coming up,

it will be good to get information on elections.

Some self-advocates voted for the first time

so they shared their experiences with us.

Kind regards!

TOPIC OF THE ISSUE: ELECTIONS

Elections are a just and fair way to choose personswho will be in power and who will make decisionswhich concern us and our country.Those persons are called politicians.

Every Croatian citizen gets voting rightswhen he or she turns 18.

Voting rights mean that voters have the right and freedom: • to choose politicians who will govern in their name • or to stand for election themselves.

We choose politicians for a certain period of time.This period of time is called a mandate.In the presidential election we choose a presidentof the Republic of Croatia for a period of 5 years.We also choose Croatian representatives to European Parliamentfor a period of 5 years.In the parliamentary election we choose representativesto Croatian Parliament for a period of 4 years.

This year it is di�erent because self-advocatestogether with association GONG fought for the right to votefor all persons deprived of legal capacity.

Voting list is the collection of all information on all voters.A voter can realize his or her right to voteafter he or she is registered on the voting list.The law says that from now onpersons deprived of legal capacityare also votersand they will be registered on the voting list.

Every voter can check if he or she is registered on the voting listand what his voting rights are.You can check at the website of the Ministry of Administration:https://biraci.uprava.hr/

Written by Senada Halilčević

In Europe many persons still do not have the right to votebecause they were deprived of legal capacity.

However, in some countries, like in Croatia,persons deprived of legal capacity have the right to vote.Those countries are: Austria, Italy, Ireland, Great Britain,the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland.

To allow persons with intellectual disabilities to voteequally to other citizens,they need support and adapted information.

Information needs to be written in a simple wayand give di�erent examples from everyday life.

Elections of Croatian representatives to the European ParliamentThe �rst election of Croatian representatives to the European Parliament was in April.In this election Croatian citizens chose their representativesto the European Union Parliament for the �rst time.This is an important electionbecause persons deprived of legal capacitycould realize their right to vote for the �rst time.

Election was held because Croatia will join the European Union on 1 July 2013.European Union is a community which assembles European countriesto develop economy, increase employment and better protect the rights and interests of citizens.

European Parliament is an important European Union body.It is often said that the European Parliament is the voice of the people.That means that the European Parliament protectsthe interests of citizens of European Union countries.For example, citizens can write a petition to ask the Parliamentto investigate if the other European Union bodies are working properlyand if some citizens' right was violated.

European Parliament has important duties: • it adopts European laws • it monitors the work of the European Commission • it decides on the budget of the European Union.

Each country elects a number of representatives to European Parliamentwhich corresponds to the number of inhabitants of that country.So countries with less inhabitants have less representatives,and countries with more inhabitants have more representatives.There are 766 members in the European Parliament.Croatia elected 12 members to the European Parliament.

Since we are not a European Union member yet,only Croatian citizens elected their representatives to the European Parliament.Usually elections are held every 5 yearsat the same time in all countries which are members of the European Union.Those are regular elections.The next regular elections will be in 2014.

Members of the European Parliaments sit in 7 political groups.Some of those groups are Eurooptimistic,which means that they support European Union policies.Some groups are Eurosceptic,which means that they are against decisions made in the European Union.

Meetings of all members of the European Parliamentare held in Strasbourg in France.

Written by Sanja Hotko

Experiences of self-advocates from the �rst electionswhere they could realize their right to vote

For me this was the �rst election where I could vote.When I gave my identity card,I was happy that the member of electoral board found me on the list of voters.There were many candidates in the ballot,so I took my assistant with me to help me circle the list and candidate I decided to vote for.

Nenad Sekušak

I went to the election, but I did not go alone.I had support because it was my �rst time voting.I made the decision who I wanted to vote for earlierand I was happy when I circled my candidate.

Ivo Pala

In 15 European countries there iseasy to read information on voting and elections.

In 2009 Inclusion Europe wrotean easy to read brochure on electionswhich was translated into 13 European languages.The brochure explains: • why voting is important • what kinds of elections there are • how to vote • how to find the results of voting.

Self-advocates from Great Britain madean easy to read website on voting.They put short videos which show howto vote and what kinds of elections there areon the website.

Self-advocates from Scotland hadseveral workshops on voting.Workshops were for persons with intellectual disabilitieswho participated in elections for the �rst time.

In several European countries there were campaignsand advocacy activities for accessible elections.In France and Scotland guidelines were made for politiciansto make their campaigns more accessiblefor persons with intellectual disabilities.

In Great Britain 3 main political partieswrote their programs in easy to read form.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Municipalities are governed by municipal council and municipal prefect,and towns by town council and the mayor.Counties are governed by county council and county prefect.

In local elections we will choose representativesto municipal council, city council and county assembly,as well as municipal prefect, mayor and county prefect.Citizens of the City of Zagreb will choose their representatives to City Assemblybecause Zagreb has the status of a county.We choose all of them for a period of 4 years.

Municipal council, town council and county assemblydecide on budget of a district, town and county,and on other issues important for districts, towns and counties,like: • social care • health care • education • physical planning • public transportation • cleaning • culture • sports.

Municipal chief, mayor and county prefectare in charge of implementing decisions made bymunicipal council, town council and county assembly.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

How to decide who to vote forYou have the right to vote for any candidate orpolitical party that stands for election.However, you should be informed before you go to elections.

Elections were organized beforein our center for rehabilitation,but this was the �rst election where I could vote.electoral board explained what I had to do.I would like the letters in the ballotto be bigger in the next electionso it would be easier for me to read them.

Tamara Kolak

I went to voteright after I had my morning co�ee.I was proud that my vote also counts now.

Monika Mihelec

Local electionsOnly a month after elections for Croatian representatives to European Parliament,we have a new opportunity to vote.It is time for local elections.Local elections will be on 19 May 2013.

In the local elections we have the opportunity to choose politicianswho will represent our interestsin the area where we live.The area where we live can be a municipality, town or county.That is why in local electionsyou only have the right to votein the municipality, town or countywhere your address is.

A municipality is an area smaller than a town.A town is a place which has more than 10 thousand inhabitants.A county is an area which includes several districts and towns.In Croatia there are 20 countiesand the City of Zagreb which has the status of a county.

That way you can give your voteto the candidate or political partythat advocate things which are especially important to you.

There are several waysto �nd information on what candidates advocate.One of them is to follow election campaignon television, radio, election rallies,election lea�ets and newspapers.

During the election campaigncandidates present their programsand try to get as many votes as they can.However, you need to be careful.During the election campaign candidates and political partiesoften make big promises to get more votes.

That is why you should get information in other ways as well.For example, you can talk to persons close to youand ask their opinion on candidates and political parties.You can talk to family members, relatives, friendsand other people you trust.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

NEWSPublic performance Welcome into my shoesOn 30 January 2013, Coalition for Community Livingheld a public performance called Welcome into my shoes.Coalition for Community Living assembles 7 associationswhich work on protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.Association for Self Advocacy is also a member of this Coalition.

The Coalition had a public performance in Zagrebto warn about the prejudice towardspersons with disabilities.Celebrity guests participated in the eventto support the Coalition.Guests had the roles of persons with disabilities.Some of the guests were actors Nikša Marinović and Luka Vidović and singer Jelena Radan.In this way, Coalition sent the messagethat persons with disabilities in Croatiaunfortunately do not have the same opportunitieslike other people.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Conference on easy to read materialsOn 22 February 2013, Association for Self Advocacy organizeda national conference on easy to read materialsand involving persons with intellectual disabilities in lifelong learning programs.It was one of the activities in the project Pathways 2.Association for Self Advocacy is a partner in this project together with Inclusion Europe.

At the conference, self-advocates and assistants from the Associationpresented brochure in Croatian created in this project.

Titles of the brochures are: • Information for all • Do not write for us without us • Training lifelong learning sta� • Teaching can be easy.

You can �nd the brochures on our websitein the section Our materials.

Self-advocate from France Fabrice Vannobelspoke at the conference.He talked about the way easy to read materials are used in France.Other experts in the �eld of education and disability spoke at the conference.Representative of the Delegation of European Union Paolo Berizzi also spoke at the conference.Together we concluded that unfortunately in Croatiathere are no lifelong learning programsfor persons with intellectual disabilities.However, we hope that our conference contributedto starting such programs in the future.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Study visit of self-advocates from SarajevoIn March we had a visit fromguests from organization Sumero from Sarajevo.Self-advocates Zlatan, Rasim, Adis and Ismar,and their assistants Amila and Vedrana visited us.We presented the work of our associationand talked about self-advocacy and self-determination.We presented our brochures, newsletter,website and Facebook page.Guests joined a meeting of our self-advocates.We saw a video abouthow some persons with intellectual disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovinalive in institutions, and some live in the community.We agreed that we have similar problems.

Our guests especially liked that we succeeded in our �ght for the right to vote,which they will use as an example of good practice for their �ghtbecause in Bosnia and Herzegovina persons deprived of legal capacitystill do not have the right to vote.

Written by Fadil Špuren

Trainings on self-determination and self-advocacyFrom January to March 2013, Association for Self Advocacyheld 3 trainings on self-determination and self-advocacy.We held trainings for employeesof Centre for rehabilitation Stančićand Centre for rehabilitation Zagreb.We told them why it is importantfor persons with intellectual disabilitiesto make decisions about their life as much as possibleand about their rights.Trainings were part of the projectProviding support in the process of transformingtwo state institutions for persons with intellectual disabilities.The project is implemented by Association for Promoting Inclusion.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

News on project GONGThere was no easy to read informationon the right to vote for persons deprived of legal capacity.Many persons deprived of legal capacitydid not know that they got the right to voteor did not know how to realize their right to vote.That is why Association for Self Advocacyin cooperation with association GONG,made a brochure on elections in easy to read.We also made a lea�et with instructionson how to vote in elections,and we made a video as well.

Written by Senada Halilčević

Filming a TV videoIn the projectAchieving the right to vote for persons with intellectual disabilitieswhich we are implementing together with association GONG,self-advocates �lmed a TV video My vote, my strength.

We made the video to informall persons deprived of legal capacitythat they can go to elections and vote now.Filming the video was not as easy as we thought.We made the video for several cold and rainy days.We had to repeat the scenesuntil every little thing was as the screenwriter imagined it.Although this was not the �rst time �lming a videofor some self-advocates,it was a little hard for all of us.But our e�orts paid o�because the message we conveyedwas important for all citizens.

Written by Snježana Kanjir

Workshop before elections to European ParliamentOn Friday before elections we had a workshopto prepare with what would happen on Sunday.Elections to the European Parliament were more di�cult because they were the �rst European elections.There were many lists of candidates and candidates.The workshop had a busy atmosphere.We all listened carefully, participated and asked questions.We said what is the European Unionand what is European Parliament.We made a list of all parties and candidates which stood for election.We practiced how to �ll out a valid ballot.We emphasized that polls were opened from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.and that we had to take an identity cardso that electoral board can �nd our name in the list of voters.

Written by Fadil Špuren

ANNOUNCEMENT

Conference Europe in ActionConference Europe in Action will be heldfrom May 29 until June 1 in Ljubljana, Slovenia.Inclusion Europe will organize this conference.Topic of the conference is ageing of persons withintellectual disabilities and their families.Participants will talk about problems which persons with intellectual disabilities and their families face when they grow old.

Experts and self-advocates will discusspolitics and laws which can helpelderly persons with intellectual disabilities and their families.They will also talk about what kind of support persons with intellectual disabilities and their families need.General assembly of EPSA will be held during the conference.

Written by Ivana Bašić

I have a big problem.Sometimes I feel like my girlfriends does not care about me.We only see each other when she wants to,we go where she wantand we do what she wants.She never wants to do something I suggest.I love my girlfriend,but I do not like her behavior.

Did you tell your girlfriend that you do not like that?Why does she want to decide on everything?It is ok that you want to make some decisionson how you spend your time together.Think about what you want to change and talk to her about it.If nothing changes,maybe you should think aboutwhether you want to be with a person who does not care about your opinion.

7Voice of Self-Advocates

Every 4 years there are local electionsand elections for local self-government.

Local elections will be this year in May.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities says thatpersons with disabilities have the right to participate in elections.Participating in elections must be easyso that persons with disabilities could participate in elections.Persons with disabilities have the right to vote how they want.No one can force them to vote for a candidateor political party if they do not want to.Persons with disabilities who participate in electionshave the right to help and adaptation during voting.For example:if you cannot read, you can take someone with youto help you circle the person you want to vote for.

The �ght is not over yetNow it is time for relevant institutionslike State Electoral Commission and Ministry of Administrationto ensure conditionsfor persons with intellectual disabilities to votewhen they come to the polling station.

Written by Senada Halilčević and Sanja Hotko

SITUATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIAA year and a half ago in the Voice of Self Advocateswe wrote that persons deprived of legal capacitycannot vote because they do not have the right to vote.

Dear readers,

We decided to dedicate this issue of the newsletter to elections.

Since elections for the European Parliament are behind us,

and local elections are coming up,

it will be good to get information on elections.

Some self-advocates voted for the first time

so they shared their experiences with us.

Kind regards!

TOPIC OF THE ISSUE: ELECTIONS

Elections are a just and fair way to choose personswho will be in power and who will make decisionswhich concern us and our country.Those persons are called politicians.

Every Croatian citizen gets voting rightswhen he or she turns 18.

Voting rights mean that voters have the right and freedom: • to choose politicians who will govern in their name • or to stand for election themselves.

We choose politicians for a certain period of time.This period of time is called a mandate.In the presidential election we choose a presidentof the Republic of Croatia for a period of 5 years.We also choose Croatian representatives to European Parliamentfor a period of 5 years.In the parliamentary election we choose representativesto Croatian Parliament for a period of 4 years.

This year it is di�erent because self-advocatestogether with association GONG fought for the right to votefor all persons deprived of legal capacity.

Voting list is the collection of all information on all voters.A voter can realize his or her right to voteafter he or she is registered on the voting list.The law says that from now onpersons deprived of legal capacityare also votersand they will be registered on the voting list.

Every voter can check if he or she is registered on the voting listand what his voting rights are.You can check at the website of the Ministry of Administration:https://biraci.uprava.hr/

Written by Senada Halilčević

In Europe many persons still do not have the right to votebecause they were deprived of legal capacity.

However, in some countries, like in Croatia,persons deprived of legal capacity have the right to vote.Those countries are: Austria, Italy, Ireland, Great Britain,the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland.

To allow persons with intellectual disabilities to voteequally to other citizens,they need support and adapted information.

Information needs to be written in a simple wayand give di�erent examples from everyday life.

Elections of Croatian representatives to the European ParliamentThe �rst election of Croatian representatives to the European Parliament was in April.In this election Croatian citizens chose their representativesto the European Union Parliament for the �rst time.This is an important electionbecause persons deprived of legal capacitycould realize their right to vote for the �rst time.

Election was held because Croatia will join the European Union on 1 July 2013.European Union is a community which assembles European countriesto develop economy, increase employment and better protect the rights and interests of citizens.

European Parliament is an important European Union body.It is often said that the European Parliament is the voice of the people.That means that the European Parliament protectsthe interests of citizens of European Union countries.For example, citizens can write a petition to ask the Parliamentto investigate if the other European Union bodies are working properlyand if some citizens' right was violated.

European Parliament has important duties: • it adopts European laws • it monitors the work of the European Commission • it decides on the budget of the European Union.

Each country elects a number of representatives to European Parliamentwhich corresponds to the number of inhabitants of that country.So countries with less inhabitants have less representatives,and countries with more inhabitants have more representatives.There are 766 members in the European Parliament.Croatia elected 12 members to the European Parliament.

Since we are not a European Union member yet,only Croatian citizens elected their representatives to the European Parliament.Usually elections are held every 5 yearsat the same time in all countries which are members of the European Union.Those are regular elections.The next regular elections will be in 2014.

Members of the European Parliaments sit in 7 political groups.Some of those groups are Eurooptimistic,which means that they support European Union policies.Some groups are Eurosceptic,which means that they are against decisions made in the European Union.

Meetings of all members of the European Parliamentare held in Strasbourg in France.

Written by Sanja Hotko

Experiences of self-advocates from the �rst electionswhere they could realize their right to vote

For me this was the �rst election where I could vote.When I gave my identity card,I was happy that the member of electoral board found me on the list of voters.There were many candidates in the ballot,so I took my assistant with me to help me circle the list and candidate I decided to vote for.

Nenad Sekušak

I went to the election, but I did not go alone.I had support because it was my �rst time voting.I made the decision who I wanted to vote for earlierand I was happy when I circled my candidate.

Ivo Pala

In 15 European countries there iseasy to read information on voting and elections.

In 2009 Inclusion Europe wrotean easy to read brochure on electionswhich was translated into 13 European languages.The brochure explains: • why voting is important • what kinds of elections there are • how to vote • how to find the results of voting.

Self-advocates from Great Britain madean easy to read website on voting.They put short videos which show howto vote and what kinds of elections there areon the website.

Self-advocates from Scotland hadseveral workshops on voting.Workshops were for persons with intellectual disabilitieswho participated in elections for the �rst time.

In several European countries there were campaignsand advocacy activities for accessible elections.In France and Scotland guidelines were made for politiciansto make their campaigns more accessiblefor persons with intellectual disabilities.

In Great Britain 3 main political partieswrote their programs in easy to read form.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Municipalities are governed by municipal council and municipal prefect,and towns by town council and the mayor.Counties are governed by county council and county prefect.

In local elections we will choose representativesto municipal council, city council and county assembly,as well as municipal prefect, mayor and county prefect.Citizens of the City of Zagreb will choose their representatives to City Assemblybecause Zagreb has the status of a county.We choose all of them for a period of 4 years.

Municipal council, town council and county assemblydecide on budget of a district, town and county,and on other issues important for districts, towns and counties,like: • social care • health care • education • physical planning • public transportation • cleaning • culture • sports.

Municipal chief, mayor and county prefectare in charge of implementing decisions made bymunicipal council, town council and county assembly.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

How to decide who to vote forYou have the right to vote for any candidate orpolitical party that stands for election.However, you should be informed before you go to elections.

Elections were organized beforein our center for rehabilitation,but this was the �rst election where I could vote.electoral board explained what I had to do.I would like the letters in the ballotto be bigger in the next electionso it would be easier for me to read them.

Tamara Kolak

I went to voteright after I had my morning co�ee.I was proud that my vote also counts now.

Monika Mihelec

Local electionsOnly a month after elections for Croatian representatives to European Parliament,we have a new opportunity to vote.It is time for local elections.Local elections will be on 19 May 2013.

In the local elections we have the opportunity to choose politicianswho will represent our interestsin the area where we live.The area where we live can be a municipality, town or county.That is why in local electionsyou only have the right to votein the municipality, town or countywhere your address is.

A municipality is an area smaller than a town.A town is a place which has more than 10 thousand inhabitants.A county is an area which includes several districts and towns.In Croatia there are 20 countiesand the City of Zagreb which has the status of a county.

That way you can give your voteto the candidate or political partythat advocate things which are especially important to you.

There are several waysto �nd information on what candidates advocate.One of them is to follow election campaignon television, radio, election rallies,election lea�ets and newspapers.

During the election campaigncandidates present their programsand try to get as many votes as they can.However, you need to be careful.During the election campaign candidates and political partiesoften make big promises to get more votes.

