Bratislava, September 30 2013

We are pleased to invite you to aconference with international participation:

Deinstitutionalization of Social Services in the Slovak Republic – the Background and the Vision

under the auspices of Banská Bystrica Region President Vladimír Maňka,

to be held on 16th October 2013

in the City Hall of Banská Bystrica, Námestie SNP 1 (Cikker´s Hall).

Conference objectives:

·  To inform about the process of deinstitutionalization (DI) in Slovakia and its importance;

·  To motivate key actors in the DI and the public to support the process;

·  To encourage the general public to the acceptance of persons with disabilities and promote integration;

·  To present the experience from Norway;

·  To present examples of good practice and personal stories.

The conference is part of a wider project „Support of the Institutionalised Clients Integration into the Local Communities on the Example of Banská Bystrica Pilot Region ".

The project was supported by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the Active citizenship and inclusion Program, which is implemented by Ekopolis Foundation in cooperation with the Children of Slovakia Foundation and SOCIA - Foundation for social Change.

The project is implemented in cooperation with our partners Banská Bystrica Region and NTNU Samfunnsforskning AS (an independent research institute of the Norwegian University for Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway).

At the conference, it is necessary to register no lather than by 10 October 2013 through this link:

https://docs.google.com/a/mesa10.org/forms/d/1yXrzHRdtedKpogPpuNzYOn5wZLZS0C8ZLKMH492VAXk/viewform

Sincerely, Oľga Reptová, Project Coordinator

Conference Schedule

8:30 - 9:00 Registration

9:00 - 9:20 Welcome speech (Oľga Reptová, M.E.S.A. 10; Vladimír Maňka, BBSK President)

Presentation of the project (Martin Valentovič, M.E.S.A. 10)

9:20 - 9:30 What does DI Mean? (Soňa Holúbková, Social Work Advisory Board, Žilina, expert on DI)

9:40 - 10:00 DI in the Social Services System in the Slovak Republic (Nadežda Šebová, General Director of the Section of Social and Family Policy, SR Ministry of Labour, Miroslav Cangár , specialist in DI, SR Ministry of Labour)

10:00 - 10:50 Present State of the DI Process on Regional Level on the Example of Banská Bystrica Region (BBSK)

·  „Our Progress and What Surprised us during DI in BBSK - Department of Social Policies“ (Pavel Červienka, Head of the Department, Tatiana Králiková, Head of the Section)

·  „DI in Social Services Home Slatinka, Lučenec – Project Preparation, Objectives and Vision of Social Services after its Completion“ (Denisa Nincová, Director of Social Services Home Slatinka in Lučenec)

·  „Moving out from Manor House of Ladomerská Vieska“, presentation of the project (Viera Šedivcová, Director of the Social Services Home Ladomerská Vieska with a team)

10:50 - 11:00 DI from the perspective of Association of Towns and Communities of Slovakia (Božena Kováčová, Chairman of the Social Affairs Section)

11:00 - 11:15 Coffee break

11:15 - 12:00 Presentation of DI experience in Norway (background, policies and outcomes) (Jan Tøssebro, Professor of Social Work at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim , Norway)

12:00 - 12:45 Personal stories, promotion of good practice:

·  „We Need Individual Attention and Tailored Services“ - Social Services Home Slatinka in Lučenec (Denisa Nincová, Roman Vrábeľ, Angelika Oláhová)

·  „Open Space“ - Day Centre Theatre from the Passage in Banská Bystrica - (Ľudmila Veverková a Lýdia Rybárová) and DOM, Banská Bystrica (Eva Ogurčáková a Ján Kinčeš)

12:45 - 13:15 Discussion, conclusion , termination of conference

13:30 - 14:30 Lunch at restaurant Magnolia , Kapitulská 21 ; informal discussions