The League of the Strong public union is starting to cooperate with the State Agency for the Restoration and Development of Infrastructure of Ukraine. They will work together on issues of accessibility of real estate. This was announced by Daria Sydorenko, Executive Director of the League of the Strong public union, during a working meeting with Mustafa-Masi Nayem, Head of the State Agency for the Restoration and Development of Infrastructure of Ukraine.
“Accessibility and barrier-free conditions should be created at the design stage of buildings. All standards for people with disabilities should be taken into account. Ukraine is currently rebuilding facilities that were destroyed due to hostilities. It is important for us that this reconstruction is inclusive. The start of cooperation with the Reconstruction Agency is an important step in ensuring equal access to residential buildings and public places,” said Daria Sydorenko, executive director of The League of the Strong NGO.
As a result of the meeting, Daria Sydorenko said that it is planned to amend the Cabinet of Ministers Resolution “On Approval of the Regulation on the State Agency for the Restoration and Development of Infrastructure of Ukraine”. If adopted, this will guarantee that accessibility should be paid attention to and taken into account at the design stage.
Also among the proposals to the Regulation is a new clause according to which the State Agency for the Restoration and Development of Infrastructure of Ukraine will develop and implement measures to ensure the accessibility of facilities under its management. This applies to residential real estate, public buildings and civil defense facilities.
As part of the cooperation, the League of the Strong experts are expected to analyze the project documentation of the facilities being restored by the Agency and provide proposals for implementing barrier-free accessibility. In particular, these are more than 30 checkpoints being restored and a residential building being built from scratch. The meeting also discussed training for specialists who will monitor accessibility.