That is why you should get information in other ways as well.For example, you can talk to persons close to youand ask their opinion on candidates and political parties.You can talk to family members, relatives, friendsand other people you trust.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

NEWSPublic performance Welcome into my shoesOn 30 January 2013, Coalition for Community Livingheld a public performance called Welcome into my shoes.Coalition for Community Living assembles 7 associationswhich work on protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.Association for Self Advocacy is also a member of this Coalition.

The Coalition had a public performance in Zagrebto warn about the prejudice towardspersons with disabilities.Celebrity guests participated in the eventto support the Coalition.Guests had the roles of persons with disabilities.Some of the guests were actors Nikša Marinović and Luka Vidović and singer Jelena Radan.In this way, Coalition sent the messagethat persons with disabilities in Croatiaunfortunately do not have the same opportunitieslike other people.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Conference on easy to read materialsOn 22 February 2013, Association for Self Advocacy organizeda national conference on easy to read materialsand involving persons with intellectual disabilities in lifelong learning programs.It was one of the activities in the project Pathways 2.Association for Self Advocacy is a partner in this project together with Inclusion Europe.

At the conference, self-advocates and assistants from the Associationpresented brochure in Croatian created in this project.

Titles of the brochures are: • Information for all • Do not write for us without us • Training lifelong learning sta� • Teaching can be easy.

You can �nd the brochures on our websitein the section Our materials.

Self-advocate from France Fabrice Vannobelspoke at the conference.He talked about the way easy to read materials are used in France.Other experts in the �eld of education and disability spoke at the conference.Representative of the Delegation of European Union Paolo Berizzi also spoke at the conference.Together we concluded that unfortunately in Croatiathere are no lifelong learning programsfor persons with intellectual disabilities.However, we hope that our conference contributedto starting such programs in the future.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Study visit of self-advocates from SarajevoIn March we had a visit fromguests from organization Sumero from Sarajevo.Self-advocates Zlatan, Rasim, Adis and Ismar,and their assistants Amila and Vedrana visited us.We presented the work of our associationand talked about self-advocacy and self-determination.We presented our brochures, newsletter,website and Facebook page.Guests joined a meeting of our self-advocates.We saw a video abouthow some persons with intellectual disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovinalive in institutions, and some live in the community.We agreed that we have similar problems.

Our guests especially liked that we succeeded in our �ght for the right to vote,which they will use as an example of good practice for their �ghtbecause in Bosnia and Herzegovina persons deprived of legal capacitystill do not have the right to vote.

Written by Fadil Špuren

Trainings on self-determination and self-advocacyFrom January to March 2013, Association for Self Advocacyheld 3 trainings on self-determination and self-advocacy.We held trainings for employeesof Centre for rehabilitation Stančićand Centre for rehabilitation Zagreb.We told them why it is importantfor persons with intellectual disabilitiesto make decisions about their life as much as possibleand about their rights.Trainings were part of the projectProviding support in the process of transformingtwo state institutions for persons with intellectual disabilities.The project is implemented by Association for Promoting Inclusion.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

News on project GONGThere was no easy to read informationon the right to vote for persons deprived of legal capacity.Many persons deprived of legal capacitydid not know that they got the right to voteor did not know how to realize their right to vote.That is why Association for Self Advocacyin cooperation with association GONG,made a brochure on elections in easy to read.We also made a lea�et with instructionson how to vote in elections,and we made a video as well.

Written by Senada Halilčević

Filming a TV videoIn the projectAchieving the right to vote for persons with intellectual disabilitieswhich we are implementing together with association GONG,self-advocates �lmed a TV video My vote, my strength.

We made the video to informall persons deprived of legal capacitythat they can go to elections and vote now.Filming the video was not as easy as we thought.We made the video for several cold and rainy days.We had to repeat the scenesuntil every little thing was as the screenwriter imagined it.Although this was not the �rst time �lming a videofor some self-advocates,it was a little hard for all of us.But our e�orts paid o�because the message we conveyedwas important for all citizens.

Written by Snježana Kanjir

Workshop before elections to European ParliamentOn Friday before elections we had a workshopto prepare with what would happen on Sunday.Elections to the European Parliament were more di�cult because they were the �rst European elections.There were many lists of candidates and candidates.The workshop had a busy atmosphere.We all listened carefully, participated and asked questions.We said what is the European Unionand what is European Parliament.We made a list of all parties and candidates which stood for election.We practiced how to �ll out a valid ballot.We emphasized that polls were opened from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.and that we had to take an identity cardso that electoral board can �nd our name in the list of voters.

Written by Fadil Špuren

ANNOUNCEMENT

Conference Europe in ActionConference Europe in Action will be heldfrom May 29 until June 1 in Ljubljana, Slovenia.Inclusion Europe will organize this conference.Topic of the conference is ageing of persons withintellectual disabilities and their families.Participants will talk about problems which persons with intellectual disabilities and their families face when they grow old.

Experts and self-advocates will discusspolitics and laws which can helpelderly persons with intellectual disabilities and their families.They will also talk about what kind of support persons with intellectual disabilities and their families need.General assembly of EPSA will be held during the conference.

Written by Ivana Bašić

I have a big problem.Sometimes I feel like my girlfriends does not care about me.We only see each other when she wants to,we go where she wantand we do what she wants.She never wants to do something I suggest.I love my girlfriend,but I do not like her behavior.

Did you tell your girlfriend that you do not like that?Why does she want to decide on everything?It is ok that you want to make some decisionson how you spend your time together.Think about what you want to change and talk to her about it.If nothing changes,maybe you should think aboutwhether you want to be with a person who does not care about your opinion.

8

Every 4 years there are local electionsand elections for local self-government.

Local elections will be this year in May.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities says thatpersons with disabilities have the right to participate in elections.Participating in elections must be easyso that persons with disabilities could participate in elections.Persons with disabilities have the right to vote how they want.No one can force them to vote for a candidateor political party if they do not want to.Persons with disabilities who participate in electionshave the right to help and adaptation during voting.For example:if you cannot read, you can take someone with youto help you circle the person you want to vote for.

The �ght is not over yetNow it is time for relevant institutionslike State Electoral Commission and Ministry of Administrationto ensure conditionsfor persons with intellectual disabilities to votewhen they come to the polling station.

Written by Senada Halilčević and Sanja Hotko

SITUATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIAA year and a half ago in the Voice of Self Advocateswe wrote that persons deprived of legal capacitycannot vote because they do not have the right to vote.

Dear readers,

We decided to dedicate this issue of the newsletter to elections.

Since elections for the European Parliament are behind us,

and local elections are coming up,

it will be good to get information on elections.

Some self-advocates voted for the first time

so they shared their experiences with us.

Kind regards!

TOPIC OF THE ISSUE: ELECTIONS

Elections are a just and fair way to choose personswho will be in power and who will make decisionswhich concern us and our country.Those persons are called politicians.

Every Croatian citizen gets voting rightswhen he or she turns 18.

Voting rights mean that voters have the right and freedom: • to choose politicians who will govern in their name • or to stand for election themselves.

We choose politicians for a certain period of time.This period of time is called a mandate.In the presidential election we choose a presidentof the Republic of Croatia for a period of 5 years.We also choose Croatian representatives to European Parliamentfor a period of 5 years.In the parliamentary election we choose representativesto Croatian Parliament for a period of 4 years.

This year it is di�erent because self-advocatestogether with association GONG fought for the right to votefor all persons deprived of legal capacity.

Voting list is the collection of all information on all voters.A voter can realize his or her right to voteafter he or she is registered on the voting list.The law says that from now onpersons deprived of legal capacityare also votersand they will be registered on the voting list.

Every voter can check if he or she is registered on the voting listand what his voting rights are.You can check at the website of the Ministry of Administration:https://biraci.uprava.hr/

Written by Senada Halilčević

In Europe many persons still do not have the right to votebecause they were deprived of legal capacity.

However, in some countries, like in Croatia,persons deprived of legal capacity have the right to vote.Those countries are: Austria, Italy, Ireland, Great Britain,the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland.

To allow persons with intellectual disabilities to voteequally to other citizens,they need support and adapted information.

Information needs to be written in a simple wayand give di�erent examples from everyday life.

Elections of Croatian representatives to the European ParliamentThe �rst election of Croatian representatives to the European Parliament was in April.In this election Croatian citizens chose their representativesto the European Union Parliament for the �rst time.This is an important electionbecause persons deprived of legal capacitycould realize their right to vote for the �rst time.

Election was held because Croatia will join the European Union on 1 July 2013.European Union is a community which assembles European countriesto develop economy, increase employment and better protect the rights and interests of citizens.

European Parliament is an important European Union body.It is often said that the European Parliament is the voice of the people.That means that the European Parliament protectsthe interests of citizens of European Union countries.For example, citizens can write a petition to ask the Parliamentto investigate if the other European Union bodies are working properlyand if some citizens' right was violated.

European Parliament has important duties: • it adopts European laws • it monitors the work of the European Commission • it decides on the budget of the European Union.

Each country elects a number of representatives to European Parliamentwhich corresponds to the number of inhabitants of that country.So countries with less inhabitants have less representatives,and countries with more inhabitants have more representatives.There are 766 members in the European Parliament.Croatia elected 12 members to the European Parliament.

Since we are not a European Union member yet,only Croatian citizens elected their representatives to the European Parliament.Usually elections are held every 5 yearsat the same time in all countries which are members of the European Union.Those are regular elections.The next regular elections will be in 2014.

Members of the European Parliaments sit in 7 political groups.Some of those groups are Eurooptimistic,which means that they support European Union policies.Some groups are Eurosceptic,which means that they are against decisions made in the European Union.

Meetings of all members of the European Parliamentare held in Strasbourg in France.

Written by Sanja Hotko

Experiences of self-advocates from the �rst electionswhere they could realize their right to vote

For me this was the �rst election where I could vote.When I gave my identity card,I was happy that the member of electoral board found me on the list of voters.There were many candidates in the ballot,so I took my assistant with me to help me circle the list and candidate I decided to vote for.

Nenad Sekušak

I went to the election, but I did not go alone.I had support because it was my �rst time voting.I made the decision who I wanted to vote for earlierand I was happy when I circled my candidate.

Ivo Pala

In 15 European countries there iseasy to read information on voting and elections.

In 2009 Inclusion Europe wrotean easy to read brochure on electionswhich was translated into 13 European languages.The brochure explains: • why voting is important • what kinds of elections there are • how to vote • how to find the results of voting.

Self-advocates from Great Britain madean easy to read website on voting.They put short videos which show howto vote and what kinds of elections there areon the website.

Self-advocates from Scotland hadseveral workshops on voting.Workshops were for persons with intellectual disabilitieswho participated in elections for the �rst time.

In several European countries there were campaignsand advocacy activities for accessible elections.In France and Scotland guidelines were made for politiciansto make their campaigns more accessiblefor persons with intellectual disabilities.

In Great Britain 3 main political partieswrote their programs in easy to read form.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Municipalities are governed by municipal council and municipal prefect,and towns by town council and the mayor.Counties are governed by county council and county prefect.

In local elections we will choose representativesto municipal council, city council and county assembly,as well as municipal prefect, mayor and county prefect.Citizens of the City of Zagreb will choose their representatives to City Assemblybecause Zagreb has the status of a county.We choose all of them for a period of 4 years.

Municipal council, town council and county assemblydecide on budget of a district, town and county,and on other issues important for districts, towns and counties,like: • social care • health care • education • physical planning • public transportation • cleaning • culture • sports.

Municipal chief, mayor and county prefectare in charge of implementing decisions made bymunicipal council, town council and county assembly.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

How to decide who to vote forYou have the right to vote for any candidate orpolitical party that stands for election.However, you should be informed before you go to elections.

Elections were organized beforein our center for rehabilitation,but this was the �rst election where I could vote.electoral board explained what I had to do.I would like the letters in the ballotto be bigger in the next electionso it would be easier for me to read them.

Tamara Kolak

I went to voteright after I had my morning co�ee.I was proud that my vote also counts now.

Monika Mihelec

Local electionsOnly a month after elections for Croatian representatives to European Parliament,we have a new opportunity to vote.It is time for local elections.Local elections will be on 19 May 2013.

In the local elections we have the opportunity to choose politicianswho will represent our interestsin the area where we live.The area where we live can be a municipality, town or county.That is why in local electionsyou only have the right to votein the municipality, town or countywhere your address is.

A municipality is an area smaller than a town.A town is a place which has more than 10 thousand inhabitants.A county is an area which includes several districts and towns.In Croatia there are 20 countiesand the City of Zagreb which has the status of a county.

That way you can give your voteto the candidate or political partythat advocate things which are especially important to you.

There are several waysto �nd information on what candidates advocate.One of them is to follow election campaignon television, radio, election rallies,election lea�ets and newspapers.

During the election campaigncandidates present their programsand try to get as many votes as they can.However, you need to be careful.During the election campaign candidates and political partiesoften make big promises to get more votes.

That is why you should get information in other ways as well.For example, you can talk to persons close to youand ask their opinion on candidates and political parties.You can talk to family members, relatives, friendsand other people you trust.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

NEWSPublic performance Welcome into my shoesOn 30 January 2013, Coalition for Community Livingheld a public performance called Welcome into my shoes.Coalition for Community Living assembles 7 associationswhich work on protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.Association for Self Advocacy is also a member of this Coalition.

The Coalition had a public performance in Zagrebto warn about the prejudice towardspersons with disabilities.Celebrity guests participated in the eventto support the Coalition.Guests had the roles of persons with disabilities.Some of the guests were actors Nikša Marinović and Luka Vidović and singer Jelena Radan.In this way, Coalition sent the messagethat persons with disabilities in Croatiaunfortunately do not have the same opportunitieslike other people.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Conference on easy to read materialsOn 22 February 2013, Association for Self Advocacy organizeda national conference on easy to read materialsand involving persons with intellectual disabilities in lifelong learning programs.It was one of the activities in the project Pathways 2.Association for Self Advocacy is a partner in this project together with Inclusion Europe.

At the conference, self-advocates and assistants from the Associationpresented brochure in Croatian created in this project.

Titles of the brochures are: • Information for all • Do not write for us without us • Training lifelong learning sta� • Teaching can be easy.

You can �nd the brochures on our websitein the section Our materials.

Self-advocate from France Fabrice Vannobelspoke at the conference.He talked about the way easy to read materials are used in France.Other experts in the �eld of education and disability spoke at the conference.Representative of the Delegation of European Union Paolo Berizzi also spoke at the conference.Together we concluded that unfortunately in Croatiathere are no lifelong learning programsfor persons with intellectual disabilities.However, we hope that our conference contributedto starting such programs in the future.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Study visit of self-advocates from SarajevoIn March we had a visit fromguests from organization Sumero from Sarajevo.Self-advocates Zlatan, Rasim, Adis and Ismar,and their assistants Amila and Vedrana visited us.We presented the work of our associationand talked about self-advocacy and self-determination.We presented our brochures, newsletter,website and Facebook page.Guests joined a meeting of our self-advocates.We saw a video abouthow some persons with intellectual disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovinalive in institutions, and some live in the community.We agreed that we have similar problems.

Our guests especially liked that we succeeded in our �ght for the right to vote,which they will use as an example of good practice for their �ghtbecause in Bosnia and Herzegovina persons deprived of legal capacitystill do not have the right to vote.

Written by Fadil Špuren

Trainings on self-determination and self-advocacyFrom January to March 2013, Association for Self Advocacyheld 3 trainings on self-determination and self-advocacy.We held trainings for employeesof Centre for rehabilitation Stančićand Centre for rehabilitation Zagreb.We told them why it is importantfor persons with intellectual disabilitiesto make decisions about their life as much as possibleand about their rights.Trainings were part of the projectProviding support in the process of transformingtwo state institutions for persons with intellectual disabilities.The project is implemented by Association for Promoting Inclusion.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

News on project GONGThere was no easy to read informationon the right to vote for persons deprived of legal capacity.Many persons deprived of legal capacitydid not know that they got the right to voteor did not know how to realize their right to vote.That is why Association for Self Advocacyin cooperation with association GONG,made a brochure on elections in easy to read.We also made a lea�et with instructionson how to vote in elections,and we made a video as well.

Written by Senada Halilčević

Filming a TV videoIn the projectAchieving the right to vote for persons with intellectual disabilitieswhich we are implementing together with association GONG,self-advocates �lmed a TV video My vote, my strength.

We made the video to informall persons deprived of legal capacitythat they can go to elections and vote now.Filming the video was not as easy as we thought.We made the video for several cold and rainy days.We had to repeat the scenesuntil every little thing was as the screenwriter imagined it.Although this was not the �rst time �lming a videofor some self-advocates,it was a little hard for all of us.But our e�orts paid o�because the message we conveyedwas important for all citizens.

Written by Snježana Kanjir

Workshop before elections to European ParliamentOn Friday before elections we had a workshopto prepare with what would happen on Sunday.Elections to the European Parliament were more di�cult because they were the �rst European elections.There were many lists of candidates and candidates.The workshop had a busy atmosphere.We all listened carefully, participated and asked questions.We said what is the European Unionand what is European Parliament.We made a list of all parties and candidates which stood for election.We practiced how to �ll out a valid ballot.We emphasized that polls were opened from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.and that we had to take an identity cardso that electoral board can �nd our name in the list of voters.

Written by Fadil Špuren

ANNOUNCEMENT

Conference Europe in ActionConference Europe in Action will be heldfrom May 29 until June 1 in Ljubljana, Slovenia.Inclusion Europe will organize this conference.Topic of the conference is ageing of persons withintellectual disabilities and their families.Participants will talk about problems which persons with intellectual disabilities and their families face when they grow old.

Experts and self-advocates will discusspolitics and laws which can helpelderly persons with intellectual disabilities and their families.They will also talk about what kind of support persons with intellectual disabilities and their families need.General assembly of EPSA will be held during the conference.

Written by Ivana Bašić

I have a big problem.Sometimes I feel like my girlfriends does not care about me.We only see each other when she wants to,we go where she wantand we do what she wants.She never wants to do something I suggest.I love my girlfriend,but I do not like her behavior.

Did you tell your girlfriend that you do not like that?Why does she want to decide on everything?It is ok that you want to make some decisionson how you spend your time together.Think about what you want to change and talk to her about it.If nothing changes,maybe you should think aboutwhether you want to be with a person who does not care about your opinion.

Newsletter of the Association for Self-Advocacy

9Voice of Self-Advocates

Every 4 years there are local electionsand elections for local self-government.

Local elections will be this year in May.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities says thatpersons with disabilities have the right to participate in elections.Participating in elections must be easyso that persons with disabilities could participate in elections.Persons with disabilities have the right to vote how they want.No one can force them to vote for a candidateor political party if they do not want to.Persons with disabilities who participate in electionshave the right to help and adaptation during voting.For example:if you cannot read, you can take someone with youto help you circle the person you want to vote for.

The �ght is not over yetNow it is time for relevant institutionslike State Electoral Commission and Ministry of Administrationto ensure conditionsfor persons with intellectual disabilities to votewhen they come to the polling station.

Written by Senada Halilčević and Sanja Hotko

SITUATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIAA year and a half ago in the Voice of Self Advocateswe wrote that persons deprived of legal capacitycannot vote because they do not have the right to vote.

Dear readers,

We decided to dedicate this issue of the newsletter to elections.

Since elections for the European Parliament are behind us,

and local elections are coming up,

it will be good to get information on elections.

Some self-advocates voted for the first time

so they shared their experiences with us.

Kind regards!

