ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION OF BLIND FOR BAR AND ULCINJ

The Organization of Blind for Bar and Ulcinj is a non-governmental and non-profit organization of people with disabilities, which brings together blind and severely visually impaired people. It operates in the municipalities of Bar and Ulcinj, and its headquarters are in Bar, Rista Lekića street no. D10. The organization was founded on June 4, 1948 in Bar. It was registered in the registry of non-governmental associations operated by the Ministry of Interior and Public Administration of Montenegro on February 17, 2000. under ordinal number 444. Since its founding, until today, it has been a member of the Association of Blind of Montenegro. The organization has its own governing, executive and supervisory bodies, permanent and occasional working bodies, the President and the Secretary. The bodies of the Organization are: the Assembly, the Management and the Supervisory Board. The Assembly is the highest body of the Organization, and has 9 members. The Board of Directors has 3 members, who are elected by the members of the Assembly.

Supervisory Board (has three members)

The Board of Directors is chaired by the President, who is at the same time the President of the Organization and the person authorized to represent the Organization.
Administrative, financial and other professional tasks are performed by professionally engaged experts, as well as a number of volunteers, associates and other activists. The structure, relations and functioning of the organization are determined by the statute as the basic legal act and several regulations. The work of the Organization is carried out according to the annual Program and Financial Plan, which is determined by the Assembly as the highest body of the organization. The vision of the organization is to achieve the following result: People with visual impairments empowered, integrated, and included in society. The mission of the organization is the inclusion of people with visual impairments through the encouragement and implementation of activities that emphasize their abilities as well as to strengthen their role in the community.

In line with its statute, the Organization works on the following goals:
  • Detects and records blind and severely visually impaired people in its area and provides membership in the Organization.
  • Keeps appropriate records which show the socio-economic condition of members, the cause and degree of vision loss, type, scope and state of social needs of persons with visual impairments.
  • Initiates initiatives and proposes to the competent authorities and organizations the adoption of new or amendments to existing regulations in the field of social and other protection of persons with visual impairments.
  • Takes measures for referral of children, youth and adults with visual impairments to schooling, work training and rehabilitation and makes proposals for the improvement of education and professional training.
  • In cooperation with the competent authorities and organizations, finds appropriate jobs, assists them in employment, monitors the working conditions of employed persons with visual impairments, proposes and takes measures to improve those conditions.
  • Works on the procurement and provision of typhlo-technical aids.
  • Assists members, within the limits of its capabilities, and initiates the solution of their problems with the competent authorities.
  • Gathers blind and severely visually impaired people and organizes various types of activities, taking into account the age, gender, degree and time of vision loss and others, and thus helps their participation in social life.
  • Organizes and creates conditions for engaging in cultural, educational, artistic, sports, recreational, chess and other amateur and social entertainment activities, for the comprehensive development of the personality of persons with visual impairments and their inclusion in the forms of work of persons without disabilities, and to that end, if necessary, forms sections, societies and clubs.

In the past 70 years, thanks primarily to the enthusiasm and excellence of the people in the Organization, significant results have been achieved and numerous activities have been carried out, which have greatly improved and enhanced the number of members.

The success of abovementioned activities gave to the Organization the outlines of a modern organization that is increasingly becoming an example to the community of people with disabilities, not only in Montenegro but beyond. We implement activities in various fields of activity with the only goal to increase the quality of life of people with visual impairments, our members, regardless of their life circumstances, or personal characteristics, traits, interests, commitments, or living standards. Numerous activities have been carried out that have influenced the organizational and personnel strengthening of the Organization’s capacity. This is an extremely important aspect of our work, because in this way we have created additional conditions to provide funds for the realization of the set goals. Guided by this goal, we have competed in various domestic and foreign competitions.

We provide professional and legal assistance to members in order to exercise the various rights that belong to them. We pay special attention to education, employment, information and independence, which is certainly important for creating an equal position of people with visual impairments in other areas of life. We have continued with the activities that we have been carrying out continuously for several decades, and which refer to: organizing cultural and artistic events, sports and chess competitions, holidays for socially endangered members etc. We have organized various conferences, round tables, educational and informative workshops, seminars, trainings, etc.

We have developed existing and created new relationships with relevant institutions and organizations, both domestically and internationally.

From October 2, 2014, the personal assistance service for people with visual impairments has been operating occasionally. Personal assistants provide the necessary assistance in the premises of the organization, but also in other places.

We pay due attention to the cultural information activities of people with visual impairments.

Since November 2002, we have been publishing the magazine “Pravo na riječ”, which is published once a month, on CDs in mp3 format and distributed to readers free of charge in the country and abroad. Through the magazine, we inform people with visual impairments in an accessible format.

In order to monitor modern communication channels, but also provide better visibility and availability of all information related to the work of the Organization to members and other citizens, from October 12, 2017, we have been constantly updating the web site “www.orslibrul.org”, facebook page “Organizacija slijepih za Bar i Ulcinj” and Instagram profile “orslibrul”. This is another way to contribute to changing the awareness of the general public in relation to the rights and abilities of people with visual impairments.

Our audio library on CDs in mp3 format has been functioning within the National Library and Reading Room “Ivo Vuckovic” in Bar since May 17, 2006, and it is available to all interested parties, regardless of whether or not they have vision problems.

The cinema in the premises of the organization started working on May 11, 2017. Once a month, we organize screenings of adapted films for our members, in order to bring film art closer to the widest possible circle of people with visual impairments, who are practically unable to enjoy the achievements of film art due to their visual disability. We screen films as part of the organization’s regular art program.

We have our own Braille printing house where we print various materials with information in Braille and thus enable people with visual impairments to function smoothly under the same conditions as people without disabilities. Chess, sports and recreation are undoubtedly one of our priorities, and to that end we are implementing significant activities in which our members have a notable participation. The darts team of the Organization of Blind for Bar and Ulcinj, which has existed since September 2017, has won a large number of trophies and medals at domestic and international tournaments. On August 19, 2020, we founded the sports and recreational association OSI “Bar”.

The association was established to achieve goals that relate in particular to:
  • Creating conditions for persons with disabilities to fully show their sports potential through their inclusion in sports as equal citizens of society;
  • Work planning, affirmation and development of athletics, darts, chess and other sports that are on the program of MPK, IBSA and IBCA;
  • Organizing and conducting regular trainings of members in order to prepare for the competition;
  • Training of youth and adults;
  • Participation in sports competitions;
  • Representation of the organization and the State of Montenegro through international sports competitions for persons with disabilities.

From September 1, 2017, a social club has been operating every day in the afternoon, with an enviable number of members who train darts, play board games, use the Internet and cable television, and socialize, sharing their experiences. In this way, we contribute to improving the social activity and socialization of each of our members. In addition to the above activities, the Organization throughout the period of its existence places great emphasis on cooperation between local organizations of blind and the Association of Blind of Montenegro, as well as on international cooperation.

Also, we have a dynamic and quality cooperation with numerous individuals, legal entities and organizations, as well as with media in our country. We cooperate well with the media, through the presentation of our most important activities, projects, but also initiatives, on which we work every day in order to improve the quality of life of people with visual impairments in the municipalities of Bar and Ulcinj. The organization of blind for Bar and Ulcinj is managed by the President Veselin Joketić, who is professionally employed in the Organization. The work of the Organization takes place every working day in two shifts, in the official premises in Bar, which are owned by the Organization and are equipped with all the necessary technical and other equipment for efficient and quality work. We also have our own vehicle.