President Milanović Meets with Representatives of Association Carrying out Programme for Children and Parents of Low Socioeconomic Status
The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović met today in the Office of the President with representatives of the Centre for the Culture of Dialogue Association and a programme of social inclusion from Rijeka entitled “My Place under the Sun” that has been going on for the past seven years. It’s a volunteer programme of social inclusion addressing children and parents of low socioeconomic status.
According to the Association’s representatives, the programme encompasses 50 children from 6 to 16 years of age, which includes 60 volunteers who work with them on a daily basis organizing workshops, providing study help, excursions, outings to the cinema and the theatre as well as other activities that their parents cannot afford on account of their socioeconomic status. Furthermore, they advise parents on their rights and opportunities to get scholarships for the children and provide continuing psychological support and advice.
The elementary goal of the Programme is to end poverty in which certain children are growing up, thereby strengthening their abilities that are suppressed because of the social context in which they live, the Association members explained. The Association cooperates with the Social Welfare Centre and primary schools and is networking with other organizations and institutions in order to ensure continuous operation of the programme and financial stability. At the end of 2018, they started to cooperate with business subjects that decided to donate funds on a regular basis for the implementation of the programme “My Place under the Sun”. Thirty companies are already supporting the programme. The fundraising campaign launched in 2020 was successful whereby 2.3 million kunas were raised in order for the programme to operate unhindered.
The Association representatives further highlighted their cooperation with the University of Rijeka and the Teachers’ Faculty launched in April 2021 when an agreement was signed for the realization of the programme “My Place under the Sun”. The Association for the social inclusion of children thus became the professional base of the Teachers’ Faculty, thereby the work of the Association was further strengthened and became part of the system.
At the meeting in the Office of the President were the president of the Centre for the Culture of Dialogue’s Coordinating team, co-founder and programme manager Sandra Grozdanov, vice-president Nikolina Matić, expert associate, co-founder of “My Place under the Sun” Ana Karakaš, “My Place under the Sun” users Lucija Čugalj and Deborah Čugalj, Zoran Grozdanov, co-founder and volunteer of “My Place under the Sun”, Owen Solutions company, representative of the business sector supporting “My Place under the Sun” Goran Abramović, and Teachers’ Faculty of Rijeka professor, coordinator between “My Place under the Sun” programme and the Faculty, and member of the Centre for Researching Childhood Lucija Jančec.
Alongside President Milanović was the Adviser to the President for Education Jadranka Žarković.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Marko Beljan