Kulturno in izobraževalno društvo gluhih MAVRICA (KIDG MAVRICA) je neprofitno, prostovoljno združenje gluhih oseb in oseb z izgubo sluha.

Gluhi komunicirajo v glavnem v slovenskem znakovnem jeziku – v prvem jeziku gluhih, drugi načini komuniciranja so govor s pomočjo ogledovanja (tj. branje z ustnic), branje in pisanje ter prstno abecedo. Za komuniciranje s slišečimi so jim na voljo tudi tolmači slovenskega znakovnega jezika.

Nameni in cilji našega društva v širšem smislu so:
• promocija kulture gluhih v slovenskem prostoru, kot so jezik gluhih, sodelovanje z drugimi skupinami in s profesionalnimi igralci pri različnih projektih,
• spodbujanje gluhih k razvoju kulture in izobraževanja gluhih.

Cilj društva v ožjem smislu je združevanje gluhih in oglušelih oseb ter ostalih, ki jih zanima članstvo v društvu in usmerjanje v društvene dejavnosti na področju izobraževalnega in kulturnega ustvarjanja.

Cilji delovanja društva so:
- negovanje in zaščita kulture, predvsem kulture gluhih oseb, jezika gluhih, širitve kvalitetne in prilagojene komunikacije ter uveljavljanja njihovih človekovih pravic in temeljnih svoboščin;
- vključevanje v kulturno družbo in njihova nediskriminatorna obravnava v vseh organih družbe;
- vzpodbujanje članov k njihovi avtonomnosti pri uporabi vseh storitev.

Društvo opravlja nepridobitne dejavnosti (povezava na besedilo spodaj) v smislu druženja, izmenjave izkušenj, sodelovanja z drugimi organizacijami, ozaveščanja javnosti in podobno.

Te dejavnosti so:
- aktivno delovanje društva na področju gledališča kot so izvedba gledaliških predstav, sodelovanja na raznih slovenskih in mednarodnih festivalih;
- organizacija seminarjev, tečajev, taborov, festivalov;
- razvijanje in promocija slovenskega znakovnega jezika;
- izvajanje projektov in programov;
- izdaja knjižnih del, priročnikov;
- umetniško oblikovanje – izdelava unikatnih izdelkov: slikarstvo, fotografija, kiparstvo, ambient.

Ustanovni člani KIDG Mavrica so Damjan Šebjan, samostojni kulturni delavec, Lada Lištvanova, diplomirana pedagoginja za gluhe, režiserka in igralka ter Tanja Potočnik Hönigsman, mag. farmacije in večkratna organizatorka raznih taborov, delavnic za gluhe in sodelavka raznih glasil.


Cultural and Educational Club of the Deaf »MAVRICA« (Kulturno in izobraževalno društvo gluhih 'Mavrica' - short: KIDG Mavrica) is a non-profit, voluntary association of deaf people and people with a hearing loss.

The deaf in Slovenia communicate primarily in Slovenian sign language - the first language for deaf people (their mother tongue) - but they also communicate in other ways, such as: by help of speech viewing (i.e. lip reading), reading and writing and by use of finger alphabet. The communication of the deaf persons with the hearing people is, in the last few years, furtherly facilitated by employment of Slovenian sign language interpreters.

The purposes and objectives of our club in a broader context are:
• promotion of deaf culture in Slovenian territory, such as the language of the deaf, working with other groups and with professional actors in various projects,
• stimulation of the deaf towards the development of deaf culture and deaf education.


The aim of the club in the strict sense, is:
• the integration of the deaf and hard-of-hearing persons and others who are interested in membership in the club, and
• guidance in the association activities in the field of education and cultural creation.

The objectives of our association are the following:
• Care and protection of culture, especially the culture of the deaf people, the language of the deaf, widening of quality and personalized communication and asserting their human rights of the deaf and safeguard of their fundamental freedoms;
• Integration of the deaf in the cultural society and their non-discrimination in all fields of society;
• Encouraging members to use their autonomy in all services in their lives.

The club KIDG Mavrica carries out non-profit activities in terms of socializing, exchange of experiences and cooperation with other organizations, public awareness and the like.

These activities include:

- Active functioning of the club in the field of theatre such as theatre performance, participation in various Slovenian and international festivals;
- Organization of seminars, courses, camps, festivals;
- Development and promotion of Slovenian sign language;
- Implementation of different projects and programmers;
- Edition of books, manuals;
- Artistic design - creating unique products: painting, photography, sculpture, ambience.

Founder-members of KIDG Mavrica are Damjan Šebjan, independent cultural worker, Lada Lištvanova, qualified teacher of the deaf, stage manager and actress and Tanja Potočnik Hönigsman, M. Pharm. and frequent organizer of different camps and workshops for the deaf and contributor to different gazettes.