TOPIC OF THE ISSUE: ELECTIONS

Elections are a just and fair way to choose personswho will be in power and who will make decisionswhich concern us and our country.Those persons are called politicians.

Every Croatian citizen gets voting rightswhen he or she turns 18.

Voting rights mean that voters have the right and freedom: • to choose politicians who will govern in their name • or to stand for election themselves.

We choose politicians for a certain period of time.This period of time is called a mandate.In the presidential election we choose a presidentof the Republic of Croatia for a period of 5 years.We also choose Croatian representatives to European Parliamentfor a period of 5 years.In the parliamentary election we choose representativesto Croatian Parliament for a period of 4 years.

This year it is di�erent because self-advocatestogether with association GONG fought for the right to votefor all persons deprived of legal capacity.

Voting list is the collection of all information on all voters.A voter can realize his or her right to voteafter he or she is registered on the voting list.The law says that from now onpersons deprived of legal capacityare also votersand they will be registered on the voting list.

Every voter can check if he or she is registered on the voting listand what his voting rights are.You can check at the website of the Ministry of Administration:https://biraci.uprava.hr/

Written by Senada Halilčević

In Europe many persons still do not have the right to votebecause they were deprived of legal capacity.

However, in some countries, like in Croatia,persons deprived of legal capacity have the right to vote.Those countries are: Austria, Italy, Ireland, Great Britain,the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland.

To allow persons with intellectual disabilities to voteequally to other citizens,they need support and adapted information.

Information needs to be written in a simple wayand give di�erent examples from everyday life.

Elections of Croatian representatives to the European ParliamentThe �rst election of Croatian representatives to the European Parliament was in April.In this election Croatian citizens chose their representativesto the European Union Parliament for the �rst time.This is an important electionbecause persons deprived of legal capacitycould realize their right to vote for the �rst time.

Election was held because Croatia will join the European Union on 1 July 2013.European Union is a community which assembles European countriesto develop economy, increase employment and better protect the rights and interests of citizens.

European Parliament is an important European Union body.It is often said that the European Parliament is the voice of the people.That means that the European Parliament protectsthe interests of citizens of European Union countries.For example, citizens can write a petition to ask the Parliamentto investigate if the other European Union bodies are working properlyand if some citizens' right was violated.

European Parliament has important duties: • it adopts European laws • it monitors the work of the European Commission • it decides on the budget of the European Union.

Each country elects a number of representatives to European Parliamentwhich corresponds to the number of inhabitants of that country.So countries with less inhabitants have less representatives,and countries with more inhabitants have more representatives.There are 766 members in the European Parliament.Croatia elected 12 members to the European Parliament.

Since we are not a European Union member yet,only Croatian citizens elected their representatives to the European Parliament.Usually elections are held every 5 yearsat the same time in all countries which are members of the European Union.Those are regular elections.The next regular elections will be in 2014.

Members of the European Parliaments sit in 7 political groups.Some of those groups are Eurooptimistic,which means that they support European Union policies.Some groups are Eurosceptic,which means that they are against decisions made in the European Union.

Meetings of all members of the European Parliamentare held in Strasbourg in France.

Written by Sanja Hotko

Experiences of self-advocates from the �rst electionswhere they could realize their right to vote

For me this was the �rst election where I could vote.When I gave my identity card,I was happy that the member of electoral board found me on the list of voters.There were many candidates in the ballot,so I took my assistant with me to help me circle the list and candidate I decided to vote for.

Nenad Sekušak

I went to the election, but I did not go alone.I had support because it was my �rst time voting.I made the decision who I wanted to vote for earlierand I was happy when I circled my candidate.

Ivo Pala

In 15 European countries there iseasy to read information on voting and elections.

In 2009 Inclusion Europe wrotean easy to read brochure on electionswhich was translated into 13 European languages.The brochure explains: • why voting is important • what kinds of elections there are • how to vote • how to find the results of voting.

Self-advocates from Great Britain madean easy to read website on voting.They put short videos which show howto vote and what kinds of elections there areon the website.

Self-advocates from Scotland hadseveral workshops on voting.Workshops were for persons with intellectual disabilitieswho participated in elections for the �rst time.

In several European countries there were campaignsand advocacy activities for accessible elections.In France and Scotland guidelines were made for politiciansto make their campaigns more accessiblefor persons with intellectual disabilities.

In Great Britain 3 main political partieswrote their programs in easy to read form.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Municipalities are governed by municipal council and municipal prefect,and towns by town council and the mayor.Counties are governed by county council and county prefect.

In local elections we will choose representativesto municipal council, city council and county assembly,as well as municipal prefect, mayor and county prefect.Citizens of the City of Zagreb will choose their representatives to City Assemblybecause Zagreb has the status of a county.We choose all of them for a period of 4 years.

Municipal council, town council and county assemblydecide on budget of a district, town and county,and on other issues important for districts, towns and counties,like: • social care • health care • education • physical planning • public transportation • cleaning • culture • sports.

Municipal chief, mayor and county prefectare in charge of implementing decisions made bymunicipal council, town council and county assembly.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

How to decide who to vote forYou have the right to vote for any candidate orpolitical party that stands for election.However, you should be informed before you go to elections.

Elections were organized beforein our center for rehabilitation,but this was the �rst election where I could vote.electoral board explained what I had to do.I would like the letters in the ballotto be bigger in the next electionso it would be easier for me to read them.

Tamara Kolak

I went to voteright after I had my morning co�ee.I was proud that my vote also counts now.

Monika Mihelec

Local electionsOnly a month after elections for Croatian representatives to European Parliament,we have a new opportunity to vote.It is time for local elections.Local elections will be on 19 May 2013.

In the local elections we have the opportunity to choose politicianswho will represent our interestsin the area where we live.The area where we live can be a municipality, town or county.That is why in local electionsyou only have the right to votein the municipality, town or countywhere your address is.

A municipality is an area smaller than a town.A town is a place which has more than 10 thousand inhabitants.A county is an area which includes several districts and towns.In Croatia there are 20 countiesand the City of Zagreb which has the status of a county.

That way you can give your voteto the candidate or political partythat advocate things which are especially important to you.

There are several waysto �nd information on what candidates advocate.One of them is to follow election campaignon television, radio, election rallies,election lea�ets and newspapers.

During the election campaigncandidates present their programsand try to get as many votes as they can.However, you need to be careful.During the election campaign candidates and political partiesoften make big promises to get more votes.

That is why you should get information in other ways as well.For example, you can talk to persons close to youand ask their opinion on candidates and political parties.You can talk to family members, relatives, friendsand other people you trust.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

NEWSPublic performance Welcome into my shoesOn 30 January 2013, Coalition for Community Livingheld a public performance called Welcome into my shoes.Coalition for Community Living assembles 7 associationswhich work on protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.Association for Self Advocacy is also a member of this Coalition.

The Coalition had a public performance in Zagrebto warn about the prejudice towardspersons with disabilities.Celebrity guests participated in the eventto support the Coalition.Guests had the roles of persons with disabilities.Some of the guests were actors Nikša Marinović and Luka Vidović and singer Jelena Radan.In this way, Coalition sent the messagethat persons with disabilities in Croatiaunfortunately do not have the same opportunitieslike other people.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Conference on easy to read materialsOn 22 February 2013, Association for Self Advocacy organizeda national conference on easy to read materialsand involving persons with intellectual disabilities in lifelong learning programs.It was one of the activities in the project Pathways 2.Association for Self Advocacy is a partner in this project together with Inclusion Europe.

At the conference, self-advocates and assistants from the Associationpresented brochure in Croatian created in this project.

Titles of the brochures are: • Information for all • Do not write for us without us • Training lifelong learning sta� • Teaching can be easy.

You can �nd the brochures on our websitein the section Our materials.

Self-advocate from France Fabrice Vannobelspoke at the conference.He talked about the way easy to read materials are used in France.Other experts in the �eld of education and disability spoke at the conference.Representative of the Delegation of European Union Paolo Berizzi also spoke at the conference.Together we concluded that unfortunately in Croatiathere are no lifelong learning programsfor persons with intellectual disabilities.However, we hope that our conference contributedto starting such programs in the future.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Study visit of self-advocates from SarajevoIn March we had a visit fromguests from organization Sumero from Sarajevo.Self-advocates Zlatan, Rasim, Adis and Ismar,and their assistants Amila and Vedrana visited us.We presented the work of our associationand talked about self-advocacy and self-determination.We presented our brochures, newsletter,website and Facebook page.Guests joined a meeting of our self-advocates.We saw a video abouthow some persons with intellectual disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovinalive in institutions, and some live in the community.We agreed that we have similar problems.

Our guests especially liked that we succeeded in our �ght for the right to vote,which they will use as an example of good practice for their �ghtbecause in Bosnia and Herzegovina persons deprived of legal capacitystill do not have the right to vote.

Written by Fadil Špuren

Trainings on self-determination and self-advocacyFrom January to March 2013, Association for Self Advocacyheld 3 trainings on self-determination and self-advocacy.We held trainings for employeesof Centre for rehabilitation Stančićand Centre for rehabilitation Zagreb.We told them why it is importantfor persons with intellectual disabilitiesto make decisions about their life as much as possibleand about their rights.Trainings were part of the projectProviding support in the process of transformingtwo state institutions for persons with intellectual disabilities.The project is implemented by Association for Promoting Inclusion.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

News on project GONGThere was no easy to read informationon the right to vote for persons deprived of legal capacity.Many persons deprived of legal capacitydid not know that they got the right to voteor did not know how to realize their right to vote.That is why Association for Self Advocacyin cooperation with association GONG,made a brochure on elections in easy to read.We also made a lea�et with instructionson how to vote in elections,and we made a video as well.

Written by Senada Halilčević

Filming a TV videoIn the projectAchieving the right to vote for persons with intellectual disabilitieswhich we are implementing together with association GONG,self-advocates �lmed a TV video My vote, my strength.

We made the video to informall persons deprived of legal capacitythat they can go to elections and vote now.Filming the video was not as easy as we thought.We made the video for several cold and rainy days.We had to repeat the scenesuntil every little thing was as the screenwriter imagined it.Although this was not the �rst time �lming a videofor some self-advocates,it was a little hard for all of us.But our e�orts paid o�because the message we conveyedwas important for all citizens.

Written by Snježana Kanjir

Workshop before elections to European ParliamentOn Friday before elections we had a workshopto prepare with what would happen on Sunday.Elections to the European Parliament were more di�cult because they were the �rst European elections.There were many lists of candidates and candidates.The workshop had a busy atmosphere.We all listened carefully, participated and asked questions.We said what is the European Unionand what is European Parliament.We made a list of all parties and candidates which stood for election.We practiced how to �ll out a valid ballot.We emphasized that polls were opened from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.and that we had to take an identity cardso that electoral board can �nd our name in the list of voters.

Written by Fadil Špuren

ANNOUNCEMENT

Conference Europe in ActionConference Europe in Action will be heldfrom May 29 until June 1 in Ljubljana, Slovenia.Inclusion Europe will organize this conference.Topic of the conference is ageing of persons withintellectual disabilities and their families.Participants will talk about problems which persons with intellectual disabilities and their families face when they grow old.

Experts and self-advocates will discusspolitics and laws which can helpelderly persons with intellectual disabilities and their families.They will also talk about what kind of support persons with intellectual disabilities and their families need.General assembly of EPSA will be held during the conference.

Written by Ivana Bašić

I have a big problem.Sometimes I feel like my girlfriends does not care about me.We only see each other when she wants to,we go where she wantand we do what she wants.She never wants to do something I suggest.I love my girlfriend,but I do not like her behavior.

Did you tell your girlfriend that you do not like that?Why does she want to decide on everything?It is ok that you want to make some decisionson how you spend your time together.Think about what you want to change and talk to her about it.If nothing changes,maybe you should think aboutwhether you want to be with a person who does not care about your opinion.

10

Every 4 years there are local electionsand elections for local self-government.

Local elections will be this year in May.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities says thatpersons with disabilities have the right to participate in elections.Participating in elections must be easyso that persons with disabilities could participate in elections.Persons with disabilities have the right to vote how they want.No one can force them to vote for a candidateor political party if they do not want to.Persons with disabilities who participate in electionshave the right to help and adaptation during voting.For example:if you cannot read, you can take someone with youto help you circle the person you want to vote for.

The �ght is not over yetNow it is time for relevant institutionslike State Electoral Commission and Ministry of Administrationto ensure conditionsfor persons with intellectual disabilities to votewhen they come to the polling station.

Written by Senada Halilčević and Sanja Hotko

SITUATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIAA year and a half ago in the Voice of Self Advocateswe wrote that persons deprived of legal capacitycannot vote because they do not have the right to vote.

Dear readers,

We decided to dedicate this issue of the newsletter to elections.

Since elections for the European Parliament are behind us,

and local elections are coming up,

it will be good to get information on elections.

Some self-advocates voted for the first time

so they shared their experiences with us.

Kind regards!

TOPIC OF THE ISSUE: ELECTIONS

Elections are a just and fair way to choose personswho will be in power and who will make decisionswhich concern us and our country.Those persons are called politicians.

Every Croatian citizen gets voting rightswhen he or she turns 18.

Voting rights mean that voters have the right and freedom: • to choose politicians who will govern in their name • or to stand for election themselves.

We choose politicians for a certain period of time.This period of time is called a mandate.In the presidential election we choose a presidentof the Republic of Croatia for a period of 5 years.We also choose Croatian representatives to European Parliamentfor a period of 5 years.In the parliamentary election we choose representativesto Croatian Parliament for a period of 4 years.

This year it is di�erent because self-advocatestogether with association GONG fought for the right to votefor all persons deprived of legal capacity.

Voting list is the collection of all information on all voters.A voter can realize his or her right to voteafter he or she is registered on the voting list.The law says that from now onpersons deprived of legal capacityare also votersand they will be registered on the voting list.

Every voter can check if he or she is registered on the voting listand what his voting rights are.You can check at the website of the Ministry of Administration:https://biraci.uprava.hr/

Written by Senada Halilčević

In Europe many persons still do not have the right to votebecause they were deprived of legal capacity.

However, in some countries, like in Croatia,persons deprived of legal capacity have the right to vote.Those countries are: Austria, Italy, Ireland, Great Britain,the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland.

To allow persons with intellectual disabilities to voteequally to other citizens,they need support and adapted information.

Information needs to be written in a simple wayand give di�erent examples from everyday life.

Elections of Croatian representatives to the European ParliamentThe �rst election of Croatian representatives to the European Parliament was in April.In this election Croatian citizens chose their representativesto the European Union Parliament for the �rst time.This is an important electionbecause persons deprived of legal capacitycould realize their right to vote for the �rst time.

Election was held because Croatia will join the European Union on 1 July 2013.European Union is a community which assembles European countriesto develop economy, increase employment and better protect the rights and interests of citizens.

European Parliament is an important European Union body.It is often said that the European Parliament is the voice of the people.That means that the European Parliament protectsthe interests of citizens of European Union countries.For example, citizens can write a petition to ask the Parliamentto investigate if the other European Union bodies are working properlyand if some citizens' right was violated.

European Parliament has important duties: • it adopts European laws • it monitors the work of the European Commission • it decides on the budget of the European Union.

Each country elects a number of representatives to European Parliamentwhich corresponds to the number of inhabitants of that country.So countries with less inhabitants have less representatives,and countries with more inhabitants have more representatives.There are 766 members in the European Parliament.Croatia elected 12 members to the European Parliament.

Since we are not a European Union member yet,only Croatian citizens elected their representatives to the European Parliament.Usually elections are held every 5 yearsat the same time in all countries which are members of the European Union.Those are regular elections.The next regular elections will be in 2014.

Members of the European Parliaments sit in 7 political groups.Some of those groups are Eurooptimistic,which means that they support European Union policies.Some groups are Eurosceptic,which means that they are against decisions made in the European Union.

Meetings of all members of the European Parliamentare held in Strasbourg in France.

Written by Sanja Hotko

Experiences of self-advocates from the �rst electionswhere they could realize their right to vote

For me this was the �rst election where I could vote.When I gave my identity card,I was happy that the member of electoral board found me on the list of voters.There were many candidates in the ballot,so I took my assistant with me to help me circle the list and candidate I decided to vote for.

Nenad Sekušak

I went to the election, but I did not go alone.I had support because it was my �rst time voting.I made the decision who I wanted to vote for earlierand I was happy when I circled my candidate.

Ivo Pala

In 15 European countries there iseasy to read information on voting and elections.

In 2009 Inclusion Europe wrotean easy to read brochure on electionswhich was translated into 13 European languages.The brochure explains: • why voting is important • what kinds of elections there are • how to vote • how to find the results of voting.

Self-advocates from Great Britain madean easy to read website on voting.They put short videos which show howto vote and what kinds of elections there areon the website.

Self-advocates from Scotland hadseveral workshops on voting.Workshops were for persons with intellectual disabilitieswho participated in elections for the �rst time.

In several European countries there were campaignsand advocacy activities for accessible elections.In France and Scotland guidelines were made for politiciansto make their campaigns more accessiblefor persons with intellectual disabilities.

In Great Britain 3 main political partieswrote their programs in easy to read form.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Municipalities are governed by municipal council and municipal prefect,and towns by town council and the mayor.Counties are governed by county council and county prefect.

In local elections we will choose representativesto municipal council, city council and county assembly,as well as municipal prefect, mayor and county prefect.Citizens of the City of Zagreb will choose their representatives to City Assemblybecause Zagreb has the status of a county.We choose all of them for a period of 4 years.

Municipal council, town council and county assemblydecide on budget of a district, town and county,and on other issues important for districts, towns and counties,like: • social care • health care • education • physical planning • public transportation • cleaning • culture • sports.

Municipal chief, mayor and county prefectare in charge of implementing decisions made bymunicipal council, town council and county assembly.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

How to decide who to vote forYou have the right to vote for any candidate orpolitical party that stands for election.However, you should be informed before you go to elections.

Elections were organized beforein our center for rehabilitation,but this was the �rst election where I could vote.electoral board explained what I had to do.I would like the letters in the ballotto be bigger in the next electionso it would be easier for me to read them.

Tamara Kolak

I went to voteright after I had my morning co�ee.I was proud that my vote also counts now.

Monika Mihelec

Local electionsOnly a month after elections for Croatian representatives to European Parliament,we have a new opportunity to vote.It is time for local elections.Local elections will be on 19 May 2013.

In the local elections we have the opportunity to choose politicianswho will represent our interestsin the area where we live.The area where we live can be a municipality, town or county.That is why in local electionsyou only have the right to votein the municipality, town or countywhere your address is.

A municipality is an area smaller than a town.A town is a place which has more than 10 thousand inhabitants.A county is an area which includes several districts and towns.In Croatia there are 20 countiesand the City of Zagreb which has the status of a county.

That way you can give your voteto the candidate or political partythat advocate things which are especially important to you.

There are several waysto �nd information on what candidates advocate.One of them is to follow election campaignon television, radio, election rallies,election lea�ets and newspapers.

During the election campaigncandidates present their programsand try to get as many votes as they can.However, you need to be careful.During the election campaign candidates and political partiesoften make big promises to get more votes.

That is why you should get information in other ways as well.For example, you can talk to persons close to youand ask their opinion on candidates and political parties.You can talk to family members, relatives, friendsand other people you trust.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

NEWSPublic performance Welcome into my shoesOn 30 January 2013, Coalition for Community Livingheld a public performance called Welcome into my shoes.Coalition for Community Living assembles 7 associationswhich work on protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.Association for Self Advocacy is also a member of this Coalition.

The Coalition had a public performance in Zagrebto warn about the prejudice towardspersons with disabilities.Celebrity guests participated in the eventto support the Coalition.Guests had the roles of persons with disabilities.Some of the guests were actors Nikša Marinović and Luka Vidović and singer Jelena Radan.In this way, Coalition sent the messagethat persons with disabilities in Croatiaunfortunately do not have the same opportunitieslike other people.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Conference on easy to read materialsOn 22 February 2013, Association for Self Advocacy organizeda national conference on easy to read materialsand involving persons with intellectual disabilities in lifelong learning programs.It was one of the activities in the project Pathways 2.Association for Self Advocacy is a partner in this project together with Inclusion Europe.

At the conference, self-advocates and assistants from the Associationpresented brochure in Croatian created in this project.

Titles of the brochures are: • Information for all • Do not write for us without us • Training lifelong learning sta� • Teaching can be easy.

You can �nd the brochures on our websitein the section Our materials.

Self-advocate from France Fabrice Vannobelspoke at the conference.He talked about the way easy to read materials are used in France.Other experts in the �eld of education and disability spoke at the conference.Representative of the Delegation of European Union Paolo Berizzi also spoke at the conference.Together we concluded that unfortunately in Croatiathere are no lifelong learning programsfor persons with intellectual disabilities.However, we hope that our conference contributedto starting such programs in the future.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Study visit of self-advocates from SarajevoIn March we had a visit fromguests from organization Sumero from Sarajevo.Self-advocates Zlatan, Rasim, Adis and Ismar,and their assistants Amila and Vedrana visited us.We presented the work of our associationand talked about self-advocacy and self-determination.We presented our brochures, newsletter,website and Facebook page.Guests joined a meeting of our self-advocates.We saw a video abouthow some persons with intellectual disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovinalive in institutions, and some live in the community.We agreed that we have similar problems.

Our guests especially liked that we succeeded in our �ght for the right to vote,which they will use as an example of good practice for their �ghtbecause in Bosnia and Herzegovina persons deprived of legal capacitystill do not have the right to vote.

Written by Fadil Špuren

Trainings on self-determination and self-advocacyFrom January to March 2013, Association for Self Advocacyheld 3 trainings on self-determination and self-advocacy.We held trainings for employeesof Centre for rehabilitation Stančićand Centre for rehabilitation Zagreb.We told them why it is importantfor persons with intellectual disabilitiesto make decisions about their life as much as possibleand about their rights.Trainings were part of the projectProviding support in the process of transformingtwo state institutions for persons with intellectual disabilities.The project is implemented by Association for Promoting Inclusion.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

News on project GONGThere was no easy to read informationon the right to vote for persons deprived of legal capacity.Many persons deprived of legal capacitydid not know that they got the right to voteor did not know how to realize their right to vote.That is why Association for Self Advocacyin cooperation with association GONG,made a brochure on elections in easy to read.We also made a lea�et with instructionson how to vote in elections,and we made a video as well.

Written by Senada Halilčević

Filming a TV videoIn the projectAchieving the right to vote for persons with intellectual disabilitieswhich we are implementing together with association GONG,self-advocates �lmed a TV video My vote, my strength.

We made the video to informall persons deprived of legal capacitythat they can go to elections and vote now.Filming the video was not as easy as we thought.We made the video for several cold and rainy days.We had to repeat the scenesuntil every little thing was as the screenwriter imagined it.Although this was not the �rst time �lming a videofor some self-advocates,it was a little hard for all of us.But our e�orts paid o�because the message we conveyedwas important for all citizens.

Written by Snježana Kanjir

Workshop before elections to European ParliamentOn Friday before elections we had a workshopto prepare with what would happen on Sunday.Elections to the European Parliament were more di�cult because they were the �rst European elections.There were many lists of candidates and candidates.The workshop had a busy atmosphere.We all listened carefully, participated and asked questions.We said what is the European Unionand what is European Parliament.We made a list of all parties and candidates which stood for election.We practiced how to �ll out a valid ballot.We emphasized that polls were opened from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.and that we had to take an identity cardso that electoral board can �nd our name in the list of voters.

Written by Fadil Špuren

ANNOUNCEMENT

Conference Europe in ActionConference Europe in Action will be heldfrom May 29 until June 1 in Ljubljana, Slovenia.Inclusion Europe will organize this conference.Topic of the conference is ageing of persons withintellectual disabilities and their families.Participants will talk about problems which persons with intellectual disabilities and their families face when they grow old.

Experts and self-advocates will discusspolitics and laws which can helpelderly persons with intellectual disabilities and their families.They will also talk about what kind of support persons with intellectual disabilities and their families need.General assembly of EPSA will be held during the conference.

Written by Ivana Bašić

I have a big problem.Sometimes I feel like my girlfriends does not care about me.We only see each other when she wants to,we go where she wantand we do what she wants.She never wants to do something I suggest.I love my girlfriend,but I do not like her behavior.

Did you tell your girlfriend that you do not like that?Why does she want to decide on everything?It is ok that you want to make some decisionson how you spend your time together.Think about what you want to change and talk to her about it.If nothing changes,maybe you should think aboutwhether you want to be with a person who does not care about your opinion.

Newsletter of the Association for Self-Advocacy

11Voice of Self-Advocates

Every 4 years there are local electionsand elections for local self-government.

Local elections will be this year in May.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities says thatpersons with disabilities have the right to participate in elections.Participating in elections must be easyso that persons with disabilities could participate in elections.Persons with disabilities have the right to vote how they want.No one can force them to vote for a candidateor political party if they do not want to.Persons with disabilities who participate in electionshave the right to help and adaptation during voting.For example:if you cannot read, you can take someone with youto help you circle the person you want to vote for.

The �ght is not over yetNow it is time for relevant institutionslike State Electoral Commission and Ministry of Administrationto ensure conditionsfor persons with intellectual disabilities to votewhen they come to the polling station.

Written by Senada Halilčević and Sanja Hotko

SITUATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIAA year and a half ago in the Voice of Self Advocateswe wrote that persons deprived of legal capacitycannot vote because they do not have the right to vote.

Dear readers,

We decided to dedicate this issue of the newsletter to elections.

Since elections for the European Parliament are behind us,

and local elections are coming up,

it will be good to get information on elections.

Some self-advocates voted for the first time

so they shared their experiences with us.

Kind regards!

TOPIC OF THE ISSUE: ELECTIONS

Elections are a just and fair way to choose personswho will be in power and who will make decisionswhich concern us and our country.Those persons are called politicians.

Every Croatian citizen gets voting rightswhen he or she turns 18.

Voting rights mean that voters have the right and freedom: • to choose politicians who will govern in their name • or to stand for election themselves.

We choose politicians for a certain period of time.This period of time is called a mandate.In the presidential election we choose a presidentof the Republic of Croatia for a period of 5 years.We also choose Croatian representatives to European Parliamentfor a period of 5 years.In the parliamentary election we choose representativesto Croatian Parliament for a period of 4 years.

This year it is di�erent because self-advocatestogether with association GONG fought for the right to votefor all persons deprived of legal capacity.

Voting list is the collection of all information on all voters.A voter can realize his or her right to voteafter he or she is registered on the voting list.The law says that from now onpersons deprived of legal capacityare also votersand they will be registered on the voting list.

Every voter can check if he or she is registered on the voting listand what his voting rights are.You can check at the website of the Ministry of Administration:https://biraci.uprava.hr/

Written by Senada Halilčević

In Europe many persons still do not have the right to votebecause they were deprived of legal capacity.

However, in some countries, like in Croatia,persons deprived of legal capacity have the right to vote.Those countries are: Austria, Italy, Ireland, Great Britain,the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland.

To allow persons with intellectual disabilities to voteequally to other citizens,they need support and adapted information.

Information needs to be written in a simple wayand give di�erent examples from everyday life.

Elections of Croatian representatives to the European ParliamentThe �rst election of Croatian representatives to the European Parliament was in April.In this election Croatian citizens chose their representativesto the European Union Parliament for the �rst time.This is an important electionbecause persons deprived of legal capacitycould realize their right to vote for the �rst time.

Election was held because Croatia will join the European Union on 1 July 2013.European Union is a community which assembles European countriesto develop economy, increase employment and better protect the rights and interests of citizens.

European Parliament is an important European Union body.It is often said that the European Parliament is the voice of the people.That means that the European Parliament protectsthe interests of citizens of European Union countries.For example, citizens can write a petition to ask the Parliamentto investigate if the other European Union bodies are working properlyand if some citizens' right was violated.

European Parliament has important duties: • it adopts European laws • it monitors the work of the European Commission • it decides on the budget of the European Union.

Each country elects a number of representatives to European Parliamentwhich corresponds to the number of inhabitants of that country.So countries with less inhabitants have less representatives,and countries with more inhabitants have more representatives.There are 766 members in the European Parliament.Croatia elected 12 members to the European Parliament.

Since we are not a European Union member yet,only Croatian citizens elected their representatives to the European Parliament.Usually elections are held every 5 yearsat the same time in all countries which are members of the European Union.Those are regular elections.The next regular elections will be in 2014.

Members of the European Parliaments sit in 7 political groups.Some of those groups are Eurooptimistic,which means that they support European Union policies.Some groups are Eurosceptic,which means that they are against decisions made in the European Union.

Meetings of all members of the European Parliamentare held in Strasbourg in France.

Written by Sanja Hotko

Experiences of self-advocates from the �rst electionswhere they could realize their right to vote

For me this was the �rst election where I could vote.When I gave my identity card,I was happy that the member of electoral board found me on the list of voters.There were many candidates in the ballot,so I took my assistant with me to help me circle the list and candidate I decided to vote for.

Nenad Sekušak

I went to the election, but I did not go alone.I had support because it was my �rst time voting.I made the decision who I wanted to vote for earlierand I was happy when I circled my candidate.

Ivo Pala

In 15 European countries there iseasy to read information on voting and elections.

In 2009 Inclusion Europe wrotean easy to read brochure on electionswhich was translated into 13 European languages.The brochure explains: • why voting is important • what kinds of elections there are • how to vote • how to find the results of voting.

Self-advocates from Great Britain madean easy to read website on voting.They put short videos which show howto vote and what kinds of elections there areon the website.

Self-advocates from Scotland hadseveral workshops on voting.Workshops were for persons with intellectual disabilitieswho participated in elections for the �rst time.

In several European countries there were campaignsand advocacy activities for accessible elections.In France and Scotland guidelines were made for politiciansto make their campaigns more accessiblefor persons with intellectual disabilities.

In Great Britain 3 main political partieswrote their programs in easy to read form.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Municipalities are governed by municipal council and municipal prefect,and towns by town council and the mayor.Counties are governed by county council and county prefect.

In local elections we will choose representativesto municipal council, city council and county assembly,as well as municipal prefect, mayor and county prefect.Citizens of the City of Zagreb will choose their representatives to City Assemblybecause Zagreb has the status of a county.We choose all of them for a period of 4 years.

Municipal council, town council and county assemblydecide on budget of a district, town and county,and on other issues important for districts, towns and counties,like: • social care • health care • education • physical planning • public transportation • cleaning • culture • sports.

Municipal chief, mayor and county prefectare in charge of implementing decisions made bymunicipal council, town council and county assembly.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

How to decide who to vote forYou have the right to vote for any candidate orpolitical party that stands for election.However, you should be informed before you go to elections.

Elections were organized beforein our center for rehabilitation,but this was the �rst election where I could vote.electoral board explained what I had to do.I would like the letters in the ballotto be bigger in the next electionso it would be easier for me to read them.

Tamara Kolak

I went to voteright after I had my morning co�ee.I was proud that my vote also counts now.

Monika Mihelec

Local electionsOnly a month after elections for Croatian representatives to European Parliament,we have a new opportunity to vote.It is time for local elections.Local elections will be on 19 May 2013.

In the local elections we have the opportunity to choose politicianswho will represent our interestsin the area where we live.The area where we live can be a municipality, town or county.That is why in local electionsyou only have the right to votein the municipality, town or countywhere your address is.

A municipality is an area smaller than a town.A town is a place which has more than 10 thousand inhabitants.A county is an area which includes several districts and towns.In Croatia there are 20 countiesand the City of Zagreb which has the status of a county.

That way you can give your voteto the candidate or political partythat advocate things which are especially important to you.

There are several waysto �nd information on what candidates advocate.One of them is to follow election campaignon television, radio, election rallies,election lea�ets and newspapers.

During the election campaigncandidates present their programsand try to get as many votes as they can.However, you need to be careful.During the election campaign candidates and political partiesoften make big promises to get more votes.

That is why you should get information in other ways as well.For example, you can talk to persons close to youand ask their opinion on candidates and political parties.You can talk to family members, relatives, friendsand other people you trust.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

NEWSPublic performance Welcome into my shoesOn 30 January 2013, Coalition for Community Livingheld a public performance called Welcome into my shoes.Coalition for Community Living assembles 7 associationswhich work on protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.Association for Self Advocacy is also a member of this Coalition.

The Coalition had a public performance in Zagrebto warn about the prejudice towardspersons with disabilities.Celebrity guests participated in the eventto support the Coalition.Guests had the roles of persons with disabilities.Some of the guests were actors Nikša Marinović and Luka Vidović and singer Jelena Radan.In this way, Coalition sent the messagethat persons with disabilities in Croatiaunfortunately do not have the same opportunitieslike other people.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Conference on easy to read materialsOn 22 February 2013, Association for Self Advocacy organizeda national conference on easy to read materialsand involving persons with intellectual disabilities in lifelong learning programs.It was one of the activities in the project Pathways 2.Association for Self Advocacy is a partner in this project together with Inclusion Europe.

At the conference, self-advocates and assistants from the Associationpresented brochure in Croatian created in this project.

Titles of the brochures are: • Information for all • Do not write for us without us • Training lifelong learning sta� • Teaching can be easy.

You can �nd the brochures on our websitein the section Our materials.

Self-advocate from France Fabrice Vannobelspoke at the conference.He talked about the way easy to read materials are used in France.Other experts in the �eld of education and disability spoke at the conference.Representative of the Delegation of European Union Paolo Berizzi also spoke at the conference.Together we concluded that unfortunately in Croatiathere are no lifelong learning programsfor persons with intellectual disabilities.However, we hope that our conference contributedto starting such programs in the future.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Study visit of self-advocates from SarajevoIn March we had a visit fromguests from organization Sumero from Sarajevo.Self-advocates Zlatan, Rasim, Adis and Ismar,and their assistants Amila and Vedrana visited us.We presented the work of our associationand talked about self-advocacy and self-determination.We presented our brochures, newsletter,website and Facebook page.Guests joined a meeting of our self-advocates.We saw a video abouthow some persons with intellectual disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovinalive in institutions, and some live in the community.We agreed that we have similar problems.

Our guests especially liked that we succeeded in our �ght for the right to vote,which they will use as an example of good practice for their �ghtbecause in Bosnia and Herzegovina persons deprived of legal capacitystill do not have the right to vote.

Written by Fadil Špuren

Trainings on self-determination and self-advocacyFrom January to March 2013, Association for Self Advocacyheld 3 trainings on self-determination and self-advocacy.We held trainings for employeesof Centre for rehabilitation Stančićand Centre for rehabilitation Zagreb.We told them why it is importantfor persons with intellectual disabilitiesto make decisions about their life as much as possibleand about their rights.Trainings were part of the projectProviding support in the process of transformingtwo state institutions for persons with intellectual disabilities.The project is implemented by Association for Promoting Inclusion.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

News on project GONGThere was no easy to read informationon the right to vote for persons deprived of legal capacity.Many persons deprived of legal capacitydid not know that they got the right to voteor did not know how to realize their right to vote.That is why Association for Self Advocacyin cooperation with association GONG,made a brochure on elections in easy to read.We also made a lea�et with instructionson how to vote in elections,and we made a video as well.

Written by Senada Halilčević

Filming a TV videoIn the projectAchieving the right to vote for persons with intellectual disabilitieswhich we are implementing together with association GONG,self-advocates �lmed a TV video My vote, my strength.

We made the video to informall persons deprived of legal capacitythat they can go to elections and vote now.Filming the video was not as easy as we thought.We made the video for several cold and rainy days.We had to repeat the scenesuntil every little thing was as the screenwriter imagined it.Although this was not the �rst time �lming a videofor some self-advocates,it was a little hard for all of us.But our e�orts paid o�because the message we conveyedwas important for all citizens.

Written by Snježana Kanjir

Workshop before elections to European ParliamentOn Friday before elections we had a workshopto prepare with what would happen on Sunday.Elections to the European Parliament were more di�cult because they were the �rst European elections.There were many lists of candidates and candidates.The workshop had a busy atmosphere.We all listened carefully, participated and asked questions.We said what is the European Unionand what is European Parliament.We made a list of all parties and candidates which stood for election.We practiced how to �ll out a valid ballot.We emphasized that polls were opened from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.and that we had to take an identity cardso that electoral board can �nd our name in the list of voters.

Written by Fadil Špuren

ANNOUNCEMENT

Conference Europe in ActionConference Europe in Action will be heldfrom May 29 until June 1 in Ljubljana, Slovenia.Inclusion Europe will organize this conference.Topic of the conference is ageing of persons withintellectual disabilities and their families.Participants will talk about problems which persons with intellectual disabilities and their families face when they grow old.

Experts and self-advocates will discusspolitics and laws which can helpelderly persons with intellectual disabilities and their families.They will also talk about what kind of support persons with intellectual disabilities and their families need.General assembly of EPSA will be held during the conference.

Written by Ivana Bašić

I have a big problem.Sometimes I feel like my girlfriends does not care about me.We only see each other when she wants to,we go where she wantand we do what she wants.She never wants to do something I suggest.I love my girlfriend,but I do not like her behavior.

Did you tell your girlfriend that you do not like that?Why does she want to decide on everything?It is ok that you want to make some decisionson how you spend your time together.Think about what you want to change and talk to her about it.If nothing changes,maybe you should think aboutwhether you want to be with a person who does not care about your opinion.

12

ZABAVNIK

Every 4 years there are local electionsand elections for local self-government.

Local elections will be this year in May.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities says thatpersons with disabilities have the right to participate in elections.Participating in elections must be easyso that persons with disabilities could participate in elections.Persons with disabilities have the right to vote how they want.No one can force them to vote for a candidateor political party if they do not want to.Persons with disabilities who participate in electionshave the right to help and adaptation during voting.For example:if you cannot read, you can take someone with youto help you circle the person you want to vote for.

The �ght is not over yetNow it is time for relevant institutionslike State Electoral Commission and Ministry of Administrationto ensure conditionsfor persons with intellectual disabilities to votewhen they come to the polling station.

Written by Senada Halilčević and Sanja Hotko

SITUATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIAA year and a half ago in the Voice of Self Advocateswe wrote that persons deprived of legal capacitycannot vote because they do not have the right to vote.

Dear readers,

We decided to dedicate this issue of the newsletter to elections.

Since elections for the European Parliament are behind us,

and local elections are coming up,

it will be good to get information on elections.

Some self-advocates voted for the first time

so they shared their experiences with us.

Kind regards!

TOPIC OF THE ISSUE: ELECTIONS

Elections are a just and fair way to choose personswho will be in power and who will make decisionswhich concern us and our country.Those persons are called politicians.

Every Croatian citizen gets voting rightswhen he or she turns 18.

