Project: With the Wind through the Silence

The 20th anniversary of the project “With the wind through the silence” (S vjetrom kroz tišinu) was celebrated in Moise Palace, focusing in particular on the impact that the project has on its users – deaf and hard of hearing people, but also the wider community.

The project “With the wind through the silence” began in February 2002 with the cooperation of the Association of Adriatic Skippers and the Association of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons of Primorje-Gorski kotar County. The main goal of the project is to create a new sign language, which would allow hearing impaired people to actively participate in recreational but also more demanding, regatta (sports) sailing. It is a unique project in Croatia, and to our knowledge in Europe.

Along with organized sailing and diving, the 20th anniversary of the project consisted of sculpture workshops open for all participants, as well as the roundtable discussing the project and wider themes of tourism and sport as tools for social integration of people with disabilities. The Mayor of Cres, Marin Gregorović, welcomed the participants of the round table – Damir Herega (defectologist and project leader With the wind through silence – sign language interpreter), Jadran Rubeša (rehabilitator and diving leader for people with disabilities), Mirjana Juriša (defectologist and executive director of the Association of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing of the City of Zagreb), Slobodan Banašin (skipper and co-organizer), Ines Lazarević (Public Health Teaching Institute of Primorje-Gorski kotar County), Đurđica Šimičić (former director of the Lošinj Tourist Board and longtime associate), Nedeljka Feljana (representative of the people with hearing impairment) and Darija Kunić (Academy of Applied Arts in Rijeka).