ELSA supports PAPS at a European Conference in Kraków

Towards a National Stuttering Centre in Poland

With a conference on stuttering therapy held in Krakow in November 2000 the Polish Association for People Who Stutter made a step to bring forward their plans to establish a national stuttering centre in Poland - a plan which has been persued for a couple of years now. The conference aimed at exchanging information and experiences at European level. For this reason, representatives and speakers of ELSA, ISA and several European countries had been invited.

The event was funded by the Polish National Council of Disabled People and the City of Krakow. Poland is one of the definite candidates to join the EU in 2004. Much hope is put on the EU membership and special attention is being given in Poland to European affairs. PAPS' president Andrzej Wojtowicz asked Konrad Schäfers to give a speech on behalf of ELSA at the opening of the conference which was attended by high-ranking representives from politics, disability organisations and the Catholic church. Konrad Schäfers payed tribute to PAPS' role as a founding member of ELSA. He also underlined that the ELSA supports the idea of establishing a National stuttering centre as a way to combine forces and financial means in times of decreasing resources.

In workshops and lectures therapy services in Poland and selected European countries (Norway and the UK) were introduced. A special workshop was devoted to the issue of rehabilitation and discrimination. All in all, it was a successful conference organised by a group of dedicated people!