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We want you to know what we’re spending it on!

We are grateful to our supporters for their help. And we consider it our duty to remain transparent, that is to report on what we spend your forints on for us.

With the Adományozok (Donate) button on our website you primarily support accessibility, especially the maintenance and expansion of our Barrier-free Pécs database.

We have prepared a report on the use of donations received so far on the Adományozok (Donations) button, which you can read on the NIOK adjukossze.hu page under the “Hírek/Beszámolók – News/Reports” tab of our campaign (available in Hungarian): Report January 2022

Or on the People First Association’s website in the Barrier-free Pécs menu: Report January 2022

Let’s stay in touch with us!
You make us very happy when you become our constant supporters.

ARTcoWORKers, the art project

We report to you about the progress of our extremely exciting international ARTcoWORKers project linking the arts and people with disabilities.

At the moment the training curriculum is being prepared, we could say it’s almost done. The aim of this is to develop training to support prospective trainers in facilitating cooperation between people with disabilities and interested representatives of the various arts sectors in each country.

You will soon receive the first Newsletter in Hungarian, we hope you will like it.

On ARTcoWORKers Facebook and Website we regularly publish interesting, informative and even good examples to follow from all over the world, and news about the project. You can follow ARTcoWORKers on Facebook here: ARTcoWORKers Facebook
and this is the website: ARTcoWORKers Web

In April we will meet in person in Skopje/Macedonia, where we will perfect the training and start to develop a fantastic, common shadow play, which you will see at the final festival-conference, which will be in PÉCS! Thus, the Skopje meeting is already being organized with steam. Four of us will travel from the People First association, and we are already very excited and preparing for the program.

You can read more about the ARTcoWORKers project in the Projects menu here: ARTcoWORKers menü

Follow this great project on People First and ARTcoWORKers Facebook pages! We are also very happy with all the comments!

We launch peer-to-peer counselling

From now on, we will launch a peer-to-peer consultation on the topic of accessible tourism and independent living in our “InnClusive” Community Space!

Our qualified, certified consultants of the Peer-AcT international project are now regularly waiting for everyone at the appointed consulting times.
They mainly help with inclusive/accessible tourism, but they are waiting for questions about independent living as well.
The aim is for peers to help peers, i.e. we welcome people with disabilities who have questions about accessible tourism.

Later we also launch consultancy and training for tourism experts and actors on accessible tourism.

The first introductory consultancy is held by Marcell Kopa and Roland Balogh Peer-AcT consultants at the InnClusive Community Space, on Tuesday, 18. January 2022. from 10:00 to 12:00.
After that, we are waiting for you on the third Tuesday of each month. One month in the morning, the other month in the afternoon will be available our consultants, so that everyone can find us.

You can read more about the availability of the InnClusive Community Square, parking, etc. here: InnClusive Community Space

More information about the Peer-AcT project, which was trained by our consultants, can be found here: Peer-AcT accessible tourism project

Your opinion is very important!

From now on, you can also comment on the locations described in our Barrier-free Pécs database! You’re helping a lot of other people who are going to use the given location.

The process is very simple: just rate with stars below each location, and then write your opinion on the accessibility of that location.
The goal should always be to give guidance to others! Don’t scold, just be helpful.

Describe your own perspectives as disabled, elderly, or with a stroller.

In the Barrier-free Pécs menu we also described how you can do this in the Instructions.
We look forward to your comments in the Barrier-free Pécs database.

CSR

Three letters which most of us don’t know. What’s wrong is that they don’t know who it’s for.
CSR is an acronym for Corporate Social Responsibility. Corporate Social Responsibility is the activity a company does for the well-being of the community around it.
What is exciting about it is that it is both an economic and a social issue, because if a company helps the community around it, it builds its own brand, so it will be sympathetic, and this will greatly promotes business recovery.

CSR also includes promoting equal opportunities and supporting NGOs working for this reason – and that is where we come in.

Unfortunately, it is not yet evident in Hungary that a company is unthinkable without CSR activity, but there are encouraging signs. For the time being, we can talk about companies working on the international stage or foreign-owned companies.

For the People First Association 2021 has brought hope, confidence and faith in the goodness of company managers and employees. Our association was able to participate in the following CSR grants, for which we are very grateful  – even for the opportunities and the way of thinking!