Voting rights mean that voters have the right and freedom: • to choose politicians who will govern in their name • or to stand for election themselves.

We choose politicians for a certain period of time.This period of time is called a mandate.In the presidential election we choose a presidentof the Republic of Croatia for a period of 5 years.We also choose Croatian representatives to European Parliamentfor a period of 5 years.In the parliamentary election we choose representativesto Croatian Parliament for a period of 4 years.

This year it is di�erent because self-advocatestogether with association GONG fought for the right to votefor all persons deprived of legal capacity.

Voting list is the collection of all information on all voters.A voter can realize his or her right to voteafter he or she is registered on the voting list.The law says that from now onpersons deprived of legal capacityare also votersand they will be registered on the voting list.

Every voter can check if he or she is registered on the voting listand what his voting rights are.You can check at the website of the Ministry of Administration:https://biraci.uprava.hr/

Written by Senada Halilčević

In Europe many persons still do not have the right to votebecause they were deprived of legal capacity.

However, in some countries, like in Croatia,persons deprived of legal capacity have the right to vote.Those countries are: Austria, Italy, Ireland, Great Britain,the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland.

To allow persons with intellectual disabilities to voteequally to other citizens,they need support and adapted information.

Information needs to be written in a simple wayand give di�erent examples from everyday life.

Elections of Croatian representatives to the European ParliamentThe �rst election of Croatian representatives to the European Parliament was in April.In this election Croatian citizens chose their representativesto the European Union Parliament for the �rst time.This is an important electionbecause persons deprived of legal capacitycould realize their right to vote for the �rst time.

Election was held because Croatia will join the European Union on 1 July 2013.European Union is a community which assembles European countriesto develop economy, increase employment and better protect the rights and interests of citizens.

European Parliament is an important European Union body.It is often said that the European Parliament is the voice of the people.That means that the European Parliament protectsthe interests of citizens of European Union countries.For example, citizens can write a petition to ask the Parliamentto investigate if the other European Union bodies are working properlyand if some citizens' right was violated.

European Parliament has important duties: • it adopts European laws • it monitors the work of the European Commission • it decides on the budget of the European Union.

Each country elects a number of representatives to European Parliamentwhich corresponds to the number of inhabitants of that country.So countries with less inhabitants have less representatives,and countries with more inhabitants have more representatives.There are 766 members in the European Parliament.Croatia elected 12 members to the European Parliament.

Since we are not a European Union member yet,only Croatian citizens elected their representatives to the European Parliament.Usually elections are held every 5 yearsat the same time in all countries which are members of the European Union.Those are regular elections.The next regular elections will be in 2014.

Members of the European Parliaments sit in 7 political groups.Some of those groups are Eurooptimistic,which means that they support European Union policies.Some groups are Eurosceptic,which means that they are against decisions made in the European Union.

Meetings of all members of the European Parliamentare held in Strasbourg in France.

Written by Sanja Hotko

Experiences of self-advocates from the �rst electionswhere they could realize their right to vote

For me this was the �rst election where I could vote.When I gave my identity card,I was happy that the member of electoral board found me on the list of voters.There were many candidates in the ballot,so I took my assistant with me to help me circle the list and candidate I decided to vote for.

Nenad Sekušak

I went to the election, but I did not go alone.I had support because it was my �rst time voting.I made the decision who I wanted to vote for earlierand I was happy when I circled my candidate.

Ivo Pala

In 15 European countries there iseasy to read information on voting and elections.

In 2009 Inclusion Europe wrotean easy to read brochure on electionswhich was translated into 13 European languages.The brochure explains: • why voting is important • what kinds of elections there are • how to vote • how to find the results of voting.

Self-advocates from Great Britain madean easy to read website on voting.They put short videos which show howto vote and what kinds of elections there areon the website.

Self-advocates from Scotland hadseveral workshops on voting.Workshops were for persons with intellectual disabilitieswho participated in elections for the �rst time.

In several European countries there were campaignsand advocacy activities for accessible elections.In France and Scotland guidelines were made for politiciansto make their campaigns more accessiblefor persons with intellectual disabilities.

In Great Britain 3 main political partieswrote their programs in easy to read form.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Municipalities are governed by municipal council and municipal prefect,and towns by town council and the mayor.Counties are governed by county council and county prefect.

In local elections we will choose representativesto municipal council, city council and county assembly,as well as municipal prefect, mayor and county prefect.Citizens of the City of Zagreb will choose their representatives to City Assemblybecause Zagreb has the status of a county.We choose all of them for a period of 4 years.

Municipal council, town council and county assemblydecide on budget of a district, town and county,and on other issues important for districts, towns and counties,like: • social care • health care • education • physical planning • public transportation • cleaning • culture • sports.

Municipal chief, mayor and county prefectare in charge of implementing decisions made bymunicipal council, town council and county assembly.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

How to decide who to vote forYou have the right to vote for any candidate orpolitical party that stands for election.However, you should be informed before you go to elections.

Elections were organized beforein our center for rehabilitation,but this was the �rst election where I could vote.electoral board explained what I had to do.I would like the letters in the ballotto be bigger in the next electionso it would be easier for me to read them.

Tamara Kolak

I went to voteright after I had my morning co�ee.I was proud that my vote also counts now.

Monika Mihelec

Local electionsOnly a month after elections for Croatian representatives to European Parliament,we have a new opportunity to vote.It is time for local elections.Local elections will be on 19 May 2013.

In the local elections we have the opportunity to choose politicianswho will represent our interestsin the area where we live.The area where we live can be a municipality, town or county.That is why in local electionsyou only have the right to votein the municipality, town or countywhere your address is.

A municipality is an area smaller than a town.A town is a place which has more than 10 thousand inhabitants.A county is an area which includes several districts and towns.In Croatia there are 20 countiesand the City of Zagreb which has the status of a county.

That way you can give your voteto the candidate or political partythat advocate things which are especially important to you.

There are several waysto �nd information on what candidates advocate.One of them is to follow election campaignon television, radio, election rallies,election lea�ets and newspapers.

During the election campaigncandidates present their programsand try to get as many votes as they can.However, you need to be careful.During the election campaign candidates and political partiesoften make big promises to get more votes.

That is why you should get information in other ways as well.For example, you can talk to persons close to youand ask their opinion on candidates and political parties.You can talk to family members, relatives, friendsand other people you trust.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

NEWSPublic performance Welcome into my shoesOn 30 January 2013, Coalition for Community Livingheld a public performance called Welcome into my shoes.Coalition for Community Living assembles 7 associationswhich work on protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.Association for Self Advocacy is also a member of this Coalition.

The Coalition had a public performance in Zagrebto warn about the prejudice towardspersons with disabilities.Celebrity guests participated in the eventto support the Coalition.Guests had the roles of persons with disabilities.Some of the guests were actors Nikša Marinović and Luka Vidović and singer Jelena Radan.In this way, Coalition sent the messagethat persons with disabilities in Croatiaunfortunately do not have the same opportunitieslike other people.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Conference on easy to read materialsOn 22 February 2013, Association for Self Advocacy organizeda national conference on easy to read materialsand involving persons with intellectual disabilities in lifelong learning programs.It was one of the activities in the project Pathways 2.Association for Self Advocacy is a partner in this project together with Inclusion Europe.

At the conference, self-advocates and assistants from the Associationpresented brochure in Croatian created in this project.

Titles of the brochures are: • Information for all • Do not write for us without us • Training lifelong learning sta� • Teaching can be easy.

You can �nd the brochures on our websitein the section Our materials.

Self-advocate from France Fabrice Vannobelspoke at the conference.He talked about the way easy to read materials are used in France.Other experts in the �eld of education and disability spoke at the conference.Representative of the Delegation of European Union Paolo Berizzi also spoke at the conference.Together we concluded that unfortunately in Croatiathere are no lifelong learning programsfor persons with intellectual disabilities.However, we hope that our conference contributedto starting such programs in the future.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Study visit of self-advocates from SarajevoIn March we had a visit fromguests from organization Sumero from Sarajevo.Self-advocates Zlatan, Rasim, Adis and Ismar,and their assistants Amila and Vedrana visited us.We presented the work of our associationand talked about self-advocacy and self-determination.We presented our brochures, newsletter,website and Facebook page.Guests joined a meeting of our self-advocates.We saw a video abouthow some persons with intellectual disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovinalive in institutions, and some live in the community.We agreed that we have similar problems.

Our guests especially liked that we succeeded in our �ght for the right to vote,which they will use as an example of good practice for their �ghtbecause in Bosnia and Herzegovina persons deprived of legal capacitystill do not have the right to vote.

Written by Fadil Špuren

Trainings on self-determination and self-advocacyFrom January to March 2013, Association for Self Advocacyheld 3 trainings on self-determination and self-advocacy.We held trainings for employeesof Centre for rehabilitation Stančićand Centre for rehabilitation Zagreb.We told them why it is importantfor persons with intellectual disabilitiesto make decisions about their life as much as possibleand about their rights.Trainings were part of the projectProviding support in the process of transformingtwo state institutions for persons with intellectual disabilities.The project is implemented by Association for Promoting Inclusion.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

News on project GONGThere was no easy to read informationon the right to vote for persons deprived of legal capacity.Many persons deprived of legal capacitydid not know that they got the right to voteor did not know how to realize their right to vote.That is why Association for Self Advocacyin cooperation with association GONG,made a brochure on elections in easy to read.We also made a lea�et with instructionson how to vote in elections,and we made a video as well.

Written by Senada Halilčević

Filming a TV videoIn the projectAchieving the right to vote for persons with intellectual disabilitieswhich we are implementing together with association GONG,self-advocates �lmed a TV video My vote, my strength.

We made the video to informall persons deprived of legal capacitythat they can go to elections and vote now.Filming the video was not as easy as we thought.We made the video for several cold and rainy days.We had to repeat the scenesuntil every little thing was as the screenwriter imagined it.Although this was not the �rst time �lming a videofor some self-advocates,it was a little hard for all of us.But our e�orts paid o�because the message we conveyedwas important for all citizens.

Written by Snježana Kanjir

Workshop before elections to European ParliamentOn Friday before elections we had a workshopto prepare with what would happen on Sunday.Elections to the European Parliament were more di�cult because they were the �rst European elections.There were many lists of candidates and candidates.The workshop had a busy atmosphere.We all listened carefully, participated and asked questions.We said what is the European Unionand what is European Parliament.We made a list of all parties and candidates which stood for election.We practiced how to �ll out a valid ballot.We emphasized that polls were opened from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.and that we had to take an identity cardso that electoral board can �nd our name in the list of voters.

Written by Fadil Špuren

ANNOUNCEMENT

Conference Europe in ActionConference Europe in Action will be heldfrom May 29 until June 1 in Ljubljana, Slovenia.Inclusion Europe will organize this conference.Topic of the conference is ageing of persons withintellectual disabilities and their families.Participants will talk about problems which persons with intellectual disabilities and their families face when they grow old.

Experts and self-advocates will discusspolitics and laws which can helpelderly persons with intellectual disabilities and their families.They will also talk about what kind of support persons with intellectual disabilities and their families need.General assembly of EPSA will be held during the conference.

Written by Ivana Bašić

I have a big problem.Sometimes I feel like my girlfriends does not care about me.We only see each other when she wants to,we go where she wantand we do what she wants.She never wants to do something I suggest.I love my girlfriend,but I do not like her behavior.

Did you tell your girlfriend that you do not like that?Why does she want to decide on everything?It is ok that you want to make some decisionson how you spend your time together.Think about what you want to change and talk to her about it.If nothing changes,maybe you should think aboutwhether you want to be with a person who does not care about your opinion.

Newsletter of the Association for Self-Advocacy

13Voice of Self-Advocates

Every 4 years there are local electionsand elections for local self-government.

Local elections will be this year in May.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities says thatpersons with disabilities have the right to participate in elections.Participating in elections must be easyso that persons with disabilities could participate in elections.Persons with disabilities have the right to vote how they want.No one can force them to vote for a candidateor political party if they do not want to.Persons with disabilities who participate in electionshave the right to help and adaptation during voting.For example:if you cannot read, you can take someone with youto help you circle the person you want to vote for.

The �ght is not over yetNow it is time for relevant institutionslike State Electoral Commission and Ministry of Administrationto ensure conditionsfor persons with intellectual disabilities to votewhen they come to the polling station.

Written by Senada Halilčević and Sanja Hotko

SITUATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIAA year and a half ago in the Voice of Self Advocateswe wrote that persons deprived of legal capacitycannot vote because they do not have the right to vote.

Dear readers,

We decided to dedicate this issue of the newsletter to elections.

Since elections for the European Parliament are behind us,

and local elections are coming up,

it will be good to get information on elections.

Some self-advocates voted for the first time

so they shared their experiences with us.

Kind regards!

TOPIC OF THE ISSUE: ELECTIONS

Elections are a just and fair way to choose personswho will be in power and who will make decisionswhich concern us and our country.Those persons are called politicians.

Every Croatian citizen gets voting rightswhen he or she turns 18.

Voting rights mean that voters have the right and freedom: • to choose politicians who will govern in their name • or to stand for election themselves.

We choose politicians for a certain period of time.This period of time is called a mandate.In the presidential election we choose a presidentof the Republic of Croatia for a period of 5 years.We also choose Croatian representatives to European Parliamentfor a period of 5 years.In the parliamentary election we choose representativesto Croatian Parliament for a period of 4 years.

This year it is di�erent because self-advocatestogether with association GONG fought for the right to votefor all persons deprived of legal capacity.

Voting list is the collection of all information on all voters.A voter can realize his or her right to voteafter he or she is registered on the voting list.The law says that from now onpersons deprived of legal capacityare also votersand they will be registered on the voting list.

Every voter can check if he or she is registered on the voting listand what his voting rights are.You can check at the website of the Ministry of Administration:https://biraci.uprava.hr/

Written by Senada Halilčević

In Europe many persons still do not have the right to votebecause they were deprived of legal capacity.

However, in some countries, like in Croatia,persons deprived of legal capacity have the right to vote.Those countries are: Austria, Italy, Ireland, Great Britain,the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland.

To allow persons with intellectual disabilities to voteequally to other citizens,they need support and adapted information.

Information needs to be written in a simple wayand give di�erent examples from everyday life.

Elections of Croatian representatives to the European ParliamentThe �rst election of Croatian representatives to the European Parliament was in April.In this election Croatian citizens chose their representativesto the European Union Parliament for the �rst time.This is an important electionbecause persons deprived of legal capacitycould realize their right to vote for the �rst time.

Election was held because Croatia will join the European Union on 1 July 2013.European Union is a community which assembles European countriesto develop economy, increase employment and better protect the rights and interests of citizens.

European Parliament is an important European Union body.It is often said that the European Parliament is the voice of the people.That means that the European Parliament protectsthe interests of citizens of European Union countries.For example, citizens can write a petition to ask the Parliamentto investigate if the other European Union bodies are working properlyand if some citizens' right was violated.

European Parliament has important duties: • it adopts European laws • it monitors the work of the European Commission • it decides on the budget of the European Union.

Each country elects a number of representatives to European Parliamentwhich corresponds to the number of inhabitants of that country.So countries with less inhabitants have less representatives,and countries with more inhabitants have more representatives.There are 766 members in the European Parliament.Croatia elected 12 members to the European Parliament.

Since we are not a European Union member yet,only Croatian citizens elected their representatives to the European Parliament.Usually elections are held every 5 yearsat the same time in all countries which are members of the European Union.Those are regular elections.The next regular elections will be in 2014.

Members of the European Parliaments sit in 7 political groups.Some of those groups are Eurooptimistic,which means that they support European Union policies.Some groups are Eurosceptic,which means that they are against decisions made in the European Union.

Meetings of all members of the European Parliamentare held in Strasbourg in France.

Written by Sanja Hotko

Experiences of self-advocates from the �rst electionswhere they could realize their right to vote

For me this was the �rst election where I could vote.When I gave my identity card,I was happy that the member of electoral board found me on the list of voters.There were many candidates in the ballot,so I took my assistant with me to help me circle the list and candidate I decided to vote for.

Nenad Sekušak

I went to the election, but I did not go alone.I had support because it was my �rst time voting.I made the decision who I wanted to vote for earlierand I was happy when I circled my candidate.

Ivo Pala

In 15 European countries there iseasy to read information on voting and elections.

In 2009 Inclusion Europe wrotean easy to read brochure on electionswhich was translated into 13 European languages.The brochure explains: • why voting is important • what kinds of elections there are • how to vote • how to find the results of voting.

Self-advocates from Great Britain madean easy to read website on voting.They put short videos which show howto vote and what kinds of elections there areon the website.

Self-advocates from Scotland hadseveral workshops on voting.Workshops were for persons with intellectual disabilitieswho participated in elections for the �rst time.

In several European countries there were campaignsand advocacy activities for accessible elections.In France and Scotland guidelines were made for politiciansto make their campaigns more accessiblefor persons with intellectual disabilities.

In Great Britain 3 main political partieswrote their programs in easy to read form.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Municipalities are governed by municipal council and municipal prefect,and towns by town council and the mayor.Counties are governed by county council and county prefect.

In local elections we will choose representativesto municipal council, city council and county assembly,as well as municipal prefect, mayor and county prefect.Citizens of the City of Zagreb will choose their representatives to City Assemblybecause Zagreb has the status of a county.We choose all of them for a period of 4 years.

Municipal council, town council and county assemblydecide on budget of a district, town and county,and on other issues important for districts, towns and counties,like: • social care • health care • education • physical planning • public transportation • cleaning • culture • sports.

Municipal chief, mayor and county prefectare in charge of implementing decisions made bymunicipal council, town council and county assembly.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

How to decide who to vote forYou have the right to vote for any candidate orpolitical party that stands for election.However, you should be informed before you go to elections.

Elections were organized beforein our center for rehabilitation,but this was the �rst election where I could vote.electoral board explained what I had to do.I would like the letters in the ballotto be bigger in the next electionso it would be easier for me to read them.

Tamara Kolak

I went to voteright after I had my morning co�ee.I was proud that my vote also counts now.

Monika Mihelec

Local electionsOnly a month after elections for Croatian representatives to European Parliament,we have a new opportunity to vote.It is time for local elections.Local elections will be on 19 May 2013.

In the local elections we have the opportunity to choose politicianswho will represent our interestsin the area where we live.The area where we live can be a municipality, town or county.That is why in local electionsyou only have the right to votein the municipality, town or countywhere your address is.

A municipality is an area smaller than a town.A town is a place which has more than 10 thousand inhabitants.A county is an area which includes several districts and towns.In Croatia there are 20 countiesand the City of Zagreb which has the status of a county.

That way you can give your voteto the candidate or political partythat advocate things which are especially important to you.

There are several waysto �nd information on what candidates advocate.One of them is to follow election campaignon television, radio, election rallies,election lea�ets and newspapers.

During the election campaigncandidates present their programsand try to get as many votes as they can.However, you need to be careful.During the election campaign candidates and political partiesoften make big promises to get more votes.

That is why you should get information in other ways as well.For example, you can talk to persons close to youand ask their opinion on candidates and political parties.You can talk to family members, relatives, friendsand other people you trust.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

NEWSPublic performance Welcome into my shoesOn 30 January 2013, Coalition for Community Livingheld a public performance called Welcome into my shoes.Coalition for Community Living assembles 7 associationswhich work on protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.Association for Self Advocacy is also a member of this Coalition.

