Donation Introduction

The basis of this activity is building long-term cooperation with the local business sector. Those
who decide to become Godfathers would agree to donate monthly funds or other kinds of
support intended to provide improved conditions for direct work with the people with disabilities coming to our Center and thus contribute to changing and improving the quality of their lives.

Open the windows (OtW) is the only organization in the country and in the Western Balkans fully
committed to promoting assistive technology and digital inclusion. Guided by its vision of a
“world of equal and active people,” Open the Windows is striving to achieve its mission “to
initiate and facilitate active inclusion of all people in the contemporary world through assistive
technology use.”

As a service provider, it provides support for using a computer and the Internet to encourage the
personal development of the user. Since the establishment in 2005, more than 400 children and
persons with disabilities have used the services of the association. Enabling access to information
and communication technologies for all and e-inclusion is the main guide of the Center for
Assistive Technology as part of Open the Windows. The Center operates as a service provider and
offers the following services: individual support for computer and internet use, individual
assessment of the needs of assistive technology and advisory and consultative support for
assistive technology. At the Center, children (pre-school and school age), young people and
adults with disabilities have access to information and the Internet and are taught to use the
computer as a tool for achieving their goals in terms of education or employment. The
beneficiaries are people with different types of disabilities (physical disability, impaired vision,
hearing impairment, intellectual disability, autism, combined difficulties and learning difficulties).
The services are based on a person-centered approach that aims to foster personal development
of the beneficiaries. The use of assistive technology, including accessible hardware and software,
and the professional team of three special educators and speech therapists make the OtW a
unique service provider in the country. In cooperation with the beneficiaries and/or parents, the
team prepares an individual plan, and every six months the achievements are assessed. The
beneficiaries visit the Center once or twice a week and work through individual sessions or in
groups. On average, one user visits the center between one and two years.
In addition to working with beneficiaries, the team conducts consultative and advisory work with
parents, teachers and other professionals involved in the process