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What happened in 2022 if you pressed the button?

There is a very clever form of support for NGOs, the https://adjukossze.hu/ run by NIOK. Here, registered civi organizations can launch various fundraising online campaigns, for which they receive all the support from NIOK.
If you click on the beautiful pink ADOMÁNYOZOK (DONATE) button on our website, you will be taken here too.

Every year, NIOK asks us to report on the progress and results, which are automatically received by donors through the button. After all, it is important not only to receive, but also to give – news, reports on how and for what we used the generous help.

Here we tell you what we have achieved in 2022 with the help of the ADOMÁNYOZOK (DONATE) button, i.e. Adjukössze, where our Barrier-free Pécs and Hidden City Tor-Tour projects are supported. (https://peoplefirst.hu/en/projects/)

Thank you here and we are counting on you in the future!

We started a smooth road

For us, a smooth road is primarily an barrier-free road 🙂

A lot has happened in 2022 that gives us cause for hope. We continue to work on social inclusion, primarily on broadening and understanding accessibility. We continue to see that Hungarian society is helpful, but there is a huge lack of information. Our job is to plug this information hole.

Let’s see what we’ve been able to achieve in 2022, thanks to the Adjukössze Page and your support.

We were able to hold many Hidden City Tor-Tours in Pécs. (What is the Tor-Tour of the Hidden City?)
We consider this to be one of the best sensitizations, because instead of persuasion or lecture, we simply walk, talk cheerfully, tell exciting stories about Pécs, and give the opportunity to try out a wheelchair or white cane, that is, to understand what life with disabilities is like.

Among the 2022 Hidden City Walks, the visit to Pécs of the National Tourism Consultants stands out, who specifically wanted a Hidden City Walk with us.

It is important for us that the results of the Hidden City Walks were also recognized at the Civil Award event, as we reached the final of the event and stood proudly on stage (although rolling up there in a wheelchair was a Mount Everest experience).

In September, on the World Tourism Day, the city of Pécs ordered a public Hidden City tour from us, which we were very happy to hold.

We thought that if we already had such a well-established, useful project, we would distribute it. For the first time in our lives, we set out to write an international tender, where our association also assumes the coordinating role. So we started organizing the Visegrad Fund competition, in which we offer our Hidden City Tor-Tour as a best practice to Slovak and Polish partners.

We experienced similar excitement with our unique urban barrier-free database, the Barrier-free Pécs Database. (And what is the Barrier-free Pécs Database?)
A lot of positive things happened here as well, but we admit that maintaining, expanding and updating it is hard work and a constant challenge. We need constant supporters, as such a database cannot remain without care and expansion! 

Good news:
On our entire website, including in the database, we captioned all the pictures for our blind friends. We immediately created descriptions for pictures, photos and illustrations in three ways. We also involved our university and high school volunteers in this, for them it was certainly a lifelong sensitization.

We renewed our “sticker team” carrying out site excavations and made funding more transparent. We can still only pay HUF 3000 per person for each exploration, which is very little, and we admit that it is not really motivating, which is why we need your support. The people who carry out the exploration are people with disabilities, this is a source of education, work and money for them.

We’ve strengthened the support option on the Adjukössze page with a campaign called “Duplatét/Double Rate”. In this winning tender, we undertook to collect HUF 250,000 for the development of the Accessible Pécs Database. If the amount is collected, the tenderer will double this amount. And with you WE SUCCEEDED! 🙂
Thank you very much once again. Thus, we were able to discover new locations, update some older ones, update the IT side of the database.
I wish we had such a large amount of help every year, the database would improve greatly!

Good and moderately good news mixed:
We are constantly consulting and negotiating to find constant help in maintaining and developing the Barrier-free Pécs Database. Since we believe that this is primarily beneficial for Pécs, we contacted the City Hall and concluded a Cooperation Agreement with the city marketing and tourism departments in February 2022. We thought it was a big step forward!

As a result, we became an active participant in the Pécs Tourism Roundtable, where we are advocates of barrier-free tourism.

The Barrier-free Pécs Database has become part of the official website of the city of Pécs (https://pecs.hu/en/)

……. somehow we don’t get any further. We cannot hope for permanent financial support, and our accessibility signals are lost.
? What do you think we should do to find listening ears in local government and businesses?