The Coalition had a public performance in Zagrebto warn about the prejudice towardspersons with disabilities.Celebrity guests participated in the eventto support the Coalition.Guests had the roles of persons with disabilities.Some of the guests were actors Nikša Marinović and Luka Vidović and singer Jelena Radan.In this way, Coalition sent the messagethat persons with disabilities in Croatiaunfortunately do not have the same opportunitieslike other people.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Conference on easy to read materialsOn 22 February 2013, Association for Self Advocacy organizeda national conference on easy to read materialsand involving persons with intellectual disabilities in lifelong learning programs.It was one of the activities in the project Pathways 2.Association for Self Advocacy is a partner in this project together with Inclusion Europe.

At the conference, self-advocates and assistants from the Associationpresented brochure in Croatian created in this project.

Titles of the brochures are: • Information for all • Do not write for us without us • Training lifelong learning sta� • Teaching can be easy.

You can �nd the brochures on our websitein the section Our materials.

Self-advocate from France Fabrice Vannobelspoke at the conference.He talked about the way easy to read materials are used in France.Other experts in the �eld of education and disability spoke at the conference.Representative of the Delegation of European Union Paolo Berizzi also spoke at the conference.Together we concluded that unfortunately in Croatiathere are no lifelong learning programsfor persons with intellectual disabilities.However, we hope that our conference contributedto starting such programs in the future.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Study visit of self-advocates from SarajevoIn March we had a visit fromguests from organization Sumero from Sarajevo.Self-advocates Zlatan, Rasim, Adis and Ismar,and their assistants Amila and Vedrana visited us.We presented the work of our associationand talked about self-advocacy and self-determination.We presented our brochures, newsletter,website and Facebook page.Guests joined a meeting of our self-advocates.We saw a video abouthow some persons with intellectual disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovinalive in institutions, and some live in the community.We agreed that we have similar problems.

Our guests especially liked that we succeeded in our �ght for the right to vote,which they will use as an example of good practice for their �ghtbecause in Bosnia and Herzegovina persons deprived of legal capacitystill do not have the right to vote.

Written by Fadil Špuren

Trainings on self-determination and self-advocacyFrom January to March 2013, Association for Self Advocacyheld 3 trainings on self-determination and self-advocacy.We held trainings for employeesof Centre for rehabilitation Stančićand Centre for rehabilitation Zagreb.We told them why it is importantfor persons with intellectual disabilitiesto make decisions about their life as much as possibleand about their rights.Trainings were part of the projectProviding support in the process of transformingtwo state institutions for persons with intellectual disabilities.The project is implemented by Association for Promoting Inclusion.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

News on project GONGThere was no easy to read informationon the right to vote for persons deprived of legal capacity.Many persons deprived of legal capacitydid not know that they got the right to voteor did not know how to realize their right to vote.That is why Association for Self Advocacyin cooperation with association GONG,made a brochure on elections in easy to read.We also made a lea�et with instructionson how to vote in elections,and we made a video as well.

Written by Senada Halilčević

Filming a TV videoIn the projectAchieving the right to vote for persons with intellectual disabilitieswhich we are implementing together with association GONG,self-advocates �lmed a TV video My vote, my strength.

We made the video to informall persons deprived of legal capacitythat they can go to elections and vote now.Filming the video was not as easy as we thought.We made the video for several cold and rainy days.We had to repeat the scenesuntil every little thing was as the screenwriter imagined it.Although this was not the �rst time �lming a videofor some self-advocates,it was a little hard for all of us.But our e�orts paid o�because the message we conveyedwas important for all citizens.

Written by Snježana Kanjir

Workshop before elections to European ParliamentOn Friday before elections we had a workshopto prepare with what would happen on Sunday.Elections to the European Parliament were more di�cult because they were the �rst European elections.There were many lists of candidates and candidates.The workshop had a busy atmosphere.We all listened carefully, participated and asked questions.We said what is the European Unionand what is European Parliament.We made a list of all parties and candidates which stood for election.We practiced how to �ll out a valid ballot.We emphasized that polls were opened from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.and that we had to take an identity cardso that electoral board can �nd our name in the list of voters.

Written by Fadil Špuren

ANNOUNCEMENT

Conference Europe in ActionConference Europe in Action will be heldfrom May 29 until June 1 in Ljubljana, Slovenia.Inclusion Europe will organize this conference.Topic of the conference is ageing of persons withintellectual disabilities and their families.Participants will talk about problems which persons with intellectual disabilities and their families face when they grow old.

Experts and self-advocates will discusspolitics and laws which can helpelderly persons with intellectual disabilities and their families.They will also talk about what kind of support persons with intellectual disabilities and their families need.General assembly of EPSA will be held during the conference.

Written by Ivana Bašić

I have a big problem.Sometimes I feel like my girlfriends does not care about me.We only see each other when she wants to,we go where she wantand we do what she wants.She never wants to do something I suggest.I love my girlfriend,but I do not like her behavior.

Did you tell your girlfriend that you do not like that?Why does she want to decide on everything?It is ok that you want to make some decisionson how you spend your time together.Think about what you want to change and talk to her about it.If nothing changes,maybe you should think aboutwhether you want to be with a person who does not care about your opinion.

14 Newsletter of the Association for Self-Advocacy

Every 4 years there are local electionsand elections for local self-government.

Local elections will be this year in May.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities says thatpersons with disabilities have the right to participate in elections.Participating in elections must be easyso that persons with disabilities could participate in elections.Persons with disabilities have the right to vote how they want.No one can force them to vote for a candidateor political party if they do not want to.Persons with disabilities who participate in electionshave the right to help and adaptation during voting.For example:if you cannot read, you can take someone with youto help you circle the person you want to vote for.

The �ght is not over yetNow it is time for relevant institutionslike State Electoral Commission and Ministry of Administrationto ensure conditionsfor persons with intellectual disabilities to votewhen they come to the polling station.

Written by Senada Halilčević and Sanja Hotko

SITUATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIAA year and a half ago in the Voice of Self Advocateswe wrote that persons deprived of legal capacitycannot vote because they do not have the right to vote.

Dear readers,

We decided to dedicate this issue of the newsletter to elections.

Since elections for the European Parliament are behind us,

and local elections are coming up,

it will be good to get information on elections.

Some self-advocates voted for the first time

so they shared their experiences with us.

Kind regards!

TOPIC OF THE ISSUE: ELECTIONS

Elections are a just and fair way to choose personswho will be in power and who will make decisionswhich concern us and our country.Those persons are called politicians.

Every Croatian citizen gets voting rightswhen he or she turns 18.

Voting rights mean that voters have the right and freedom: • to choose politicians who will govern in their name • or to stand for election themselves.

We choose politicians for a certain period of time.This period of time is called a mandate.In the presidential election we choose a presidentof the Republic of Croatia for a period of 5 years.We also choose Croatian representatives to European Parliamentfor a period of 5 years.In the parliamentary election we choose representativesto Croatian Parliament for a period of 4 years.

This year it is di�erent because self-advocatestogether with association GONG fought for the right to votefor all persons deprived of legal capacity.

Voting list is the collection of all information on all voters.A voter can realize his or her right to voteafter he or she is registered on the voting list.The law says that from now onpersons deprived of legal capacityare also votersand they will be registered on the voting list.

Every voter can check if he or she is registered on the voting listand what his voting rights are.You can check at the website of the Ministry of Administration:https://biraci.uprava.hr/

Written by Senada Halilčević

In Europe many persons still do not have the right to votebecause they were deprived of legal capacity.

However, in some countries, like in Croatia,persons deprived of legal capacity have the right to vote.Those countries are: Austria, Italy, Ireland, Great Britain,the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland.

To allow persons with intellectual disabilities to voteequally to other citizens,they need support and adapted information.

Information needs to be written in a simple wayand give di�erent examples from everyday life.

Elections of Croatian representatives to the European ParliamentThe �rst election of Croatian representatives to the European Parliament was in April.In this election Croatian citizens chose their representativesto the European Union Parliament for the �rst time.This is an important electionbecause persons deprived of legal capacitycould realize their right to vote for the �rst time.

Election was held because Croatia will join the European Union on 1 July 2013.European Union is a community which assembles European countriesto develop economy, increase employment and better protect the rights and interests of citizens.

European Parliament is an important European Union body.It is often said that the European Parliament is the voice of the people.That means that the European Parliament protectsthe interests of citizens of European Union countries.For example, citizens can write a petition to ask the Parliamentto investigate if the other European Union bodies are working properlyand if some citizens' right was violated.

European Parliament has important duties: • it adopts European laws • it monitors the work of the European Commission • it decides on the budget of the European Union.

Each country elects a number of representatives to European Parliamentwhich corresponds to the number of inhabitants of that country.So countries with less inhabitants have less representatives,and countries with more inhabitants have more representatives.There are 766 members in the European Parliament.Croatia elected 12 members to the European Parliament.

Since we are not a European Union member yet,only Croatian citizens elected their representatives to the European Parliament.Usually elections are held every 5 yearsat the same time in all countries which are members of the European Union.Those are regular elections.The next regular elections will be in 2014.

Members of the European Parliaments sit in 7 political groups.Some of those groups are Eurooptimistic,which means that they support European Union policies.Some groups are Eurosceptic,which means that they are against decisions made in the European Union.

Meetings of all members of the European Parliamentare held in Strasbourg in France.

Written by Sanja Hotko

Experiences of self-advocates from the �rst electionswhere they could realize their right to vote

For me this was the �rst election where I could vote.When I gave my identity card,I was happy that the member of electoral board found me on the list of voters.There were many candidates in the ballot,so I took my assistant with me to help me circle the list and candidate I decided to vote for.

Nenad Sekušak

I went to the election, but I did not go alone.I had support because it was my �rst time voting.I made the decision who I wanted to vote for earlierand I was happy when I circled my candidate.

Ivo Pala

In 15 European countries there iseasy to read information on voting and elections.

In 2009 Inclusion Europe wrotean easy to read brochure on electionswhich was translated into 13 European languages.The brochure explains: • why voting is important • what kinds of elections there are • how to vote • how to find the results of voting.

Self-advocates from Great Britain madean easy to read website on voting.They put short videos which show howto vote and what kinds of elections there areon the website.

Self-advocates from Scotland hadseveral workshops on voting.Workshops were for persons with intellectual disabilitieswho participated in elections for the �rst time.

In several European countries there were campaignsand advocacy activities for accessible elections.In France and Scotland guidelines were made for politiciansto make their campaigns more accessiblefor persons with intellectual disabilities.

In Great Britain 3 main political partieswrote their programs in easy to read form.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Municipalities are governed by municipal council and municipal prefect,and towns by town council and the mayor.Counties are governed by county council and county prefect.

In local elections we will choose representativesto municipal council, city council and county assembly,as well as municipal prefect, mayor and county prefect.Citizens of the City of Zagreb will choose their representatives to City Assemblybecause Zagreb has the status of a county.We choose all of them for a period of 4 years.

Municipal council, town council and county assemblydecide on budget of a district, town and county,and on other issues important for districts, towns and counties,like: • social care • health care • education • physical planning • public transportation • cleaning • culture • sports.

Municipal chief, mayor and county prefectare in charge of implementing decisions made bymunicipal council, town council and county assembly.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

How to decide who to vote forYou have the right to vote for any candidate orpolitical party that stands for election.However, you should be informed before you go to elections.

Elections were organized beforein our center for rehabilitation,but this was the �rst election where I could vote.electoral board explained what I had to do.I would like the letters in the ballotto be bigger in the next electionso it would be easier for me to read them.

Tamara Kolak

I went to voteright after I had my morning co�ee.I was proud that my vote also counts now.

Monika Mihelec

Local electionsOnly a month after elections for Croatian representatives to European Parliament,we have a new opportunity to vote.It is time for local elections.Local elections will be on 19 May 2013.

In the local elections we have the opportunity to choose politicianswho will represent our interestsin the area where we live.The area where we live can be a municipality, town or county.That is why in local electionsyou only have the right to votein the municipality, town or countywhere your address is.

A municipality is an area smaller than a town.A town is a place which has more than 10 thousand inhabitants.A county is an area which includes several districts and towns.In Croatia there are 20 countiesand the City of Zagreb which has the status of a county.

That way you can give your voteto the candidate or political partythat advocate things which are especially important to you.

There are several waysto �nd information on what candidates advocate.One of them is to follow election campaignon television, radio, election rallies,election lea�ets and newspapers.

During the election campaigncandidates present their programsand try to get as many votes as they can.However, you need to be careful.During the election campaign candidates and political partiesoften make big promises to get more votes.

That is why you should get information in other ways as well.For example, you can talk to persons close to youand ask their opinion on candidates and political parties.You can talk to family members, relatives, friendsand other people you trust.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

NEWSPublic performance Welcome into my shoesOn 30 January 2013, Coalition for Community Livingheld a public performance called Welcome into my shoes.Coalition for Community Living assembles 7 associationswhich work on protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.Association for Self Advocacy is also a member of this Coalition.

The Coalition had a public performance in Zagrebto warn about the prejudice towardspersons with disabilities.Celebrity guests participated in the eventto support the Coalition.Guests had the roles of persons with disabilities.Some of the guests were actors Nikša Marinović and Luka Vidović and singer Jelena Radan.In this way, Coalition sent the messagethat persons with disabilities in Croatiaunfortunately do not have the same opportunitieslike other people.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Conference on easy to read materialsOn 22 February 2013, Association for Self Advocacy organizeda national conference on easy to read materialsand involving persons with intellectual disabilities in lifelong learning programs.It was one of the activities in the project Pathways 2.Association for Self Advocacy is a partner in this project together with Inclusion Europe.

At the conference, self-advocates and assistants from the Associationpresented brochure in Croatian created in this project.

Titles of the brochures are: • Information for all • Do not write for us without us • Training lifelong learning sta� • Teaching can be easy.

You can �nd the brochures on our websitein the section Our materials.

Self-advocate from France Fabrice Vannobelspoke at the conference.He talked about the way easy to read materials are used in France.Other experts in the �eld of education and disability spoke at the conference.Representative of the Delegation of European Union Paolo Berizzi also spoke at the conference.Together we concluded that unfortunately in Croatiathere are no lifelong learning programsfor persons with intellectual disabilities.However, we hope that our conference contributedto starting such programs in the future.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Study visit of self-advocates from SarajevoIn March we had a visit fromguests from organization Sumero from Sarajevo.Self-advocates Zlatan, Rasim, Adis and Ismar,and their assistants Amila and Vedrana visited us.We presented the work of our associationand talked about self-advocacy and self-determination.We presented our brochures, newsletter,website and Facebook page.Guests joined a meeting of our self-advocates.We saw a video abouthow some persons with intellectual disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovinalive in institutions, and some live in the community.We agreed that we have similar problems.

Our guests especially liked that we succeeded in our �ght for the right to vote,which they will use as an example of good practice for their �ghtbecause in Bosnia and Herzegovina persons deprived of legal capacitystill do not have the right to vote.

Written by Fadil Špuren

Trainings on self-determination and self-advocacyFrom January to March 2013, Association for Self Advocacyheld 3 trainings on self-determination and self-advocacy.We held trainings for employeesof Centre for rehabilitation Stančićand Centre for rehabilitation Zagreb.We told them why it is importantfor persons with intellectual disabilitiesto make decisions about their life as much as possibleand about their rights.Trainings were part of the projectProviding support in the process of transformingtwo state institutions for persons with intellectual disabilities.The project is implemented by Association for Promoting Inclusion.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

News on project GONGThere was no easy to read informationon the right to vote for persons deprived of legal capacity.Many persons deprived of legal capacitydid not know that they got the right to voteor did not know how to realize their right to vote.That is why Association for Self Advocacyin cooperation with association GONG,made a brochure on elections in easy to read.We also made a lea�et with instructionson how to vote in elections,and we made a video as well.

Written by Senada Halilčević

Filming a TV videoIn the projectAchieving the right to vote for persons with intellectual disabilitieswhich we are implementing together with association GONG,self-advocates �lmed a TV video My vote, my strength.

We made the video to informall persons deprived of legal capacitythat they can go to elections and vote now.Filming the video was not as easy as we thought.We made the video for several cold and rainy days.We had to repeat the scenesuntil every little thing was as the screenwriter imagined it.Although this was not the �rst time �lming a videofor some self-advocates,it was a little hard for all of us.But our e�orts paid o�because the message we conveyedwas important for all citizens.

Written by Snježana Kanjir

Workshop before elections to European ParliamentOn Friday before elections we had a workshopto prepare with what would happen on Sunday.Elections to the European Parliament were more di�cult because they were the �rst European elections.There were many lists of candidates and candidates.The workshop had a busy atmosphere.We all listened carefully, participated and asked questions.We said what is the European Unionand what is European Parliament.We made a list of all parties and candidates which stood for election.We practiced how to �ll out a valid ballot.We emphasized that polls were opened from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.and that we had to take an identity cardso that electoral board can �nd our name in the list of voters.

Written by Fadil Špuren

ANNOUNCEMENT

Conference Europe in ActionConference Europe in Action will be heldfrom May 29 until June 1 in Ljubljana, Slovenia.Inclusion Europe will organize this conference.Topic of the conference is ageing of persons withintellectual disabilities and their families.Participants will talk about problems which persons with intellectual disabilities and their families face when they grow old.

Experts and self-advocates will discusspolitics and laws which can helpelderly persons with intellectual disabilities and their families.They will also talk about what kind of support persons with intellectual disabilities and their families need.General assembly of EPSA will be held during the conference.

Written by Ivana Bašić

I have a big problem.Sometimes I feel like my girlfriends does not care about me.We only see each other when she wants to,we go where she wantand we do what she wants.She never wants to do something I suggest.I love my girlfriend,but I do not like her behavior.

Did you tell your girlfriend that you do not like that?Why does she want to decide on everything?It is ok that you want to make some decisionson how you spend your time together.Think about what you want to change and talk to her about it.If nothing changes,maybe you should think aboutwhether you want to be with a person who does not care about your opinion.

Every 4 years there are local electionsand elections for local self-government.

Local elections will be this year in May.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities says thatpersons with disabilities have the right to participate in elections.Participating in elections must be easyso that persons with disabilities could participate in elections.Persons with disabilities have the right to vote how they want.No one can force them to vote for a candidateor political party if they do not want to.Persons with disabilities who participate in electionshave the right to help and adaptation during voting.For example:if you cannot read, you can take someone with youto help you circle the person you want to vote for.

The �ght is not over yetNow it is time for relevant institutionslike State Electoral Commission and Ministry of Administrationto ensure conditionsfor persons with intellectual disabilities to votewhen they come to the polling station.

Written by Senada Halilčević and Sanja Hotko

SITUATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIAA year and a half ago in the Voice of Self Advocateswe wrote that persons deprived of legal capacitycannot vote because they do not have the right to vote.

15Voice of Self-Advocates

Dear readers,

We decided to dedicate this issue of the newsletter to elections.

Since elections for the European Parliament are behind us,

and local elections are coming up,

it will be good to get information on elections.

Some self-advocates voted for the first time

so they shared their experiences with us.

Kind regards!

TOPIC OF THE ISSUE: ELECTIONS

Elections are a just and fair way to choose personswho will be in power and who will make decisionswhich concern us and our country.Those persons are called politicians.

Every Croatian citizen gets voting rightswhen he or she turns 18.

Voting rights mean that voters have the right and freedom: • to choose politicians who will govern in their name • or to stand for election themselves.

