Aphasia International Association
22 Member States participated on the online meeting – among them were Finland, Latvia, Great Britain, Switzerland, France, Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, Greece, Cyprus, Spain and even Australia.
Chief Secretary Melanie Derbyshire kindly and briefly presented the main events of the year and the administrative and financial functioning of the organization. New representatives of the European Disability Forum (EDF) Louis Gustin and Marija Michaud have been elected.
This was followed by a presentation of individual countries on what is happening in the field of aphasia.
Similar to Slovenia, aphasia groups have been set up in other countries around the world. They organize meetings on the Internet, and various group meeting such as choirs, ceramics, art, writing, journalism and cognitive group, aphasia camps, running events, lunches and barbecues, movie evenings, panels for family members and aphasia forums.
Connecting smaller groups in associations is a trend in all countries. Our goal is to spread awareness that even though people with aphasia have problems in communication or cognitive dysfunction, our voice must still be taken into account, as aphasia does not affect intelligence.
Jernej, as the president of the AIA and the representative of Slovenia on the board, has a great influence on the possibility of making changes for aphasics around the world. By socializing, we overcome obstacles.