Tuesday, 28 July 2009
A series of trainings on Disability understanding with empathies on ensuring accessibility for People with Disabilities (PWDs) to public buildings, facilities and engineering infrastructure is being held.
The trainings are held within the framework of the ACCESS project jointly implemented by UNDP Uzbekistan and the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
The trainings are aimed at specialists of the State Architecture Committee and its subordinate organizations, leading construction organizations in the city of Tashkent as well as the Samarkand, Kashkadarya and Tashkent regions.
Training participants are expected to get knowledge on better understanding of disability issues, to learn about obstacles related to accessibility that restrict PWDs to equally participate in social life and to obtain skills on creating accessible environment.
The training organizers expect that architects participating in the training will afterwards apply recommendations on how to choose effective solutions to provide accessibility for everyone.The organizers also hope that the participants will use acquired knowledge in design and construction as well as make right decisions that will ensure accessibility for all.
"After careful examination, one can say that Uzbekistan's legislation on ensuring accessibility of buildings, facilities and engineering projects for PWDs is currently at a significantly high level. It is not any worse if not better than in other CIS countries. Nevertheless, the fact that laws are not fully implemented has led to serious legal violations and resulted in discrimination of people with disabilities," noted Dilshod Akhmedov, Accessibility Specialist of the project ACCESS.
The first training sessions in the Uzbek and Russian languages took place on 23-25 June and on 8-10 July respectively. 35 people from designing institutions, the Main Regulatory Department of Architecture and Construction of the Tashkent city and the Tashkent Region, The Department of Inspection, The Tashkent University of Architecture and Construction and several representatives of PWDs took part in the trainings.
"The seminar was very important to me! I really wanted to participate in it and I am happy that I had the possibility to express my opinion to the architects. Unfortunately, I have difficulties in getting out of my house as the buildings, transportation and other public facilities are not adapted to the needs of PWDs. But now, I hope all my recommendations will be heard and implemented by architechts and construction specialists," said Nodira Tillaeva who represented PWDs in the training.
The participants were particularly interested in an assignment to change the existing designs and make them suitable and accessible for PWDs.
The climax of the training was a real project of elite homes being built in the Tashkent city. "Why can't PWDs be residents of elite homes? It is absolutely possible and we have to foresee and make accommodations for PWDs," G. Shpirko, a Main Engineer of the Uzbek Society of PWDs said during the discussion of the new project.
The next trainings for specialists of the State Architecture Committee and its subordinate organization as well as architectural-construction colleges and universities will be held in in the cities of Samarkand, Shakhrisabz and Tashkent in July and August.
The project ACCESS (Accessibility Civic Consciousness Employment Social Support) is aimed at expanding the opportunities of social integration and employment for PWDs through raising public awareness and forming a positive public opinion on the issues of disability; improving the coordination and the building capacity of state and non-state actors in the promotion of implementation of legislation towards PWD; promoting accessibility to social infrastructure; creating a system of social support and the employment of PWDs.
