History

The history of the Hungarian Federation of Blind and Particularly Sighted and it’s structure

Our federation is one of the oldest advocacy organizations in our country.
In 1901 the National Guard Assosiation for the Blind has founded, but this association hasn’t invitated by the blind people. It has based on the human responsibility of the contemporary society. Employing workshops has been made, where the blind people worked for the coverage of their own supplies.
The tragedy of the 1st World War was needed to make chane in this matter. Until that time the National Guard Association for the Blind’s activities contained only the lower, more vulnerable social section, after the war appeared a great amount of particularly sighted people in all of the society sections. Int he initiative of the qualified blind people finally the Association for the Blind has founded in October 1918.
When we discuss the circumstances of the forming of our federation, we can’t ignore the given historical situation at the time, and the effects of the advancing liberal ideas. The government which has been stated in 1918 has approved the statutes of the association, which garanteed a good framework for a group which wants to work for themselves. In one word the two poles of the responsibility of the society and the individuals.
Int he times of the Hungarian republic of Councils in 1919 with the effective support of Varga Jenő, a renowned social economist the socialpolitics thought as one of ti’s most important issues to make the people with lowered work capacities – like blind – work again. After 1919 there was a reversal, which brought again into focus the role of charity in society. Here we have to stop for a while int he writing of the history of the federation. Altough there is an amount of regression after 1920, buta t the foundation of the federation a certain principle and social need has already expressed, which has effected the development of the federation, and it effects it in nowadays too.
Between the two world wars there was two organisations which are worked for the blind: the National Guard Assosiation for the Blind which has been supplied by the government and the society too, and the Association for the Blind, which has been founded by the blind people themselves. The contemporary  social politics were charitative based, so it has only favored and sponsored the National Guard Assosiation for the Blind.
In 1941, cooperation between the two organizations was established, the main reason for the activity is not identical, but also person-related thing, becuse the president of the federation was in one person the deputy director of the National Guard Assosiation for the Blind. In 1938, the Association publishes it’s first regular journal, the World of the Blind, which provides a forum for discussion of problems of blind people. In 1945 there was a change again int he bilnd people’s life. The civic initiative comes to the interest again, and the National Guard Assosiation for the Blind.is merging into the federation of the Blind. In 1948 the federation’s authonomy has been suspended, and the Countcil for the Blind has established, which was an organisation under the Interoir Ministry. Despite the loss of authoroty, in 1949 the National Occupational Organisation for the Blind has established. In 1952 the federation of the Blind has partial authonomy, and it works under the health Ministery. The organisation extends it’s advocacy activities to the paricularly sighted too. The statutue which has approved in 1976 already contains the name National Association for the Blind ad particularly Sighted.
The result of democratization in Hungary including the new merger law under which the National Federation of the Blind and Visually Impaired is operating as an independent social organization from 1989. It’s manegement is based on budget support, application resources and partially covered by donations.
As the effect of ever-narrowing budgetary resources, and in order of the more successfull advocacy, the MVGYOSZ has undergoing a significant transformation in September 2005. Modifying the statutues from then not only the so called „natural persons” could be the members of the Federation, but the smaller organisations too, which are worked for the godd of the blind people. Mainly they were the rural organisations of the Federation int he shires.
The democratically functioning MVGYOSZ”s main organ is the Envoy Assembly, in which every member-organisations are provided by 5-5 envoys, and if it’s membership is over 1000 members, after every 500 members above the 1000 they can send one more delegates. The „natural members” are only provided by 5 envoys and they can also delegate one more member after every 50 members above the 1000 members. The head of the MVGYOSZ is the seven-membered Presidency, which is electing a president from it’s members. The operational manegement of the organisation is made by the Registrar, who is working int he Federation’s headquarters ont he hermina street from January 2006.

If you are interested int he statutue of the Fedaration, please download it from the appropiate page.