In Ternopil, community representatives were trained on how to monitor physical environment objects for accessibility. The training was organized by the “League of the Strong” public union, as reported by David Davtian, the project manager of the union.
“A major issue for many cities is the inaccessibility of infrastructure—high curbs and poorly designed bus stops. However, even when a person with a disability manages to reach their destination, they often face another challenge: barriers in public buildings, social services, and medical facilities. Monitoring these locations helps identify problem areas so that efforts can be made to improve them. During this training, participants gained the necessary tools to do just that,” emphasized David Davtian, project manager of the “League of the Strong.”
The training for representatives of the Ternopil municipality was conducted by Taras Khomitskyi, an accessibility consultant and head of the public organization “Barrier-Free Ternopil.” He is also a member of the Public Group at the Ternopil City Council, which oversees the implementation of infrastructure improvement projects.
During the training, participants were introduced to global practices in physical, informational, and digital accessibility of services. They also learned how to identify existing barriers and develop strategies to eliminate them to improve spatial accessibility.
The event was part of the Empower Ukraine project, which is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO), CBM, and the European Disability Forum.