60 YEARS OF EDUCATION, REHABILITATION AND EMPLOYMENT OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA

Abstract

After a long break, again this year in the period from May 27th to May 29th in Bitola, was held an international conference “Days of special educators”. It was organized by the Association of special educators of the Republic of Macedonia and the Institute for Rehabilitation of children with impaired hearing "Koco Racin" at Bitola. The theme of the international conference was "60 years of education, rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities in the country."
The conference included several global topics and sessions: early intervention, people with mental disabilities, inclusive education, employment of persons with disabilities, people with hearing impairments, people with speech and voice disorders, people with autism and free topics. These sessions were presented trough a total of 86 papers and 7 poster presentations.  Guests from Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia and Kosovo took an active participation during the conference.
The last day of the conference was reserved for a plenary session when the conclusions of the previous sessions were recaptured. This session was important because participants had the opportunity to learn about the current state of treatment of people with disabilities in Macedonia and in several Balkan countries. They could exchanged experiences and highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of the education and rehabilitation, as well as discuss the perspectives and needs of constant innovation to enhance the treatment of people with disabilities.
The most important detail of the conference was its participants who are already distinguished experts in the field of special education and young special educators who in the recent years collide with practical problems. Mixture of experience and enthusiasm proved to be very positive result with interesting discussions and conclusions, important for solving a range of problems of the development of special education theory and practice.