  • In June we participated in a GE (General Electric) competition, where we applied for pro bono support for communication and marketing. So we wouldn’t have gotten paid, we’d get professional help. Unfortunately, we didn’t win it, but the opportunity has already thrilled us.
  • In July the Körber Hungária Machine Manufacturing Ltd., based in Pécs, launched a tender for activities aimed at supporting NGOs for the benefit of the community due to the Covid-19 outbreak. We were not successful in this competition either, but unexpectedly for Christmas we received a 150.000 HUF grant from the employees of Körber, who gave up their own Christmas present to support NGOs that did not win in the summer, but still like them! This is a really touching form of CSR, and it was a great pleasure for us.
  • In September Spar had the opportunity to support on the basis of a tender, from which we were delighted to receive HUF 50,000 in the form of nice red vouchers. It will be of great use in our “InnClusive” Community Space!
  • From October we have been invited to the usual free rehearsals of the Pannon Philharmonic, which is offered to NGOs dealing with disadvantaged people and people with disabilities. We’ve lived and live with it, we love free rehearsals, which we think are even more exciting than real shows.
  • The very different ways in which CSR can be implemented also shows the case of our national conference in November. We ordered the catering from Reggeli (Breakfast and brunch restaurant), which is already well known for its social responsibility. Their CSR philosophy is to provide discounts to certain social NGOs from the tailored price. This has been a huge help to us.
  • And in December we registered for OTP’s new program (the largest bank in Hungary), where a case can be selected within the framework of CSR, which can be supported by anyone with any amount, even a few hundred Forints, in several bank transactional ways, and the bank will send the donation to the selected organization. It’s a fantastic initiative, we hope to get in, it’s still a question of the future.

Thank you to the companies and firms for thinking like this and making the world a better place!
Go Pécs, let have as many small and large companies as possible that want to develop while helping communities. Let’s be exemplary in that too!

Closing report: Make Pécs accessible to everyone! – STICKER project 3.

For three years now our sticker project has been carried out steadily and more professionally.  Between 1. January 2021 and 30. November 2021. the current phase WAS SUPPORTED BY THE CITIZENS OF PÉCS THEMSELVES through the “Élő Adás/Live Broadcast” community fundraising project of the Pécs Community Foundation. This gave the project a special boost, atmosphere and heart.

In the third phase, we undertook to
– we continuously go through and review existing sites
– we map all accessible accommodation in Pécs
– we organise a national conference on accessibility and cooperation between organisations carrying out similar activities in the country

The Covid pandemic has made our activities more difficult even now, at the beginning of 2021 we were only able to carry out our work difficultly due to the closures during the third wave of the epidemic. However, this period has been devoted to professional training, recasting the methodology, preparing and upgrading existing locations.
Also at the beginning of the year we had a successful discussion with the municipality of Pécs, Deputy Mayor Lajos Nyögéri. The result was continuous cooperation, during which we were able to participate effectively in the tourism development and marketing of the city. Among other things, we became responsible for accessible tourism at the Tourist RoundTable, carried out an accessible review of the city’s official renewable website (https://pecs.hu/), appeared on the page in an extra menu item our Barrier-free Pécs database (https://pecs.hu/pecsi-vagyok/ ), published with the support of the city the print publication of the Barrier-free Pécs database, and a written Cooperation Agreement was established between our association and the city.

We tried to inform the public about our activities in all forms: we sent Newsletters to the supporters and participants of the Barrier-free Pécs database about the progress of our activities, we reported on the new locations in regular Facebook and Instagram posts and campaigns, we talked about the database at numerous workshops and conferences both in Hungary and abroad, we were Best practice in several international projects, we filmed eye-catching flashmob videos that can still be seen on our own Youtube channel, we have been in the press several times, we have made business cards for team members.

It was a huge step forward that thanks to our IT developers our website and database were professionally eded out in May. This makes searchability, appearance and interactive options much easier and smarter.

Cooperation with the Tourinform office Pécs was also an important step, as a result of which our fun Hidden City Tor-Tour, presenting the accessibility of Pécs, became a permanent thematic tourist offer (https://peoplefirst.hu/en/blog-post/rejtett-varos-tor-tour-a/)

On 10. November 2021, in the shadow of Covid, but we held our national conference very successfully. Here an exciting professional discussion emerged about the need for accessibility, its human fundamental rights, and the topic of accessibility of historic buildings which is particularly topical in Pécs. We will build cooperation in the future with the other 3 organizations in Hungary that operate a similar accessible list or database.

There are currently 74 locations per 12 categories or parts of the city (Downtown, Kertváros, Uránváros, outside Pécs) in the Barrier-free Pécs database. The exploration of the sites was carried out regularly by 10 members. Our IT development was carried out by Balázs Oláh and Zoltán Borsodi. We were able to present 10 accommodations/hotels as accessible in the database, however, we have three times that number of which we visited in Pécs. We had to ask about 20 of the existing sites to make the changes.

We have already seen a very positive attitude from both the site owners/managers and the people of the city, the press and the city administration. Go Pécs, let the county seat of Baranya be exemplaryly accessible!