But I don’t want to end with negative news. 🙂

Partnership is always one of the most important things for us, so it was a great pleasure that the Association for an Accessible Józsefváros Without Obstacles (Budapest) contacted us and we discussed how they could create a similar accessible database. Active, skillful organization, we hope it will come true!

We have launched an international People First network where we can talk about our common things and share our good ideas. Many People First organizations from all over the world have joined us! One of the good ideas is the city’s accessible database, which we will discuss at an international conference. Will you be with us?

Keep an eye on our Facebook page  (https://www.facebook.com/PeopleFirstHun) for updates, read our Website (https://peoplefirst.hu/en/ ) to get to know us better.

And if you can, see if you have some money in your account to help the accessibility. 🙂

Thank you for reading, thank you for being with us!
The People First team

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fashion show with disabled models

Style is for everyone!
With this title, the audience of Pécs could see a hilarious fashion show on September 9, 2023! Models with disabilities presented the clothes of shops and fashion designers in Pécs.

Tge Szabadkikötő – a popular pub in Pécs -, was completely full, about 80 kind people applauded and cheered throughout the event. It was so nice to be there and proudly watch the models, who bravely, casually, with a smile showed how beautiful and skillful they were. There was no shortage of humor or gags.

Of course, we were especially proud of our association members, Hilda Kerekes, Gyöngyi Molnár, Krisztina Koltai, Evelin Almadi and Zoli Dudás, for showing this new side of themselves. And even that!

In addition to several Pécs NGOs, originators of the idea Izabella Nagy style consultant, Klára Balogh social worker, the People First Association also participated in organizing the unique fashion show and brainstorming. Our board member Hilda Kerekes played a huge role in the organization, of whom we are especially proud.

Many thanks to the supporters for supporting this free event with clothes, food, drink, and lots of love!
Ruha Otthon, Zora Fashion, Bella Napoli használtruha Pécs, Karácsony Andrea – Couture Collection, Nova Luna Couture,Inanna Wedding, Gangel Benjamin Férfiszabósága, beautiful make-up and beautiful hairstyles were made by Ágota Bánusz, Kinga Radnóti, Brigitta Fődi, Ildikó Udvari-Szabó, thanks to Akli Krisztina Desszertműhely for tasty and beautiful cookiesnek, for Hetényi Pince for fine wines, and for Káca Tanya for special cheeses. The location was provided by Szabadkikötő. If you follow us on our Facebook page, you will soon see great photos by Viola Gál and videos by Mihály Földesi.(https://www.facebook.com/PeopleFirstHun)

Everyone offered their support for free, and some clothes were eventually given to the performers as gifts! We have no words for that, only gratitude.

Short report from PécsTV:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eY061c1nLD4&t=349s

 

What did we spend your support on in the Duplatét/Double Bet campaign?

At the end of last year, we received great help from you!
As part of our Duplatét campaign, we asked you to support our unique urban barrier-free database in Hungary. https://peoplefirst.hu/akadalymentes-pecs/ 

Thanks to the application of the Emberség Erejével Alapítvány/Power of Humanity Foundation, we were able to double the HUF 250,000 we received from you as a donation! We will be forever grateful to all our Hungarian and foreign supporters. 

We want you to know WHAT WE SPENT YOUR GENEROUS DONATION ON LAST YEAR: 

First, take a look at how many excavated locations we’ve been able to revisit and update.
This is an extremely important part of the Barrier-free Pécs Database, as an accessible database is useless if its information is not up-to-date! 

WE ASK YOU TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE LOCATIONS AND WRITE WHAT YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED IN THE DATABASE AS AN OPINION! We also welcome opinions in English and German.
You help a lot with this for other people with disabilities, people with strollers, the elderly, and everyone for whom accessibility is good.

