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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Better living conditions for persons with special needs

Belgrade, 9 May 2008

Serbian Minister of Youth and Sports Snezana Samardzic-Markovic stated that it is the duty of the state and the entire society to treat persons with special needs as their equals and enable the conditions for their full integration in the society.

At the Nikola Tesla airport in Belgrade, where the Serbian national football team arrived after it triumphed at the European Championship for persons with special needs, Samardzic-Markovic told a press conference that she is proud of the achieved result and the way the team presented their country at the championship.

As the Minister of Youth and Sports, I wish to stimulate the entire society to open the door to all those initiatives which contribute to the equality, tolerance and respect for our differences because all of this together means a better life for all of us, she said.

The Minister stressed that better living conditions for persons with special needs and the disabled is another reason for which Serbia’s road to the EU should be accelerated.

One of the EU’s goals is full social integration of the disabled before 2010, said the Minister and added that this will be done through various measures, programmes and projects, as well as trainings and education.

Miodrag Maksimovic, the coach of the national football team for persons with special needs, voiced gratitude to the Ministry of Youth and Sports for their warm welcome and assistance.

President of the Serbian Paralympic Association Aleksandar Stanojevic recalled that sportspeople with special needs have been achieving outstanding results in the past several years and that the Ministry’s support is of extreme importance for them.

Stanojevic also announced that the national basketball team for persons with special needs is to take part in the European Championship, and will also be supported by the relevant Ministry.

The European Championship took place on May 2–7 in Zurich and the Ministry set aside RSD 420,000 to help the Serbian representatives attend the championship.