Romanian National Association for the Deaf

The Romanian National Association for the Deaf (Asociația Națională a Surzilor din România, ANSR) is a national non-governmental, independent, non-profit organization that represents and supports the Deaf community in Romania. It is officially recognized as being of public utility and is unconditionally non-political and non-religious. Its mission is to defend and promote the rights of persons with hearing impairments — including deaf, deaf-mute and hard-of-hearing people — in order to advance social inclusion and equalize opportunities. The association receives support for its specific activities from central and local authorities as well as from individuals and legal entities. ANSR traces its origins to 9 November 1919, when the first group of people with hearing disabilities in Romania was established under the patronage of Queen Maria as the "Friendly Association of the Deaf-Mute of Romania" (Asociația Amicală a Surdo-Muților din România). Its first president was Alexandru Clarnet, and the leadership committee included Prince Henry Ghica, the deaf son of ruler Constantin Ghica. The founding act was authenticated at the Ilfov Tribunal under number 328 of 5 January 1920. Until 1953, when the "Association of the Deaf-Mute of the Romanian People's Republic" was reconstituted on the basis of state-allocated funds, the friendly associations of the deaf-mute operated on largely philanthropic criteria: deaf people met in clubs led by freely elected committees, granted each other material aid, supported one another in finding work, and carried out various cultural, social and sporting activities. After 1953 the association reorganized, received a state budget and was able to hire salaried staff, diversifying its activity. Today ANSR operates on the administrative-territorial principle, with 36 county branches and 13 sub-branches, and thousands of active members nationwide. According to its official website, in 2024 it provided more than 100,000 services to Deaf people, processed more than 4,500 files through its social assistants, registered more than 4,000 active members across all branches, and had 26 authorized interpreters listed in its national register. In December 2018 there were 23,564 deaf people in Romania (21,733 adults and 1,831 children), most of whom ANSR includes in its records as members. The association's activities include methodological assistance, coordination and support of member clubs throughout the country; support for founding new groups and promoting cooperation between clubs; initiatives and proposals to improve the status of deaf people and distribution of materials on status issues; promotion of the cultural-educational activities of deaf people and their access to public community services; organization of courses, seminars and training activities in fields of interest to deaf and hearing people; provision of services for persons with special needs (children, young people, the elderly and adults) who do not know sign language; promotion of the social integration of deaf people and accurate information of civil society about the specific needs of persons with hearing disabilities; and national and international cooperation with organizations of deaf, hard-of-hearing and other disability groups, as well as with national and international authorities. Its activities also concern deaf people with multiple disabilities. ANSR is present online and runs a newsletter, national surveys (for example on Romanian Sign Language interpretation), a 3.5% income-redirection campaign, and digitalization projects financed through Romania's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). It also warns the public that it does not collect donations on the street, in order to protect people from scams.

The Romanian National Association for the Deaf (ANSR) was founded on 9 November 1919, when the first group of people with hearing disabilities in Romania was established through the voluntary association of a group of deaf people under the patronage of Queen Maria. It was originally named the "Friendly Association of the Deaf-Mute of Romania" (Asociația Amicală a Surdo-Muților din România). Its first president was Alexandru Clarnet, and the leadership committee included Prince Henry Ghica, the deaf son of ruler Constantin Ghica. The founding act was authenticated at the Ilfov Tribunal under number 328 of 5 January 1920. Until 1953, when the "Association of the Deaf-Mute of the Romanian People's Republic" was reconstituted on the basis of funds allocated by the state, the friendly associations of the deaf-mute operated on largely philanthropic criteria. Deaf people met in clubs led by freely elected committees, granted each other material aid, supported one another in finding employment, and carried out various cultural, social and sporting activities. After 1953 the association reorganized, received a state budget and was able to hire salaried staff, diversifying its activity. In the decades that followed, ANSR developed into a nationwide organization structured on the administrative-territorial principle, with 36 county branches and 13 sub-branches. It became an officially recognized non-governmental organization of public utility, unconditionally non-political and non-religious, dedicated to defending and promoting the rights of persons with hearing impairments — deaf, deaf-mute and hard-of-hearing — for social inclusion and equalization of opportunities. It receives support for its specific activities from central and local authorities as well as from individuals and legal entities. By December 2018 there were 23,564 deaf people in Romania (21,733 adults and 1,831 children), most of whom ANSR includes in its records as members. According to its official website, in 2024 ANSR provided more than 100,000 services to Deaf people, processed more than 4,500 files through its social assistants, registered more than 4,000 active members across all branches, and had 26 authorized interpreters listed in its national register. The association also runs a newsletter, national surveys such as one on Romanian Sign Language interpretation, a 3.5% income-redirection campaign, and digitalization projects financed through Romania's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). It cooperates nationally and internationally with organizations of deaf, hard-of-hearing and other disability groups, as well as with national and international authorities, and is associated with bodies such as the European Union of the Deaf and the World Federation of the Deaf.

• 2024

  ANSR reported more than 100,000 services provided to Deaf people, more than 4,500 files processed by social assistants, more than 4,000 active members, and 26 authorized interpreters in its national register.

• 2018

  In December 2018 there were 23,564 deaf people in Romania (21,733 adults and 1,831 children), most of whom ANSR includes in its records as members.

• 1953

  "Association of the Deaf-Mute of the Romanian People's Republic" reconstituted on the basis of state-allocated funds; association reorganized and hired salaried staff.

• 1920

  Founding act authenticated at the Ilfov Tribunal under number 328 of 5 January 1920.

• 1919

  First group of people with hearing disabilities in Romania founded on 9 November under the patronage of Queen Maria as the "Friendly Association of the Deaf-Mute of Romania".

National, non-governmental, non-profit organization of public utility representing and supporting Romania's Deaf community, with a century-long history and a nationwide branch network.

• Social assistance services

  Casework and support provided by ANSR social assistants; more than 4,500 files processed in 2024.

• Romanian Sign Language (LSR) interpretation

  Authorized interpretation services; 26 interpreters registered in the national register.

• Courses, seminars and training

  Training activities in fields of interest to deaf and hearing people.

• Cultural, social and sporting activities

  Activities organized through member clubs and branches nationwide.

• Digitalization projects

  PNRR-funded projects including wireless mesh systems, motion sensors and IT audit services.

1. 1Acasă - ANSRansr.ro
2. 2Asociația Națională a Surzilor din Româniaro.wikipedia.org
3. 3Romanian National Association for the Deafwikidata.org