We choose politicians for a certain period of time.This period of time is called a mandate.In the presidential election we choose a presidentof the Republic of Croatia for a period of 5 years.We also choose Croatian representatives to European Parliamentfor a period of 5 years.In the parliamentary election we choose representativesto Croatian Parliament for a period of 4 years.

This year it is di�erent because self-advocatestogether with association GONG fought for the right to votefor all persons deprived of legal capacity.

Voting list is the collection of all information on all voters.A voter can realize his or her right to voteafter he or she is registered on the voting list.The law says that from now onpersons deprived of legal capacityare also votersand they will be registered on the voting list.

Every voter can check if he or she is registered on the voting listand what his voting rights are.You can check at the website of the Ministry of Administration:https://biraci.uprava.hr/

Written by Senada Halilčević

In Europe many persons still do not have the right to votebecause they were deprived of legal capacity.

However, in some countries, like in Croatia,persons deprived of legal capacity have the right to vote.Those countries are: Austria, Italy, Ireland, Great Britain,the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland.

To allow persons with intellectual disabilities to voteequally to other citizens,they need support and adapted information.

Information needs to be written in a simple wayand give di�erent examples from everyday life.

Elections of Croatian representatives to the European ParliamentThe �rst election of Croatian representatives to the European Parliament was in April.In this election Croatian citizens chose their representativesto the European Union Parliament for the �rst time.This is an important electionbecause persons deprived of legal capacitycould realize their right to vote for the �rst time.

Election was held because Croatia will join the European Union on 1 July 2013.European Union is a community which assembles European countriesto develop economy, increase employment and better protect the rights and interests of citizens.

European Parliament is an important European Union body.It is often said that the European Parliament is the voice of the people.That means that the European Parliament protectsthe interests of citizens of European Union countries.For example, citizens can write a petition to ask the Parliamentto investigate if the other European Union bodies are working properlyand if some citizens' right was violated.

European Parliament has important duties: • it adopts European laws • it monitors the work of the European Commission • it decides on the budget of the European Union.

Each country elects a number of representatives to European Parliamentwhich corresponds to the number of inhabitants of that country.So countries with less inhabitants have less representatives,and countries with more inhabitants have more representatives.There are 766 members in the European Parliament.Croatia elected 12 members to the European Parliament.

Since we are not a European Union member yet,only Croatian citizens elected their representatives to the European Parliament.Usually elections are held every 5 yearsat the same time in all countries which are members of the European Union.Those are regular elections.The next regular elections will be in 2014.

Members of the European Parliaments sit in 7 political groups.Some of those groups are Eurooptimistic,which means that they support European Union policies.Some groups are Eurosceptic,which means that they are against decisions made in the European Union.

Meetings of all members of the European Parliamentare held in Strasbourg in France.

Written by Sanja Hotko

Experiences of self-advocates from the �rst electionswhere they could realize their right to vote

For me this was the �rst election where I could vote.When I gave my identity card,I was happy that the member of electoral board found me on the list of voters.There were many candidates in the ballot,so I took my assistant with me to help me circle the list and candidate I decided to vote for.

Nenad Sekušak

I went to the election, but I did not go alone.I had support because it was my �rst time voting.I made the decision who I wanted to vote for earlierand I was happy when I circled my candidate.

Ivo Pala

In 15 European countries there iseasy to read information on voting and elections.

In 2009 Inclusion Europe wrotean easy to read brochure on electionswhich was translated into 13 European languages.The brochure explains: • why voting is important • what kinds of elections there are • how to vote • how to find the results of voting.

Self-advocates from Great Britain madean easy to read website on voting.They put short videos which show howto vote and what kinds of elections there areon the website.

Self-advocates from Scotland hadseveral workshops on voting.Workshops were for persons with intellectual disabilitieswho participated in elections for the �rst time.

In several European countries there were campaignsand advocacy activities for accessible elections.In France and Scotland guidelines were made for politiciansto make their campaigns more accessiblefor persons with intellectual disabilities.

In Great Britain 3 main political partieswrote their programs in easy to read form.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Municipalities are governed by municipal council and municipal prefect,and towns by town council and the mayor.Counties are governed by county council and county prefect.

In local elections we will choose representativesto municipal council, city council and county assembly,as well as municipal prefect, mayor and county prefect.Citizens of the City of Zagreb will choose their representatives to City Assemblybecause Zagreb has the status of a county.We choose all of them for a period of 4 years.

Municipal council, town council and county assemblydecide on budget of a district, town and county,and on other issues important for districts, towns and counties,like: • social care • health care • education • physical planning • public transportation • cleaning • culture • sports.

Municipal chief, mayor and county prefectare in charge of implementing decisions made bymunicipal council, town council and county assembly.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

How to decide who to vote forYou have the right to vote for any candidate orpolitical party that stands for election.However, you should be informed before you go to elections.

KUTAK ZA SAVJETE

Elections were organized beforein our center for rehabilitation,but this was the �rst election where I could vote.electoral board explained what I had to do.I would like the letters in the ballotto be bigger in the next electionso it would be easier for me to read them.

Tamara Kolak

I went to voteright after I had my morning co�ee.I was proud that my vote also counts now.

Monika Mihelec

Local electionsOnly a month after elections for Croatian representatives to European Parliament,we have a new opportunity to vote.It is time for local elections.Local elections will be on 19 May 2013.

In the local elections we have the opportunity to choose politicianswho will represent our interestsin the area where we live.The area where we live can be a municipality, town or county.That is why in local electionsyou only have the right to votein the municipality, town or countywhere your address is.

A municipality is an area smaller than a town.A town is a place which has more than 10 thousand inhabitants.A county is an area which includes several districts and towns.In Croatia there are 20 countiesand the City of Zagreb which has the status of a county.

That way you can give your voteto the candidate or political partythat advocate things which are especially important to you.

There are several waysto �nd information on what candidates advocate.One of them is to follow election campaignon television, radio, election rallies,election lea�ets and newspapers.

During the election campaigncandidates present their programsand try to get as many votes as they can.However, you need to be careful.During the election campaign candidates and political partiesoften make big promises to get more votes.

That is why you should get information in other ways as well.For example, you can talk to persons close to youand ask their opinion on candidates and political parties.You can talk to family members, relatives, friendsand other people you trust.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

NEWSPublic performance Welcome into my shoesOn 30 January 2013, Coalition for Community Livingheld a public performance called Welcome into my shoes.Coalition for Community Living assembles 7 associationswhich work on protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.Association for Self Advocacy is also a member of this Coalition.

The Coalition had a public performance in Zagrebto warn about the prejudice towardspersons with disabilities.Celebrity guests participated in the eventto support the Coalition.Guests had the roles of persons with disabilities.Some of the guests were actors Nikša Marinović and Luka Vidović and singer Jelena Radan.In this way, Coalition sent the messagethat persons with disabilities in Croatiaunfortunately do not have the same opportunitieslike other people.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Conference on easy to read materialsOn 22 February 2013, Association for Self Advocacy organizeda national conference on easy to read materialsand involving persons with intellectual disabilities in lifelong learning programs.It was one of the activities in the project Pathways 2.Association for Self Advocacy is a partner in this project together with Inclusion Europe.

At the conference, self-advocates and assistants from the Associationpresented brochure in Croatian created in this project.

Titles of the brochures are: • Information for all • Do not write for us without us • Training lifelong learning sta� • Teaching can be easy.

You can �nd the brochures on our websitein the section Our materials.

Self-advocate from France Fabrice Vannobelspoke at the conference.He talked about the way easy to read materials are used in France.Other experts in the �eld of education and disability spoke at the conference.Representative of the Delegation of European Union Paolo Berizzi also spoke at the conference.Together we concluded that unfortunately in Croatiathere are no lifelong learning programsfor persons with intellectual disabilities.However, we hope that our conference contributedto starting such programs in the future.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Study visit of self-advocates from SarajevoIn March we had a visit fromguests from organization Sumero from Sarajevo.Self-advocates Zlatan, Rasim, Adis and Ismar,and their assistants Amila and Vedrana visited us.We presented the work of our associationand talked about self-advocacy and self-determination.We presented our brochures, newsletter,website and Facebook page.Guests joined a meeting of our self-advocates.We saw a video abouthow some persons with intellectual disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovinalive in institutions, and some live in the community.We agreed that we have similar problems.

Our guests especially liked that we succeeded in our �ght for the right to vote,which they will use as an example of good practice for their �ghtbecause in Bosnia and Herzegovina persons deprived of legal capacitystill do not have the right to vote.

Written by Fadil Špuren

Trainings on self-determination and self-advocacyFrom January to March 2013, Association for Self Advocacyheld 3 trainings on self-determination and self-advocacy.We held trainings for employeesof Centre for rehabilitation Stančićand Centre for rehabilitation Zagreb.We told them why it is importantfor persons with intellectual disabilitiesto make decisions about their life as much as possibleand about their rights.Trainings were part of the projectProviding support in the process of transformingtwo state institutions for persons with intellectual disabilities.The project is implemented by Association for Promoting Inclusion.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

News on project GONGThere was no easy to read informationon the right to vote for persons deprived of legal capacity.Many persons deprived of legal capacitydid not know that they got the right to voteor did not know how to realize their right to vote.That is why Association for Self Advocacyin cooperation with association GONG,made a brochure on elections in easy to read.We also made a lea�et with instructionson how to vote in elections,and we made a video as well.

Written by Senada Halilčević

Filming a TV videoIn the projectAchieving the right to vote for persons with intellectual disabilitieswhich we are implementing together with association GONG,self-advocates �lmed a TV video My vote, my strength.

We made the video to informall persons deprived of legal capacitythat they can go to elections and vote now.Filming the video was not as easy as we thought.We made the video for several cold and rainy days.We had to repeat the scenesuntil every little thing was as the screenwriter imagined it.Although this was not the �rst time �lming a videofor some self-advocates,it was a little hard for all of us.But our e�orts paid o�because the message we conveyedwas important for all citizens.

Written by Snježana Kanjir

Workshop before elections to European ParliamentOn Friday before elections we had a workshopto prepare with what would happen on Sunday.Elections to the European Parliament were more di�cult because they were the �rst European elections.There were many lists of candidates and candidates.The workshop had a busy atmosphere.We all listened carefully, participated and asked questions.We said what is the European Unionand what is European Parliament.We made a list of all parties and candidates which stood for election.We practiced how to �ll out a valid ballot.We emphasized that polls were opened from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.and that we had to take an identity cardso that electoral board can �nd our name in the list of voters.

Written by Fadil Špuren

ANNOUNCEMENT

Conference Europe in ActionConference Europe in Action will be heldfrom May 29 until June 1 in Ljubljana, Slovenia.Inclusion Europe will organize this conference.Topic of the conference is ageing of persons withintellectual disabilities and their families.Participants will talk about problems which persons with intellectual disabilities and their families face when they grow old.

Experts and self-advocates will discusspolitics and laws which can helpelderly persons with intellectual disabilities and their families.They will also talk about what kind of support persons with intellectual disabilities and their families need.General assembly of EPSA will be held during the conference.

Written by Ivana Bašić

I have a big problem.Sometimes I feel like my girlfriends does not care about me.We only see each other when she wants to,we go where she wantand we do what she wants.She never wants to do something I suggest.I love my girlfriend,but I do not like her behavior.

Did you tell your girlfriend that you do not like that?Why does she want to decide on everything?It is ok that you want to make some decisionson how you spend your time together.Think about what you want to change and talk to her about it.If nothing changes,maybe you should think aboutwhether you want to be with a person who does not care about your opinion.

FUN PAGES

SPORTSQuali�cations for World Championship 2014Quali�cations for the football world championshipstarted in September.Croatia played 6 matches.That means that there are 4 matches left.

Those areCroatia – Scotland 7 June 2013Serbia – Croatia 6 September 2013Croatia – Belgium 11 October 2013Scotland – Croatia 15 October 2013

I hope we will be �rst in our group.Right now Belgium is in the 1 place,and we are in 2 place with 16 points.

Written by Nera Bajzec

SEARCH

Created by Ivana Bašić

16 Newsletter of the Association for Self-Advocacy

Every 4 years there are local electionsand elections for local self-government.

Local elections will be this year in May.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities says thatpersons with disabilities have the right to participate in elections.Participating in elections must be easyso that persons with disabilities could participate in elections.Persons with disabilities have the right to vote how they want.No one can force them to vote for a candidateor political party if they do not want to.Persons with disabilities who participate in electionshave the right to help and adaptation during voting.For example:if you cannot read, you can take someone with youto help you circle the person you want to vote for.

The �ght is not over yetNow it is time for relevant institutionslike State Electoral Commission and Ministry of Administrationto ensure conditionsfor persons with intellectual disabilities to votewhen they come to the polling station.

Written by Senada Halilčević and Sanja Hotko

SITUATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIAA year and a half ago in the Voice of Self Advocateswe wrote that persons deprived of legal capacitycannot vote because they do not have the right to vote.

Dear readers,

We decided to dedicate this issue of the newsletter to elections.

Since elections for the European Parliament are behind us,

and local elections are coming up,

it will be good to get information on elections.

Some self-advocates voted for the first time

so they shared their experiences with us.

Kind regards!

TOPIC OF THE ISSUE: ELECTIONS

Elections are a just and fair way to choose personswho will be in power and who will make decisionswhich concern us and our country.Those persons are called politicians.

Every Croatian citizen gets voting rightswhen he or she turns 18.

Voting rights mean that voters have the right and freedom: • to choose politicians who will govern in their name • or to stand for election themselves.

We choose politicians for a certain period of time.This period of time is called a mandate.In the presidential election we choose a presidentof the Republic of Croatia for a period of 5 years.We also choose Croatian representatives to European Parliamentfor a period of 5 years.In the parliamentary election we choose representativesto Croatian Parliament for a period of 4 years.

This year it is di�erent because self-advocatestogether with association GONG fought for the right to votefor all persons deprived of legal capacity.

Voting list is the collection of all information on all voters.A voter can realize his or her right to voteafter he or she is registered on the voting list.The law says that from now onpersons deprived of legal capacityare also votersand they will be registered on the voting list.

Every voter can check if he or she is registered on the voting listand what his voting rights are.You can check at the website of the Ministry of Administration:https://biraci.uprava.hr/

Written by Senada Halilčević

In Europe many persons still do not have the right to votebecause they were deprived of legal capacity.

However, in some countries, like in Croatia,persons deprived of legal capacity have the right to vote.Those countries are: Austria, Italy, Ireland, Great Britain,the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland.

To allow persons with intellectual disabilities to voteequally to other citizens,they need support and adapted information.

Information needs to be written in a simple wayand give di�erent examples from everyday life.

Elections of Croatian representatives to the European ParliamentThe �rst election of Croatian representatives to the European Parliament was in April.In this election Croatian citizens chose their representativesto the European Union Parliament for the �rst time.This is an important electionbecause persons deprived of legal capacitycould realize their right to vote for the �rst time.

Election was held because Croatia will join the European Union on 1 July 2013.European Union is a community which assembles European countriesto develop economy, increase employment and better protect the rights and interests of citizens.

European Parliament is an important European Union body.It is often said that the European Parliament is the voice of the people.That means that the European Parliament protectsthe interests of citizens of European Union countries.For example, citizens can write a petition to ask the Parliamentto investigate if the other European Union bodies are working properlyand if some citizens' right was violated.

European Parliament has important duties: • it adopts European laws • it monitors the work of the European Commission • it decides on the budget of the European Union.

Each country elects a number of representatives to European Parliamentwhich corresponds to the number of inhabitants of that country.So countries with less inhabitants have less representatives,and countries with more inhabitants have more representatives.There are 766 members in the European Parliament.Croatia elected 12 members to the European Parliament.

Since we are not a European Union member yet,only Croatian citizens elected their representatives to the European Parliament.Usually elections are held every 5 yearsat the same time in all countries which are members of the European Union.Those are regular elections.The next regular elections will be in 2014.

Members of the European Parliaments sit in 7 political groups.Some of those groups are Eurooptimistic,which means that they support European Union policies.Some groups are Eurosceptic,which means that they are against decisions made in the European Union.

Meetings of all members of the European Parliamentare held in Strasbourg in France.

Written by Sanja Hotko

Experiences of self-advocates from the �rst electionswhere they could realize their right to vote

For me this was the �rst election where I could vote.When I gave my identity card,I was happy that the member of electoral board found me on the list of voters.There were many candidates in the ballot,so I took my assistant with me to help me circle the list and candidate I decided to vote for.

Nenad Sekušak

I went to the election, but I did not go alone.I had support because it was my �rst time voting.I made the decision who I wanted to vote for earlierand I was happy when I circled my candidate.

Ivo Pala

In 15 European countries there iseasy to read information on voting and elections.

In 2009 Inclusion Europe wrotean easy to read brochure on electionswhich was translated into 13 European languages.The brochure explains: • why voting is important • what kinds of elections there are • how to vote • how to find the results of voting.

Self-advocates from Great Britain madean easy to read website on voting.They put short videos which show howto vote and what kinds of elections there areon the website.

Self-advocates from Scotland hadseveral workshops on voting.Workshops were for persons with intellectual disabilitieswho participated in elections for the �rst time.

In several European countries there were campaignsand advocacy activities for accessible elections.In France and Scotland guidelines were made for politiciansto make their campaigns more accessiblefor persons with intellectual disabilities.

In Great Britain 3 main political partieswrote their programs in easy to read form.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Municipalities are governed by municipal council and municipal prefect,and towns by town council and the mayor.Counties are governed by county council and county prefect.

In local elections we will choose representativesto municipal council, city council and county assembly,as well as municipal prefect, mayor and county prefect.Citizens of the City of Zagreb will choose their representatives to City Assemblybecause Zagreb has the status of a county.We choose all of them for a period of 4 years.

Municipal council, town council and county assemblydecide on budget of a district, town and county,and on other issues important for districts, towns and counties,like: • social care • health care • education • physical planning • public transportation • cleaning • culture • sports.

Municipal chief, mayor and county prefectare in charge of implementing decisions made bymunicipal council, town council and county assembly.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

How to decide who to vote forYou have the right to vote for any candidate orpolitical party that stands for election.However, you should be informed before you go to elections.

Elections were organized beforein our center for rehabilitation,but this was the �rst election where I could vote.electoral board explained what I had to do.I would like the letters in the ballotto be bigger in the next electionso it would be easier for me to read them.

Tamara Kolak

I went to voteright after I had my morning co�ee.I was proud that my vote also counts now.

Monika Mihelec

Local electionsOnly a month after elections for Croatian representatives to European Parliament,we have a new opportunity to vote.It is time for local elections.Local elections will be on 19 May 2013.

In the local elections we have the opportunity to choose politicianswho will represent our interestsin the area where we live.The area where we live can be a municipality, town or county.That is why in local electionsyou only have the right to votein the municipality, town or countywhere your address is.

A municipality is an area smaller than a town.A town is a place which has more than 10 thousand inhabitants.A county is an area which includes several districts and towns.In Croatia there are 20 countiesand the City of Zagreb which has the status of a county.

That way you can give your voteto the candidate or political partythat advocate things which are especially important to you.

There are several waysto �nd information on what candidates advocate.One of them is to follow election campaignon television, radio, election rallies,election lea�ets and newspapers.

During the election campaigncandidates present their programsand try to get as many votes as they can.However, you need to be careful.During the election campaign candidates and political partiesoften make big promises to get more votes.

