FOF2019,
Grants to Aid the Professional Programme of Local, Regional and National Organisations of Persons with Disabilities
Name of the project: Barrier-free Pécs
Funded by: Equal Opportunities of Persons with Disabilities Non-profit Ltd.
Time frame: 1. September 2019 – 30. June 2020
Due to the coronal virus epidemic it was extended until 31 of August 2020.
About the project:
The project explores important places in the city of Pécs with an eye on their accessibility. The places surveyed include restaurants, hotels, tourist attractions, sport and cultural facilities. The explorations are carried out by our members living with a disability and experienced in the field. All barrier-free places are entered into a database and published online and in media outlets, for user both in Hungary and abroad.
Our main goal is inclusion, bringing together able-bodied and disabled people, including locals as well as tourists, sensitising society, and encouraging networking between residents of the city, tourists and local businesses
Our motto: Accessibility is not only advantageous to the disabled!
The idea of the project came from our members. They wanted to be able to use public social and recreation facilities, without being segregated from society. However they were not aware of barrier-free places in the city. Funded by Pécs Community Foundation, at the end of November 2018, we started a pilot project exploring more than 30 places, including restaurants, cafés, hotels, shops, and public institutions.
To read more about this project go to: http://peoplefirst.hu/projects/pecs-jovoje-alap-2018-kozossegi-kreativitas-projektek/,
To find the list of barrier-free places go to http://peoplefirst.hu/akadalymentes-pecs/
The pilot project needs to be continued, as it fills a gap, and is widely supported by the public and those interested in creating a barrier-free environment.
An important goal of the project is sensitising society, raising public awareness of what truly a barrier-free environment is – as opposed to places that tick the boxes but are in reality not usable by people with a disability. We would also like to bring awareness to the daily lives of people living with disabilities. We want disabled people to become a part of the city, we want to meet them in cinemas, theaters, restaurants, gyms, and on tourist trails, together with able-bodied people. We want to change the general attitude from ‘there is no need to make this place accessible, as disabled people don’t come here anyway’ to ‘if we have a barrier-free environment people with disabilities will also visit’.
We need to be aware that people living with a disability are also members of our consumer society. Hotels, restaurants, cinemas, leisure centres, and organizers of cultural and sport events can and should count on them as potential guests.
Widening the scope of our sticker project:
We have extended our explorations and advice services to cater for the needs of people with auditory and visual impairment. We are exploring more cultural and sport facilities, tourist attractions, tourist trails and important public institutions.
We would like other regions in the country to follow suit. We are more than happy to share our expertise and experience.