First Lady opened the 2nd annual international conference about disabled children

´School Reform and Innovation, Education of Children and Pupils with Health Handicap´ is the name of a two-day international conference, which began on 26th November 2009 in Bratislava. The conference is held under the auspices of the First Lady Mrs. Silvia Gašparovičová who festively opened the conference. Mrs. Gašparovičová is personally very interested in lives of disabled people with handicaps through her Foundation Education and Health for Everybody. "With the help of partners and sponsors of the Foundation we strive for education improvement in schools for children with handicaps. Foundation´s projects are designed there where assistance is most needed - whether it’s school or special medical and social facility," said the First Lady. 

In his speech, Mrs. Silvia Gašparovičová stressed the need for education also for disadvantaged children. "The life of a man plays an important role of education in terms of its contribution to society. In recent years, proven and well-functioning integration gives greater attention to Slovakia. Barriers from past years when the children were in classes together with healthy children are removing. And it all begins in preschools and continues until the highest level of training provided." As Mrs. Gašparovičová said, it´s positive that parents themselves can decide about their own child’s education. And many of them appreciate this. First Lady also highlighted the work of teachers and pupils with health handicaps. 

One of the organizers of the conference is the National Education Institute in Bratislava, that was submitter of the state education program in July 2008, which came into force in September 2008. As the director of NPI Mr. Július Hauser said, "the years 2008-2009 are the years of implementation of the school reform. The intention is to provide educational programs with greater freedom for schools and teachers in improving the quality of education of students not only in special schools, but also in the school integration of primary and secondary schools. Important role in the integrated education of students with disabilities perform special pedagogical counseling centers. Therefore thank you very much for your cooperation."

First Lady wished the conference participants a creative atmosphere and that they gain much new knowledge during the exchange of experiences.