The following locations have been updated and expanded with new information and photos: 

Laterum Hotel: https://peoplefirst.hu/directory/akadalymentes-pecs/laterum/   

Interspar: https://peoplefirst.hu/…/akadaly…/interspar-hipermarket/   

Széchenyi Square public toilet: https://peoplefirst.hu/…/akadalymentes-pecs/szechenyi-ter/   

Nana Bistro&Bar: https://peoplefirst.hu/directory/akadalymentes-pecs/nana/   

Pécs Plaza: https://peoplefirst.hu/directory/akadalymentes-pecs/plaza/   

Clinic downtown: https://peoplefirst.hu/…/akadalymente…/rendelointezet-2/   

Vásárcsarnok/Market Hall: https://peoplefirst.hu/…/akadalymentes-pecs/vasarcsarnok/   

Selyemgyár Kulturális Negyed: https://peoplefirst.hu/…/selyemgyar-kulturalis-negyed/   

Városháza/Town hall: https://peoplefirst.hu/dire…/akadalymentes-pecs/varoshaza/   

Magtár: https://peoplefirst.hu/directory/akadalymentes-pecs/magtar/ 

WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING YOUR OPINIONS ABOUT EACH SITE IN THE DATABASE! 

Another important piece of information is the accessibility of websites, especially since in Hungary this is mandatory by law.
An accessible website is especially important for visually impaired people, who without it will not be able to get any information about a location. 

We did not check the websites when the Barrier-free Pécs Database was launched, so now we have LOOKED AT EVERY SINGLE WEBSITE GOING BACK TO 2018 and included it in the descriptions!
We may still have one or two backlogs, but we will make up for it. 

It was a huge task, as was the CAPTIONING OF ALL IMAGES AND ILLUSTRATIONS on the website, which is also a great help for our blind and visually impaired site visitors. We captioned the images in three ways. 

We are happy to hear from stakeholders whether we are doing it properly. Thank you in advance, you will greatly help our work! 

If you consider it important and would like to support the database, you can do so by clicking on the Adományozok/Donate button on our website with any amount of money. You can even support our work continuously. 

Illusztrációs kép: középen egy laptop látható kinyitva, mellette egy íróasztal lámpa, egy csésze kávé, egy olvasószemüveg és néhány könyv. A laptop monitorján az Akadálymentes Pécs Adatbázis logoja, a matricával együtt, melyet az helyszínek ajtajaira ragasztunk. A felirat fölött a monitoron egy célkereszt, amibe épp egy nyíl talál bele. A kép fölső részén felirat: www.peoplefirst.hu

Barrier-free Tourism Day 2023

There will be the Barrier-free Tourism Day festival in Orfu again this year, even if the organization has been delayed.

The basic informations:

📌On September 2, between 10:00 and 16:00, we organize the VII. Barrier-free Tourism Day
📌Locations this year are only the Island and Medvehagyma House. The Sports Camp is only available for motorcycling.
📌Of course, there will be experiences! Namely:
sailing, motorboating
fishing
motorcycling
driving
horse riding, horse-drawn carriage rides
dragonboating

📌Organizers: Municipality of Orfu, Gyeregyalog.hu Association, People First Public Benefit Association – Pécs, Dragon Nest Foundation and Orfu Tourism Association

Details can be found continuously on the event’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/turizmus.akadalymentes

 

New accessible feature on Google Maps, but….!

Google Maps stores information about the accessibility of more than 40 million locations worldwide, including public transportation, landmarks, and restaurants.
Based on this vast amount of information, this new feature can help people with reduced mobility plan their trips by checking if the location they are visiting has an accessible entrance. This can be useful for parents with strollers or travellers carrying suitcases.
But we emphasize, THIS APPLIES ONLY TO THE ENTRANCE!

Google has made this new feature visible to everyone by default starting in May 2023 in the form of users seeing a wheelchair icon for places where there is an accessible entrance.
The same icon is crossed out where there is no accessible entrance or markup because no information has been received.

In this information Google relies on community contributions from local guide volunteers, businesses, and everyday users to make the feature work. Currently, information other than accessibility of entrances can only be filtered from individual reviews.

