The last available report that paid special emphasis to cultural life of persons with disabilities was created in 2014. As stressed in the report of the Ombudsperson for Persons with Disabilities in 2014, despite a number of examples of rich and diverse cultural expression of many children and persons with disabilities, their artistic endeavours are not sufficiently supported in general nor are their activities sufficiently present in the media. Specific strategies to support people with disabilities as professionals in the cultural labour market are lacking as well as general policies related to this sector. Although the state finances and supports the cultural programmes and projects run by the DPO (Disabled People’s Organisation) and some institutions, the funding is still insufficient. DPO made significant efforts in making cultural activities from local to national level more accessible to persons with disabilities. However, participation of persons with disabilities in cultural events is still severely restricted due to inaccessibility of premises and lack of support in the way of accessible transport and assistance. Accessibility is just one example in a series of problems that persons with disabilities face if they decide to take part in a cultural or sports event or in accessing or creating media content (lack of adaptation of (cultural or audiovisual) materials for particular disabilities etc.). Compiling information in this field is complicated as data from a survey by the Disability Ombudswoman executed in 2014 shows. Of 148 art organisations and theatres surveyed to investigate accessibility of cultural activities they offer to persons with physical and sensory impairment, responses were received from only 24 theatres and 24 art organisations: only 7 of them noted they were accessible, while 10 reported partial accessibility (Ombudsperson for Persons with Disabilities, 2014: 56).
In order to tackle some of the issues related to the Ombudsperson’s assessment, in 2020 the Ministry of Culture and Media, in cooperation with the Ombudsperson for Persons with Disabilities, published a pilot Call for programmes that enable access and availability of cultural content for persons with disabilities and children and youth with developmental difficulties. Within this pilot programme, 26 programmes were supported with a total amount of 1 564 438 HRK (208 591 EUR) as the data from the Ministry shows. The aim of the legislator was to assess the implementation of this pilot programme in order to adjust it to the needs of the sector so as to make it a part of regular Calls by the Ministry of Culture and Media. The programme continued in 2021 and 2022 as well; in 2021 it supported 25 projects for financing in the total amount of 1 743 300 HRK (231 381 EUR), while in 2022 the number of programmes and funding increased: 33 projects were supported in the amount of 1 993 600 HRK (264 596 EUR). The proposed projects are programs covering wide areas of culture and art with grants from 20 000 to 150 000 HRK. The projects proposed for financing are inclusive for persons with disabilities, i.e. oriented towards participation in cultural and artistic activities, with an emphasis on children and youth with developmental disabilities, who often have limited access to culture and art.
The 2021 Report of the Ombudsperson for Persons with Disabilities stresses further inaccessibility of the current cultural infrastructure for the persons with disabilities, which is especially evident for cultural heritage buildings. The lack of access to and adaptation of cultural content for persons with disabilities is also still evident (OPD, 2021). Thus, the 2021 Report by Ombudsperson recommends that local and regional self-government units plan to make cultural facilities in their areas (especially those they founded and manage) accessible by applying the principles of universal design in the physical, communication and information sense so that such spaces (and events that are organized in them) are more accessible to people with disabilities as well as to all other possible visitors ((OPD, 2021: 288). It is to be seen how the funding from the National Programme of Recovery and Resilience (2021-2026) allocated for adaptation of cultural heritage buildings to persons with disabilities will be implemented in the near future.
As an example of a theatre company led by people with disabilities one can mention the theatre ‘Novi život/New Life’ as one of the oldest theatres of who are blind in the world. It is led by the association of people who are blind and visually impaired, New Life, in Zagreb.
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