Almost 80% of Ukrainians surveyed believe that local authorities should be responsible for addressing the issues of people with disabilities. This is evidenced by the results of the first national sociological study on the perception of people with disabilities in Ukraine, conducted by the League of the Strong. Therefore, local governments are key stakeholders in inclusive recovery. This was stated by Daria Sydorenko, Executive Director of “The League of the Strong”, during the forum “Inclusive Community Recovery” in Kyiv.
“We understand this approach and share it. After all, local authorities are the customers of physical reconstruction works and the founders of many communal institutions. To begin with, we need to make a decision that the reconstruction will be affordable,” – said Daria Sydorenko, executive director of “The League of the Strong” NGO.
Daria Sydorenko named specific steps that communities, with the support of the public, can take now to make the recovery inclusive.
In particular, to review local strategic regulations to see if they provide for accessibility. Analyze the documentation of departments such as health, culture, transportation, etc. to see if they include accessibility indicators. Involve local governments in training on inclusion. For large cities, it is worth introducing a separate department that will be responsible for accessibility issues. And also to develop plans to attract funding for recovery processes.
“The issue of accessibility is the issue of obtaining accessible administrative, medical, transportation, cultural and other services. That is, the issue of recovery and accessible recovery is not only about architectural and spatial solutions,” said Daria Sydorenko, executive director of “The League of the Strong” NGO.
On May 10, 2024, the Government of Ukraine, the Government of Germany and the United Nations held a national forum “Inclusive Community Recovery”. The purpose of the forum is to demonstrate the experience gained and the results achieved in efforts to restore communities affected by the war. The Kyiv forum is an official event on the road to the Ukraine Recovery Conference to be held on June 11-12 in Berlin.
The forum was attended by representatives of 150 Ukrainian communities, government agencies, the public sector, and donors implementing recovery projects on the ground.