People with special needs took part in a series of workshops on the accessibility of public services, organized by the Zgierz City Hall. The aim of the meetings with experts, to which officials invited people to Stary Młyn property (Old Mill) in March and April, was to listen to the voice of those customers who require special interest and care from the local government. On this basis, the document “Accessibility Standards for the City of Zgierz ” was written in April as one of the results of the “Zgierz – modern city after hours” project.
The meetings were organized in four series, between March 25 and April 9, and subsequent workshops were dedicated to the issue of accessibility standards: architectural, communication and information, digital (online services), as well as employment and customer service with special needs. The workshops were conducted by accessibility specialists representing local government organizations.
Some of them, such as Mr. Sylwester Orzeszko, an expert from the Forum of Lublin Non-Governmental Organizations (conducting workshops on digital accessibility on April 8), belong to the group of people with special needs. – I will talk to the participants not only about the legal situation in this regard in Poland, but we will discuss together how well the Zgierz City Hall meets the online accessibility standards. It’s quite good, said Mr. Sylwester, a visually impaired person, just before the workshop began. – The most important thing is to listen to the opinions of people in need, develop common recommendations, and then be able to put them into practice.
Not only disabled people were invited to participate in the workshops, but also their caregivers, seniors, and all residents interested in participating in the local development of Zgierz. The comments and suggestions provided during the workshops (resulting from the knowledge and personal experience of the participants) became a valuable contribution to the creation of the document entitled: “Accessibility standards for the Commune of the City of Zgierz”, which was prepared as part of the project “Zgierz – a modern city after hours ”, co-financed by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism and the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area for 2014–2021, under the “Local Development” program.
This document, aimed at improving the availability of public services at the local government level, will constitute the basis for the policy of the City of Zgierz towards people with special needs, including people with disabilities.
