Campaigns and activities
The most important rules and laws on that subject are as below:
Act XXVI of 1998 on the Rights and Equal Chances of Persons with Disabilities
5. § Art.(1) Persons with disabilities have got the right for a built environment accessible, sensible and safe for them.
(2) The right described in Art. (1) concerns in particular orientation during transportation and n built environments.
Parliamentary Decision 10/2006. (II. 16.) on the National Disability Programme 2007-2013:
4.2 Accessibility on an Equal Basis
A basic condition for the active participation in social life is the equal access to public services. In accordance with that persons with disabilities must be ensured access, on an equal basis with others, to transportation, public spaces and public buildings use more physical aspects of accessibility, providing access to information and understanding information needs of handicapped persons subject to communication accessibility barriers.
Ministerial Decree 27/2009 (XII.3.) on the rules of training, testing and applicability of assisting dogs.
9. § (1) To ensure equal access to public services a person using assisting dog is entitled to stay and to use an assisting dog at the location of any organisation, institute or service provider providing public services, in any facility open to the public, particularly on
There are no deadlines set
In Hungary there are no specific measures for the visually impaired.
The Hungarian Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted checks and comments on the drafts of rules affecting people with disabilities, as well as gives opinion and proposals on the right ways of accessibility during their actual implementation.
In public areas tactile walking surface indicators as guiding pattern, audible traffic lights, inside buildings contrasting large print and Braille text information, accessible lifts.
In Hungary there are no penalties for non-application of accessibility rules.
The most widely used aids in Hungary are the white canes, GPS is is very rarely used due to price reasons, visually people can hardly afford buying an electronic mobility device.
Poor quality white canes are available on prescriptions by an ophthalmologist. Better quality white canes can be bought in the aid toll shop of the Hungarian Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted and in those of its member unions.
The use of a white cane is educated in the schools of blind pupils, while adults are trained by those organisations dealing with the rehabilitation of blind people.
Those white canes prescribed by ophthalmologists are of poor quality, but only those are subsidised by the social insurance system. Better quality white canes can be bought at much higher prices, which may be partly granted by the blind organizations upon individual requests.
There is no official framework or system for the repair or maintenance of white canes.
The white cane is considered as a symbol of visual impairment, there are no specific provisions for its use, no abuse has been known so far.
According to the usual practice someone invents something, and then he or she asks for the opinion of our Federation.
Those born blind or having lost their sight as a child are trained for mobility in the elementary school of the blind.
Those people who lose their sight as adults (elderly) are trained in mobility mainly in The National Institution for Blind People. They may get that kind of education in any Rehabilitation Institute specialized in the rehabilitation of visually impaired persons.
The National Institution for Blind People provides on-the-job training for mobility instructors.
Training on autonomous daily life is held at the Elementary Rehabilitation Centres.
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Special Rehabilitation Educator.
The Hungarian Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted and its member unions keeps the public informed through the media and in frame of sensitizing courses at schools.
Awareness training is provided at county level by the colleagues of the local member unions of the Hungarian Federation of the Blind and Partially sighted