How can you get more useful accessibility information from specific locations?
The People First Association was the only one in Hungary to create a database that could be an even more useful tool than the new function of Google Maps for visitors to Pécs and its surroundings, as well as for locals.
In our Barrier-free Pécs database you can find truly accessible Pécs locations explored by the expert members of our association, with thorough descriptions and photos. The on-site inspection of our disabled and able-bodied members covers restaurants, cafes, hotels, tourist attractions, shops, cultural and sports objects, churches, public institutions, public toilets and tourist paths.
We show you not only the entrance, but also the use of the interiors, the approach, the usability of the website and much more. Explore our database in English here: https://peoplefirst.hu/en/helyszinek/

Another way to solve your own problems

We highly recommend to your attention another opportunity that has just started to take the problems affecting you into your own hands. It can even be used in accessibility announcements!

A civil initiative that has been successfully operating nationwide for a long time has also become available in Pécs.
THE PÉCS JÁRÓKELŐ (PASSERBY) HAS STARTED.
Find and report a problem!

Volunteer case managers in Pécs connect city residents with the municipality and public utility providers to solve troublesome problems in public spaces.

tHE jarokelo.hu is a solution-oriented and transparent citizen customer service that aims to enable anyone to contribute to the quality of our environment with their reports, making our homes cleaner, tidy, safer and more beautiful.

The service has been operating since 2012 and solves about 6,000 cases a year. The Power of Humanity Foundation and Járókelő operate the Pécs interface in partnership. The popularity of this public space fault reporting page for city dwellers lies in its simplicity.

Read more about all this here:https://www.emberseg.hu/…/elindult-a-pecsi-jarokelo…/
and on the Járókő page, you can even immediately report a case:https://jarokelo.hu/

How accessible is your holiday?

Just starting out?
Or postpone it until a little later?
Are you vacationing nearby here or traveling far?🛸

☝️Please TELL US HOW ACCESSIBLE YOUR HOLIDAY WAS?

We will post it on the Facebook page of our association, let many people know where it is worthwhile, where it can be and where it is better not to go on an ACCESSIBLE HOLIDAY!

Send a short (but really) report✍️ and some pictures.📸
📧Here we are waiting for holiday experience reports (also in English):
info@peoplefirst.hu

We had lunch with the U.S. Ambassador

It was a huge honor for our association on 17. April 2023.
U.S. Ambassador David Pressman also met with NGOs during his visit to Pécs. During the working lunch, the People First Association also had the opportunity to introduce themselves and briefly exchange views with the Ambassador about the possibilities of civic life.

We are very pleased that, after the Dutch Ambassador, the American Ambassador also visited Pécs to get to know the point of view of Hungarians living in Baranya. Mr. David Pressman has expressed his commitment to continue to travel extensively around the country in order to meet as many opinions as possible.

As the Ambassador said: “It was wonderful to spend time with a diverse array of local community organizations working hard to ensure Hungarians from all walks of life have access to opportunities.”

More information about the visit can be found here: David Pressman’s visit to Baranya

Already 85 locations in our barrier-free database!

Since 2018, our association has been tirelessly exploring the truly barrier-free locations of Pécs and its immediate surroundings. We describe what we saw about the locations grouped into 12 categories, illustrate them with many photos, show them on a map where exactly they are located, provide contact details to get more information. All this in both Hungarian and English.

We have now introduced 85 locations to make it easier to find accessible venues for residents and visitors.

Our team works on the basis of methodology, continuously strengthened by professional trainings.

You can find all information about the database here on our website under the Barrier-free Pécs menu.

The Accessible Pécs Database is made available free of charge to those looking for accessible venues. It is also free of charge for each site to explore. However, all this, of course, costs us money. Thank you if you support our niche work, even through the ADOMÁNYOZOK (DONATE) button on our website, with as much as amount of money you want. ❤️

The most cheerful conference!

We closed our ARTcoWORKers international project with a very fun, very interactive conference on March 30, 2023!
In the People First Association’s “InnClusive” Community Space 70 guests were curious about the closing event on the relationship between art and disability.
Thank you for being with us!

The final international conference was preceded by a five-day evaluation training discussing the future in InnClusive. German, Dutch, Macedonian and Hungarian artists, people with disabilities, and artists with disabilities were engaged in conversation, sewing teddy bears, making shadow plays, brainstorming, looking at the city, and eating a lot (because that’s Hungary!), while a great team was formed.

Let’s keep in touch with artists and people with disabilities after the project on the ARTcoWORKers Facebook page, in the Facebook group and on the communication Platform that will be created soon!