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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Important step in eliminating communication barriers for deaf persons

Belgrade, 1 December 2022

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic attended today the presentation of the application "SOS for the Deaf" at the Belgrade City Organisation of the Deaf, which allows these people to make phone calls with hearing people.

Through this application, a deaf person starts a video call with an interpreter from the National Translation Centre for the Serbian Sign Language, who calls the desired phone number and then simultaneously interprets the conversation between the deaf person and the called contact.

Starting today, approximately 14,000 deaf and hard of hearing people will be able to make free phone calls with hearing people through this application.

On this occasion, Brnabic said that for a successful Serbia, inclusion and empathy in society are necessary together with a strong economy and education, stressing that it is necessary to provide equal opportunities to all citizens.

She pointed out that the majority of the population does not know about the many problems faced by people with disabilities, and noted that, for example, deaf people cannot exercise their right to education without a personal assistant.

Not every one of them can have a personal assistant and an interpreter, and do we wonder how they will go to school then, asked the Prime Minister, calling on everyone to fight for an inclusive society.

The Prime Minister also expressed her gratitude to the telecommunications companies for the fact that "SOS for the Deaf" calls will be for free.

Mihajlo Gordic from the Belgrade City Organisation of the Deaf pointed out that the application is unique in the region and that it satisfies the basic right of the deaf, which is the right to freedom of opinion and expression.

Minister of Information and Telecommunications Mihailo Jovanovic said that the state confirms that all its citizens are equal, noting that the application enables video calls, chat with an interpreter and emergency calls.

Interpreters can easily allocate and select calls according to urgency. With this project, we are one step closer to the digital inclusion of all our citizens, Jovanovic pointed out.