That is why you should get information in other ways as well.For example, you can talk to persons close to youand ask their opinion on candidates and political parties.You can talk to family members, relatives, friendsand other people you trust.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

NEWSPublic performance Welcome into my shoesOn 30 January 2013, Coalition for Community Livingheld a public performance called Welcome into my shoes.Coalition for Community Living assembles 7 associationswhich work on protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.Association for Self Advocacy is also a member of this Coalition.

The Coalition had a public performance in Zagrebto warn about the prejudice towardspersons with disabilities.Celebrity guests participated in the eventto support the Coalition.Guests had the roles of persons with disabilities.Some of the guests were actors Nikša Marinović and Luka Vidović and singer Jelena Radan.In this way, Coalition sent the messagethat persons with disabilities in Croatiaunfortunately do not have the same opportunitieslike other people.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Conference on easy to read materialsOn 22 February 2013, Association for Self Advocacy organizeda national conference on easy to read materialsand involving persons with intellectual disabilities in lifelong learning programs.It was one of the activities in the project Pathways 2.Association for Self Advocacy is a partner in this project together with Inclusion Europe.

At the conference, self-advocates and assistants from the Associationpresented brochure in Croatian created in this project.

Titles of the brochures are: • Information for all • Do not write for us without us • Training lifelong learning sta� • Teaching can be easy.

You can �nd the brochures on our websitein the section Our materials.

Self-advocate from France Fabrice Vannobelspoke at the conference.He talked about the way easy to read materials are used in France.Other experts in the �eld of education and disability spoke at the conference.Representative of the Delegation of European Union Paolo Berizzi also spoke at the conference.Together we concluded that unfortunately in Croatiathere are no lifelong learning programsfor persons with intellectual disabilities.However, we hope that our conference contributedto starting such programs in the future.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Study visit of self-advocates from SarajevoIn March we had a visit fromguests from organization Sumero from Sarajevo.Self-advocates Zlatan, Rasim, Adis and Ismar,and their assistants Amila and Vedrana visited us.We presented the work of our associationand talked about self-advocacy and self-determination.We presented our brochures, newsletter,website and Facebook page.Guests joined a meeting of our self-advocates.We saw a video abouthow some persons with intellectual disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovinalive in institutions, and some live in the community.We agreed that we have similar problems.

Our guests especially liked that we succeeded in our �ght for the right to vote,which they will use as an example of good practice for their �ghtbecause in Bosnia and Herzegovina persons deprived of legal capacitystill do not have the right to vote.

Written by Fadil Špuren

Trainings on self-determination and self-advocacyFrom January to March 2013, Association for Self Advocacyheld 3 trainings on self-determination and self-advocacy.We held trainings for employeesof Centre for rehabilitation Stančićand Centre for rehabilitation Zagreb.We told them why it is importantfor persons with intellectual disabilitiesto make decisions about their life as much as possibleand about their rights.Trainings were part of the projectProviding support in the process of transformingtwo state institutions for persons with intellectual disabilities.The project is implemented by Association for Promoting Inclusion.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

News on project GONGThere was no easy to read informationon the right to vote for persons deprived of legal capacity.Many persons deprived of legal capacitydid not know that they got the right to voteor did not know how to realize their right to vote.That is why Association for Self Advocacyin cooperation with association GONG,made a brochure on elections in easy to read.We also made a lea�et with instructionson how to vote in elections,and we made a video as well.

Written by Senada Halilčević

Filming a TV videoIn the projectAchieving the right to vote for persons with intellectual disabilitieswhich we are implementing together with association GONG,self-advocates �lmed a TV video My vote, my strength.

We made the video to informall persons deprived of legal capacitythat they can go to elections and vote now.Filming the video was not as easy as we thought.We made the video for several cold and rainy days.We had to repeat the scenesuntil every little thing was as the screenwriter imagined it.Although this was not the �rst time �lming a videofor some self-advocates,it was a little hard for all of us.But our e�orts paid o�because the message we conveyedwas important for all citizens.

Written by Snježana Kanjir

Workshop before elections to European ParliamentOn Friday before elections we had a workshopto prepare with what would happen on Sunday.Elections to the European Parliament were more di�cult because they were the �rst European elections.There were many lists of candidates and candidates.The workshop had a busy atmosphere.We all listened carefully, participated and asked questions.We said what is the European Unionand what is European Parliament.We made a list of all parties and candidates which stood for election.We practiced how to �ll out a valid ballot.We emphasized that polls were opened from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.and that we had to take an identity cardso that electoral board can �nd our name in the list of voters.

Written by Fadil Špuren

ANNOUNCEMENT

Conference Europe in ActionConference Europe in Action will be heldfrom May 29 until June 1 in Ljubljana, Slovenia.Inclusion Europe will organize this conference.Topic of the conference is ageing of persons withintellectual disabilities and their families.Participants will talk about problems which persons with intellectual disabilities and their families face when they grow old.

Experts and self-advocates will discusspolitics and laws which can helpelderly persons with intellectual disabilities and their families.They will also talk about what kind of support persons with intellectual disabilities and their families need.General assembly of EPSA will be held during the conference.

Written by Ivana Bašić

I have a big problem.Sometimes I feel like my girlfriends does not care about me.We only see each other when she wants to,we go where she wantand we do what she wants.She never wants to do something I suggest.I love my girlfriend,but I do not like her behavior.

Did you tell your girlfriend that you do not like that?Why does she want to decide on everything?It is ok that you want to make some decisionson how you spend your time together.Think about what you want to change and talk to her about it.If nothing changes,maybe you should think aboutwhether you want to be with a person who does not care about your opinion.KUTAK ZA SAVJETE

FUN PAGES

SPORTSQuali�cations for World Championship 2014Quali�cations for the football world championshipstarted in September.Croatia played 6 matches.That means that there are 4 matches left.

b) Christmasa) 1 day of summer

What is on 22 April?

c) Earth Day

b) to European Parliament

a) presidential

Which election was in April?

QUIZ

c) to Croatian Parliament

GRADOPĆINAŽUPANIJA DRŽAVA

EUROPSKI PARLAMENT ZASTUPNIKGONG

Those areCroatia – Scotland 7 June 2013Serbia – Croatia 6 September 2013Croatia – Belgium 11 October 2013Scotland – Croatia 15 October 2013

I hope we will be �rst in our group.Right now Belgium is in the 1 place,and we are in 2 place with 16 points.

Written by Nera Bajzec

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Created by Ivana Bašić

Every 4 years there are local electionsand elections for local self-government.

Local elections will be this year in May.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities says thatpersons with disabilities have the right to participate in elections.Participating in elections must be easyso that persons with disabilities could participate in elections.Persons with disabilities have the right to vote how they want.No one can force them to vote for a candidateor political party if they do not want to.Persons with disabilities who participate in electionshave the right to help and adaptation during voting.For example:if you cannot read, you can take someone with youto help you circle the person you want to vote for.

The �ght is not over yetNow it is time for relevant institutionslike State Electoral Commission and Ministry of Administrationto ensure conditionsfor persons with intellectual disabilities to votewhen they come to the polling station.

Written by Senada Halilčević and Sanja Hotko

SITUATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIAA year and a half ago in the Voice of Self Advocateswe wrote that persons deprived of legal capacitycannot vote because they do not have the right to vote.

Dear readers,

We decided to dedicate this issue of the newsletter to elections.

Since elections for the European Parliament are behind us,

and local elections are coming up,

it will be good to get information on elections.

Some self-advocates voted for the first time

so they shared their experiences with us.

Kind regards!

TOPIC OF THE ISSUE: ELECTIONS

Elections are a just and fair way to choose personswho will be in power and who will make decisionswhich concern us and our country.Those persons are called politicians.

Every Croatian citizen gets voting rightswhen he or she turns 18.

Voting rights mean that voters have the right and freedom: • to choose politicians who will govern in their name • or to stand for election themselves.

We choose politicians for a certain period of time.This period of time is called a mandate.In the presidential election we choose a presidentof the Republic of Croatia for a period of 5 years.We also choose Croatian representatives to European Parliamentfor a period of 5 years.In the parliamentary election we choose representativesto Croatian Parliament for a period of 4 years.

This year it is di�erent because self-advocatestogether with association GONG fought for the right to votefor all persons deprived of legal capacity.

Voting list is the collection of all information on all voters.A voter can realize his or her right to voteafter he or she is registered on the voting list.The law says that from now onpersons deprived of legal capacityare also votersand they will be registered on the voting list.

Every voter can check if he or she is registered on the voting listand what his voting rights are.You can check at the website of the Ministry of Administration:https://biraci.uprava.hr/

Written by Senada Halilčević

In Europe many persons still do not have the right to votebecause they were deprived of legal capacity.

However, in some countries, like in Croatia,persons deprived of legal capacity have the right to vote.Those countries are: Austria, Italy, Ireland, Great Britain,the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland.

To allow persons with intellectual disabilities to voteequally to other citizens,they need support and adapted information.

Information needs to be written in a simple wayand give di�erent examples from everyday life.

Elections of Croatian representatives to the European ParliamentThe �rst election of Croatian representatives to the European Parliament was in April.In this election Croatian citizens chose their representativesto the European Union Parliament for the �rst time.This is an important electionbecause persons deprived of legal capacitycould realize their right to vote for the �rst time.

Election was held because Croatia will join the European Union on 1 July 2013.European Union is a community which assembles European countriesto develop economy, increase employment and better protect the rights and interests of citizens.

European Parliament is an important European Union body.It is often said that the European Parliament is the voice of the people.That means that the European Parliament protectsthe interests of citizens of European Union countries.For example, citizens can write a petition to ask the Parliamentto investigate if the other European Union bodies are working properlyand if some citizens' right was violated.

European Parliament has important duties: • it adopts European laws • it monitors the work of the European Commission • it decides on the budget of the European Union.

Each country elects a number of representatives to European Parliamentwhich corresponds to the number of inhabitants of that country.So countries with less inhabitants have less representatives,and countries with more inhabitants have more representatives.There are 766 members in the European Parliament.Croatia elected 12 members to the European Parliament.

Since we are not a European Union member yet,only Croatian citizens elected their representatives to the European Parliament.Usually elections are held every 5 yearsat the same time in all countries which are members of the European Union.Those are regular elections.The next regular elections will be in 2014.

Members of the European Parliaments sit in 7 political groups.Some of those groups are Eurooptimistic,which means that they support European Union policies.Some groups are Eurosceptic,which means that they are against decisions made in the European Union.

Meetings of all members of the European Parliamentare held in Strasbourg in France.

Written by Sanja Hotko

Experiences of self-advocates from the �rst electionswhere they could realize their right to vote

For me this was the �rst election where I could vote.When I gave my identity card,I was happy that the member of electoral board found me on the list of voters.There were many candidates in the ballot,so I took my assistant with me to help me circle the list and candidate I decided to vote for.

Nenad Sekušak

I went to the election, but I did not go alone.I had support because it was my �rst time voting.I made the decision who I wanted to vote for earlierand I was happy when I circled my candidate.

Ivo Pala

In 15 European countries there iseasy to read information on voting and elections.

In 2009 Inclusion Europe wrotean easy to read brochure on electionswhich was translated into 13 European languages.The brochure explains: • why voting is important • what kinds of elections there are • how to vote • how to find the results of voting.

Self-advocates from Great Britain madean easy to read website on voting.They put short videos which show howto vote and what kinds of elections there areon the website.

Self-advocates from Scotland hadseveral workshops on voting.Workshops were for persons with intellectual disabilitieswho participated in elections for the �rst time.

In several European countries there were campaignsand advocacy activities for accessible elections.In France and Scotland guidelines were made for politiciansto make their campaigns more accessiblefor persons with intellectual disabilities.

In Great Britain 3 main political partieswrote their programs in easy to read form.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Bleiweisova 13, 10 000 Zagreb Phone: 01 555 66 80, Fax: 01 555 66 89E- mail: kontakt@samozastupanje.hr

Visit our web site: www.samozastupanje.hr

or visit us on Facebook!

CONTACT US

Municipalities are governed by municipal council and municipal prefect,and towns by town council and the mayor.Counties are governed by county council and county prefect.

In local elections we will choose representativesto municipal council, city council and county assembly,as well as municipal prefect, mayor and county prefect.Citizens of the City of Zagreb will choose their representatives to City Assemblybecause Zagreb has the status of a county.We choose all of them for a period of 4 years.

Municipal council, town council and county assemblydecide on budget of a district, town and county,and on other issues important for districts, towns and counties,like: • social care • health care • education • physical planning • public transportation • cleaning • culture • sports.

Municipal chief, mayor and county prefectare in charge of implementing decisions made bymunicipal council, town council and county assembly.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

How to decide who to vote forYou have the right to vote for any candidate orpolitical party that stands for election.However, you should be informed before you go to elections.

Elections were organized beforein our center for rehabilitation,but this was the �rst election where I could vote.electoral board explained what I had to do.I would like the letters in the ballotto be bigger in the next electionso it would be easier for me to read them.

Tamara Kolak

I went to voteright after I had my morning co�ee.I was proud that my vote also counts now.

Monika Mihelec

Local electionsOnly a month after elections for Croatian representatives to European Parliament,we have a new opportunity to vote.It is time for local elections.Local elections will be on 19 May 2013.

In the local elections we have the opportunity to choose politicianswho will represent our interestsin the area where we live.The area where we live can be a municipality, town or county.That is why in local electionsyou only have the right to votein the municipality, town or countywhere your address is.

A municipality is an area smaller than a town.A town is a place which has more than 10 thousand inhabitants.A county is an area which includes several districts and towns.In Croatia there are 20 countiesand the City of Zagreb which has the status of a county.

That way you can give your voteto the candidate or political partythat advocate things which are especially important to you.

There are several waysto �nd information on what candidates advocate.One of them is to follow election campaignon television, radio, election rallies,election lea�ets and newspapers.

During the election campaigncandidates present their programsand try to get as many votes as they can.However, you need to be careful.During the election campaign candidates and political partiesoften make big promises to get more votes.

That is why you should get information in other ways as well.For example, you can talk to persons close to youand ask their opinion on candidates and political parties.You can talk to family members, relatives, friendsand other people you trust.

Written by Snježana Kanjir and Sanja Hotko

NEWSPublic performance Welcome into my shoesOn 30 January 2013, Coalition for Community Livingheld a public performance called Welcome into my shoes.Coalition for Community Living assembles 7 associationswhich work on protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.Association for Self Advocacy is also a member of this Coalition.

The Coalition had a public performance in Zagrebto warn about the prejudice towardspersons with disabilities.Celebrity guests participated in the eventto support the Coalition.Guests had the roles of persons with disabilities.Some of the guests were actors Nikša Marinović and Luka Vidović and singer Jelena Radan.In this way, Coalition sent the messagethat persons with disabilities in Croatiaunfortunately do not have the same opportunitieslike other people.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Conference on easy to read materialsOn 22 February 2013, Association for Self Advocacy organizeda national conference on easy to read materialsand involving persons with intellectual disabilities in lifelong learning programs.It was one of the activities in the project Pathways 2.Association for Self Advocacy is a partner in this project together with Inclusion Europe.

At the conference, self-advocates and assistants from the Associationpresented brochure in Croatian created in this project.

Titles of the brochures are: • Information for all • Do not write for us without us • Training lifelong learning sta� • Teaching can be easy.

You can �nd the brochures on our websitein the section Our materials.

Self-advocate from France Fabrice Vannobelspoke at the conference.He talked about the way easy to read materials are used in France.Other experts in the �eld of education and disability spoke at the conference.Representative of the Delegation of European Union Paolo Berizzi also spoke at the conference.Together we concluded that unfortunately in Croatiathere are no lifelong learning programsfor persons with intellectual disabilities.However, we hope that our conference contributedto starting such programs in the future.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

Study visit of self-advocates from SarajevoIn March we had a visit fromguests from organization Sumero from Sarajevo.Self-advocates Zlatan, Rasim, Adis and Ismar,and their assistants Amila and Vedrana visited us.We presented the work of our associationand talked about self-advocacy and self-determination.We presented our brochures, newsletter,website and Facebook page.Guests joined a meeting of our self-advocates.We saw a video abouthow some persons with intellectual disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovinalive in institutions, and some live in the community.We agreed that we have similar problems.

Our guests especially liked that we succeeded in our �ght for the right to vote,which they will use as an example of good practice for their �ghtbecause in Bosnia and Herzegovina persons deprived of legal capacitystill do not have the right to vote.

Written by Fadil Špuren

Trainings on self-determination and self-advocacyFrom January to March 2013, Association for Self Advocacyheld 3 trainings on self-determination and self-advocacy.We held trainings for employeesof Centre for rehabilitation Stančićand Centre for rehabilitation Zagreb.We told them why it is importantfor persons with intellectual disabilitiesto make decisions about their life as much as possibleand about their rights.Trainings were part of the projectProviding support in the process of transformingtwo state institutions for persons with intellectual disabilities.The project is implemented by Association for Promoting Inclusion.

Written by Ivana Poslon Hrvoj

News on project GONGThere was no easy to read informationon the right to vote for persons deprived of legal capacity.Many persons deprived of legal capacitydid not know that they got the right to voteor did not know how to realize their right to vote.That is why Association for Self Advocacyin cooperation with association GONG,made a brochure on elections in easy to read.We also made a lea�et with instructionson how to vote in elections,and we made a video as well.

Written by Senada Halilčević

Filming a TV videoIn the projectAchieving the right to vote for persons with intellectual disabilitieswhich we are implementing together with association GONG,self-advocates �lmed a TV video My vote, my strength.

We made the video to informall persons deprived of legal capacitythat they can go to elections and vote now.Filming the video was not as easy as we thought.We made the video for several cold and rainy days.We had to repeat the scenesuntil every little thing was as the screenwriter imagined it.Although this was not the �rst time �lming a videofor some self-advocates,it was a little hard for all of us.But our e�orts paid o�because the message we conveyedwas important for all citizens.

Written by Snježana Kanjir

Workshop before elections to European ParliamentOn Friday before elections we had a workshopto prepare with what would happen on Sunday.Elections to the European Parliament were more di�cult because they were the �rst European elections.There were many lists of candidates and candidates.The workshop had a busy atmosphere.We all listened carefully, participated and asked questions.We said what is the European Unionand what is European Parliament.We made a list of all parties and candidates which stood for election.We practiced how to �ll out a valid ballot.We emphasized that polls were opened from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.and that we had to take an identity cardso that electoral board can �nd our name in the list of voters.

Written by Fadil Špuren

ANNOUNCEMENT

Conference Europe in ActionConference Europe in Action will be heldfrom May 29 until June 1 in Ljubljana, Slovenia.Inclusion Europe will organize this conference.Topic of the conference is ageing of persons withintellectual disabilities and their families.Participants will talk about problems which persons with intellectual disabilities and their families face when they grow old.

Experts and self-advocates will discusspolitics and laws which can helpelderly persons with intellectual disabilities and their families.They will also talk about what kind of support persons with intellectual disabilities and their families need.General assembly of EPSA will be held during the conference.

Written by Ivana Bašić

I have a big problem.Sometimes I feel like my girlfriends does not care about me.We only see each other when she wants to,we go where she wantand we do what she wants.She never wants to do something I suggest.I love my girlfriend,but I do not like her behavior.

Did you tell your girlfriend that you do not like that?Why does she want to decide on everything?It is ok that you want to make some decisionson how you spend your time together.Think about what you want to change and talk to her about it.If nothing changes,maybe you should think aboutwhether you want to be with a person who does not care about your opinion.

QUESTION

ANSWER

ADVICE CORNER