Study visit EMPOWERED Croatia-Slovenia 2026

At the end of March 2026, IDC took part in a study visit within the project EMPOWERED, which gathered 40 participants from six countries of the Western Balkans.

During four days, the participants had the opportunity to exchange experiences and gain new knowledge about the development of services in the community, deinstitutionalization processes and employment of people with disabilities.

In Sveti Ivan Zelina, through cooperation with the association “Udruga Srce”, concrete examples of support in the community were presented – from personal assistance to organized housing and day care centers.

In Ljubljana, the participants visited the inclusive enterprise “Želva” and the University Rehabilitation Institute of Soča, where they learned about models of professional rehabilitation, employment, and systemic solutions for supporting people with disabilities.

Special focus was on the importance of intersectoral cooperation, as well as the role of institutions, civil society, and the private sector in creating an inclusive society.

Key messages of the study visit:

• Development of services in the community as an alternative to institutional care
• Empowering people with disabilities through choice and access to services
• The importance of financial incentives and quota systems for employment
  investment in the capacities of local communities

The meeting with Tanja Fajon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia, was particularly inspiring. She emphasized that inclusion “is not only a political goal, but also a basic human right” and underlined the importance of initiatives like EMPOWERED in bringing concrete changes to the lives of people with disabilities.

This study visit once again confirmed how important knowledge exchange, regional cooperation, and concrete examples of good practice are for improving social inclusion in the region.

More details about the visit on the project website.

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The visit was organized by the project partner LIR CD with the support of ASB South East Europe, within the EMPOWERED project financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ).