At the Ministry of Regional Development and European Union Funds, Minister Nataša Tramišak and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Norway to the Republic of Croatia, HE E. Haakon Blankenborg handed over the contract to the CEO of the Croatian Academic and Research Network – CARNET, Hrvoje Puljiz, for the “Enhanced Tools for Creating Equal Opportunities in Education for Pupils with Disabilities“ project.
The overall value of the Contract is EUR 3.5 million, EUR 3 million of which is a grant from the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area, and EUR 500,000 is national co-financing.
The project goal is to contribute to creating equal educational opportunities for children with special needs in the Republic of Croatia. CARNET will implement the project with its partner organizations – the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing of the University of Zagreb (FER), the Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences of the University of Zagreb (ERF), and the City of Reykjavik – Department of Education and Youth.
This is the first signed Agreement within the Program “Local Development and Poverty Reduction,” financed by the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism for the period 2014-2021, and managed by the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds.
In the beginning, Minister Tramišak thanked the donors and the entire team who worked hard in previous years to prepare this program and project.
“This project and the support for the inclusion of children with disabilities in the development of systematic education is an intensive project that will serve as an example within the Local Development and Poverty Reduction program. I believe it will reach all those in need throughout the Republic of Croatia. Thirty-five centers for the upbringing and education of children with disabilities will receive valuable and quality equipment, focus on digital skills, and will certainly change their perspective on inclusion in society, as well as their later acquisition of certain skills for employment,” Minister Tramišak emphasized.
The CEO of the Croatian Academic and Research Network – CARNET, Hrvoje Puljiz, stated that CARNET focuses on development and building capacity of all segments of the education system.
The project “Enhanced Tools for Creating Equal Opportunities in education for Pupils with Disabilities” aims to create equal opportunities for children with disabilities, leading to more successful inclusion in society and the labor market. The project is comprehensive and, in addition to equipping Centers for Education with digital assistive technologies, includes the professional development of educational staff and various activities to raise public awareness about the importance of inclusive education for children with special educational needs.
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Norway to the Republic of Croatia, HE E. Haakon Blankenborg said that this project is special precisely because it aims at vulnerable members of our society.
„Every person has the potential to learn, regardless of their background. That is why this project is aimed at all those who need additional help with learning, and our goal is to provide everyone with an equal opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills. This project is part of a broad cooperation between Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein with 15 member states of the European Union, including Croatia. We are interested in the results that will come out of the project, which thus shows true cooperation among European countries,“ said the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to the Republic of Croatia, HE E. Haakon Blankenborg.