Accessibility for People with Special Needs was Discussed in TNMU Library

The issue of the accessibility of our cities for the less mobile population groups is becoming more and more urgent. On the one hand, the number of defenders and civilians injured in the war is increasing every day, and on the other hand, our country is moving towards the standards of the European Union.

In this regard, on November 9, 2022, fourth-year students Uliana Dyshko (MM-404) and Ivan Lutsyk (MM-408) organized the event “(Without) Barriers” at the TNMU Library.

The first of the invited speakers was Vira Hrabchuk – a graduate of the FLEX program, initiator and executor of more than 50 charity projects on inclusion, art and learning English, project manager of the National Rehabilitation Centre “Unbreakable”. In her report “(Un)funny story about curbs, handrails and human rights”, she outlined the main problems of inclusiveness in Ukraine, shared real examples of mistakes in communication with people with disabilities and emphasized important points in the provision of medical services to groups with limited mobility.

The next report on “Ternopil – a city for everyone?” was presented by Petro Panovyk – student-geographer of the educational program “Urban Studies, Spatial Planning and Regional Development” of I. Franko Lviv National University, author of the web-site about the development of Ternopil “yan.amor”.  The speaker fully disclosed the issue of accessibility of Ternopil and other Ukrainian cities, clearly demonstrated the most typical problems of spaces that we use every day, and described the main ways to solve them.

In addition, the organizers and participants of the event called on everyone who wants to join the changes today by visiting the website of the National Rehabilitation Centre “Unbreakable” and making a charitable contribution to the purchase of modern transcranial magnetic stimulation devices to improve mental and physical rehabilitation.

The organizers express their appreciation to the director of TNMU Library Olena Protsiv, the Head of TNMU Educational Work and Cultural Development Centre Marta Rudenko and TNMU press service for their help in holding the event.

The information was provided by the organizers of the event.

Photographs by Mykola Vasylechko.