Our team is tired by the end of the third year and we cannot appreciate them financially enough. So we will not continue the excavations in this form. However, this does not mean that we do not develop or expand the Barrier-free Pécs database! We are creating a stand-by team and looking for new accessible locations in and around Pécs, just as we are very much looking for more support opportunities!

If you would like to support our activities, you can also do so by using the ADOMÁNYOZOK (DONATE) button on the homepage of our website in the form of a bank transfer.

People First virtual Advent Calendar

From 1st of December you can read a gift from our association members every day on our Facebook page. This can be a favorite citation, a self poem, own short story or fairy tale, recipe idea, nice picture, own video….. something that reflects the individuality of our member and which we think can bring joy to you who follow and read us.

Follow us and read us every day on our Facebook page in https://www.facebook.com/PeopleFirstHun. We hope we can bring you a little joy in the Advent preparation.

We also welcome you to send us a gift in a comment under Facebook posts: your own writing, favorite picture, decoration idea, recipe, citation…… it make us happy believe it!

Pécs Civic Concept is made

Two-and-a-half years of process, 3 civil forums, the involvement of 609 NGOs in Pécs, the unprecedented detailed analysis of the situation in Pécs – PÉCS CIVIC CONCEPT as a real bottom-up initiative has arrived in finis.

On November 30. 2021. Gábor Zag deputy mayor, dr. Márta Kunszt a civil councillor, and the Nevelők Háza Association invited the NGOs actively involved in the process to the banquet hall of the City Hall Pécs for a final professional consultation, after which the draft will be submitted to the general assembly.

In the last two and a half years, many of us have commented on the draft concept, many of us have shaped it, and the Nevelők Háza Association has agreed to compile the Civil Concept of the city of Pécs.

The concept is definitely good!
It involves partnerships with civilians from the city, more efficient public service tasks, urban volunteering.
Within the framework of the partnership professional working groups will be formed, a civil database will be created, an urban civic portal and a civil column will be established, there will be a Pécs Civil Citizens’ Day event, a Civil Tender Fund, the districts will be able to decide on their own developments, and a civil coordinator institution will start its work to coordinate the relations between the municipality and the civilians.

We look forward to the decision of the general assembly in December, and then to work with the municipality and our civil partners!

According to the promise of deputy mayor Gábor Zag, this concept certainly did not fall for the desk drawer. We think that we civilians should also do it, but as we saw, the organizations in Pécs are ready for action.

Our Hidden City accessible downtown tour is starting!

We have worked on it a lot, and now in cooperation with the Tourinform office in Pécs our project to develop accessible tourism related to our Barrier-free Pécs database, the Hidden City’s accessible thematic downtown walk will be realized as a permanent thematic tourism offer!

It is a real delicacy, a tourist speciality, for which we welcome interesteds, local residents, tourists, school groups.
We do not expect a tour of traditional sights in Pécs, butnwe present the tricks in a cheerful atmosphere on how to approach a place for people with disabilities, the elderly, parents with strollers.

You can read all the details of the People First event here (in Hungarian):
https://www.facebook.com/events/434435941597165

Just like on the Tourinform side (in Hungarian):
https://www.iranypecs.hu/hu/program/rejtett-varos-tor-tour-a-akadalymentes-belvarosi-seta-kulonlegesseg-csak-pecsen

Tickets can be purchased at the Tourinform office during opening hours, i.e. Monday to Friday from 9.00 to 17.00 or even before the tour starts.

We’re looking forward to meeting you!

 

We inaugurated accessible tourism consultants

Accessible tourism peer-counselors and trainers have been introduced to close the three-year Peer-AcT project. The project implemented by the five countries creates development in a niche area in Hungary: on the one hand, it distributes accessible tourism itself, and on the other hand it involves those who know best about this area: the people with disabilities themselves!

We are so lucky that all this is happening in Pécs in Hungary. The People First Association has trained 10 certified peer consultants in professional training who can work as professional consultants in tourism organizations, decision-makers, local government, domestic and international projects. 

Based on the two training methods developed in the international project, the People First Association will in the near future train additional peer experts from people with disabilities, and together with our current peer-consultants we will provide training for tourism experts on accessible tourism.
From January next year, our consultants will hold consulting hours on a monthly basis at specific times in our “Innclusive” Community Space, where they can be asked about accessible tourism and independent living. 

We will not stop doing niche research on the travel habits of people with disabilities, we would like to continue to cooperate with the excellent experts of The University of Pécs Tourism and Marketing Institute.

If you are interested in training as a disabled person or as a tourism organization you would like to provide truly (!) accessible services, we look forward to your request here: pfpecs@gmail.com

A little more about the Peer-AcT project in English: Peer-Act Erasmus+ KA2 International Project | People First