The tour "Those who impress" finished in Lviv
For five weeks, well-known speakers traveled across Ukraine to inspire citizens to create modern, convenient and accessible cities, as well as to draw attention to the problems of people with disabilities.
During this time, "Those who impress" traveled about 5,000 kilometers, almost 2,500 active citizens in 5 cities of Ukraine - Rivne, Kramatorsk, Kropyvnytskyi, Kharkiv and Lviv - became listeners of motivational speeches, tens of thousands of users followed the project online. The speakers of the project were 27 public figures, including presenters and journalists of TSN, popular artists, in particular, Vlad Yama, Taras Topolya, Yanina Andreeva, Volodymyr Ostapchuk and Iryna Fedyshyn, Paralympic athletes and public figures who deal with issues of employment and socialization of people with disabilities, as well as the introduction of inclusive projects thanks to the possibilities of decentralization. In particular, Yuliya Batenkova-Bauman, Ulyana Pcholkina, Dmytro Shchebetyuk, Yuliya Resenchuk, Tetyana Vorotilina and others joined the project.
The virtual reality experiment caused great interest during the tour. In each city, visitors lined up in order to, wearing a special helmet, try to independently overcome the path on a cart from the track at the railway station to the public transport stop. "I didn't think about how ill-equipped our cities are for people with disabilities. It is really difficult to reach the required point on your own. We have to help each other", "Maybe few people imagined themselves in a wheelchair, but in reality it can happen to anyone", "What is commonplace for us is a real test for some. Our cities should be accessible to everyone," people shared their impressions after going through the VR experiment. The creators emphasize that the main principle of a barrier-free environment is the opportunity for all citizens to be "included" in public life and to use the city space without outside help. Hundreds of thousands of people with disabilities in Ukraine face obstacles on their way every day. It is in our power to change this and build accessible and impressive cities.
TSN systematically calls for making the world barrier-free and developing inclusion in its stories. In addition, for more than two years, the main news broadcasts on the Internet have been accompanied by sign language translation, and since this year the TSN.ua site has become adapted for blind people. During the final performance of "Those who impress" in Lviv, the presenter of "TSN. Week" Alla Mazur urged everyone to learn at least a few words in sign language. And first of all, it should not be the designation of the words "good day", "thank you", but "help" - sometimes it can save lives. In confirmation, the TV presenter recalled a story when a hearing-impaired man, who suddenly felt sick, died in a pharmacy. His daughter, who was also hearing impaired, was unable to explain in sign language to the pharmacist what help her father needed.
Athlete and coach-motivator Tetyana Vorotilina has a prosthetic leg, but leads an active lifestyle, completes half marathons and proves by her example that people with disabilities are not "people with disabilities".
"I have a metal leg, someone has green hair. This is normal. It is important to treat the individual characteristics of each person with respect, - the athlete believes. - And all "restrictions" and "frames" are only in our minds. The human body is much stronger than we can imagine, our possibilities are unlimited."
Regardless of our differences, each person can contribute, and society should encourage this in every way possible.
The organizers of "Those who impress" returned from the tour inspired. During the tour, they have already received hundreds of responses from active citizens, as well as requests for advice on the implementation of social inclusive projects.
