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OVERVIEW OF ACCESSIBLE PROGRAMMES FOR PERSONS WITH SENSORY DISABILITIES IN 2025 Skopje, 13 March 2025 – The Agency has published the Overview of Programmes That Media Service Providers, in Accordance with Their Action Plans, Shall Make Accessible to Persons with Sensory Disabilities during 2025. According to the Law on Audio and Audiovisual Media Services, media service providers are obliged to take continuous and progressive steps to ensure accessibility of their services for persons with disabilities. In order to operationalize this obligation, a Rulebook on Accessibility to Media Services was developed, adopted by the Agency Council on 13 June 2024, on the basis of which media services concerned submitted annual action plans for 2025. State-level television stations shall meet this obligation in the first year by ensuring accessibility to at least one programme that is aired at least once a week, while each subsequent year, they shall have to make one more programme accessible so as to achieve a cumulative effect. The video-on-demand services will have to ensure accessibility of 2% of the content in their catalogues in the first year, while each subsequent year they shall increase this percentage by an additional 2%. In addition, television programme services should inform people with disabilities about their accessible programmes through self-promotional announcements and in other ways before these are broadcast. The video-on-demand services should clearly mark the accessible programmes in their catalogues. As part of the accessibility obligation, radio and TV programmes should improve the visibility and representation of people with disabilities. In doing so, it is recommended to avoid stereotypical portrayals, both negative (pity or as victims) and inappropriately positive ones (such as superheroes, for example). Instead, reporting should offer a balanced depiction of disability as part of everyday life, while promoting the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities in all areas, such as politics, economy, culture, sports, health care, etc. AVMU will continuously monitor the fulfillment of the undertaken obligations by media service providers. For all issues related to media services accessibility, the Agency has opened an e-mail address, dostapnost@avmu.mk. This contact point serves for obtaining information, submitting complaints, submitting action plans and reports, as well as for exchanging relevant information. Submission of 2025 Annual Accessibility Action Plan Skopje, 13 December 2024 – In accordance with the Rulebook on Media Services Accessibility, which entered into force in June this year, the television stations broadcasting programmes at the national level and on-demand services are obliged to continuously and progressively make their programmes accessible to persons with disabilities. According to the Rulebook, the national television stations and on-demand services are required to submit to the Agency an Annual Accessibility Action Plan for 2025 using a specific form, no later than 31 December 2024, to the dedicated email address: dostapnost@avmu.mk. The form for the Annual Accessibility Action Plan is available at this link Rulebook on Media Services Accessibility TV Content that will be adapted for Persons with Disabilities during the 2024 Elections Skopje, 3 April 2024 – In accordance with the obligations arising from the Election Code, the Public Broadcasting Service, i.e. the First and Second Programming Services of the Macedonian Television, and the privately-owned television programming services at the state level that will be airing paid political advertising have an obligation, while reporting on the elections, to adjust one edition of their newscasts and one piece of content broadcasted in the period from 16:00 hrs to 24:00 hrs to the persons with sensory impairments. The outlets that will be airing content in a format accessible for people with disabilities include MRT 1, MRT 2, Alfa TV, Alsat M TV, Kanal 5 TV, Sitel TV, Telma TV, Kompani 21-M TV, Shenja TV, Klan Macedonia TV, Sonce TV, 24 Vesti TV and Nasha TV. Although it has no obligation under the Electoral Code, the regional M TV from Ohrid will also be providing programme accessible for persons with sensory impairments. The list of accessible contents for each media outlet in particular is available at this link. Public Presentation of the Draft-Rulebook on Media Services Accessibility Held
In his opening address, Director of the Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services Zoran Trajchevski underlined that the drafting of the act had resulted from the amendments and supplements to the Law on Audio and Audiovisual Media Services of July 2023, which ensure mandatory accessibility to media services for persons with disabilities. “Persons with visual, hearing, motor or cognitive impairments, the elderly, the injured persons, come across obstacles on a daily basis, not only in the physical, but also in the digital world, as well as in the use of media content. We expect this Rulebook to contribute to overcoming some of the obstacles, and we shall remain actively committed to this goal in the future as well,” stressed Trajchevski. Read more. |
Skopje, 14 March 2024 | Booklet on “How to Provide Information for Persons with Sensory…(read more)
The booklet is printed into the Macedonian, Albanian and English languages. It highlights the needs, ideas and considerations of the severely and less severely sight- or hearing-impaired persons living in the Republic of Macedonia. The brochure is available at the following link |
| Policy for Ensuring Audiovisual Media Services’ Accessibility for People with Sensory Disabilities At its 45th Session held on 17 December 2020, the Agency Council adopted a Policy for Ensuring Audiovisual Media Services’ Accessibility for People with Sensory Disabilities, on which there had been a public debate.The document outlines and indicates the key courses of action for the regulatory body, while the specific activities will depend on the current needs of the target group, i.e. the visually and hearing impaired persons, but also of other persons with disabilities, as well as on the possibilities of the broadcasters and the providers of on-demand audiovisual services, and will be planned annually. |
| Agency Adopts Report on Implementing the Programme for Ensuring Media Accessibility to Persons with Sensory Impairments (2016-2018)
At its 25th session, held on 17 June 2019, the Agency council adopted the Report on Implementing the Programme for Ensuring Media Accessibility to Persons with Sensory Impairments, 2016-2018. The Report covers all activities and researches the regulatory authority carried out, as well as the brochures it published, in line with the two-year Programme, also including the activities that may, in the foreseeable future, contribute to improving access to the programmes for persons with disabilities. |
Working Meeting Held on Ensuring Access to Programmes for Persons with Disabilities
As part of its efforts to promote certain activities among the broadcasters so that the latter would make their programmes accessible for persons with vision and hearing impairments, the Agency held a working meeting today with representatives of the national television broadcasters…read more
Research “Access to the Broadcasters’ Programmes for Persons with Vision and Hearing Loss – Offer and Needs”
The research concerning “Access to the Broadcasters’ Programmes for Persons with Vision and Hearing Loss – Offer and Needs”, envisaged by the three-year Programme for Ensuring Access to Media for Persons with Sensory Impairments, adopted in 2015, was completed in the fourth quarter of 2016. The results of this research were presented at the Fourth Public Meeting of the Agency, which was held on 29 December 2016.
For the needs of this research, a Questionnaire was prepared about the quantity and quality of the offer of television programmes intended for persons with sensory disabilities, and the same was sent to all TV services. Moreover, interviews were conducted with representatives of the organizations representing persons with vision and hearing loss, as well as other relevant organizations.
The presentation and the entire research titled “Access to the Broadcasters’ Programmes for Persons with Vision and Hearing Loss – Offer and Needs” are available at the links given below:
Research “Access to the Broadcasters’ Programmes for Persons with Vision and Hearing Loss. Needs and Offer (pdf)
Procedure for Communication with Citizens with Some Form and Degree of Handicap The Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services adopted, as part of the project titled “Accessible Administration for the Handicapped”, a Procedure for Communication with Citizens with Some Form of Handicap…read more
For communication with citizens with sensory impairments click here