Blog

On this year's Day for the Mura, we will meet at 15:00 on the forest path by the Cmurek Bridge and take a guided walk into the "European Amazon".

The Mura River, with its groundwater recharging the water table, has allowed people to settle in these places. The river provides habitat for many species of flora and fauna. Its importance has been recognised by the international organisation UNESCO, which has awarded the Mura basin, together with the Drava and Danube rivers, the title of a 5-country biosphere site, increasingly recognised as "Europe's Amazon".

At the Museum of Madness, we are working to raise awareness about the need for deinstitutionalisation in Slovenia, the abolition of long-term care institutions where people with disabilities are placed, and the development of community-based services that will enable people with disabilities to live in the community and integrate into society. These rights are guaranteed by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which Slovenia ratified in 2008.

The first volume of the Museum of Madness is here, with academic and professional articles and reflections on what is still missing in the community so that we can talk about solidarity, about community life and so that people who live in institutions because they are disabled and disadvantaged can return from there, and so that others who are still living at home do not have to go there.

The call for proposals attracted seven submissions from students themselves, their supervisors and mentors, or other lecturers. It is gratifying to note that among the submissions are final theses by students from different disciplines, from the Faculty of Health Sciences and the Faculty of Law of the University of Maribor, as well as from the Faculty of Social Work, the Faculty of Pedagogy and the Faculty of Arts of the University of Ljubljana. This time, there was no candidate for the best doctoral thesis.
 

It's been an incredible seven years since we experienced an extraordinary time of open borders in Styria. Some of us arrived in Radgona or Šentilj after a long flight, others were there with warm tea, soup and baby diapers to humanely support people on their way. Many life paths crossed then, many of us stayed connected.

We want to remember, to preserve and to continue to weave human ties across borders. All of you who have a special connection to this time of "open borders" are cordially invited to a gathering and a film evening!

On 10 September 2022, we will be opening a new permanent exhibition on the history of life and work in the former mental and nervous institution at Trate. The new exhibition gives a voice to the former workers, the people who survived the institution at Trate and their relatives who came to Trate to see their loved ones. It offers a glimpse into a world that is largely unknown to most of us, and calls on us to work together to develop services in the community, in the home, where people usually live, or at home.

On the occasion of the International Conference "ALPS ADRIA DANUBE NETWORK FOR DISINSTITUTIONALISATION", which took place on 10-11 June 2021 at the Museum of Madness in Trate, we have published the Proceedings of the abstracts, [in Slovenian] prepared by experts, scholars, researchers, users with experience of the institution and people from the community.
 

The International Conference of the Alps Adria Danube Network for Deinstitutionalisation will take place at Cmurek Castle from 10 to 16 June 2021.

The detailed conference programme and recommendations related to the COVID-19 pandemic can be found below.

The programme in Slovenian is available here

Program in English is available here

We have organised an expert forum on the role of NGOs in the implementation of deinstitutionalisation and the realisation of human rights.