The Accessibility project aims to create a joint expert institute to address accessibility and accessibility issues in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. This institute should work based on cooperation between the two countries and ensure the implementation of European directives, particularly EC Directive 882/2019, which focuses on people with reduced mobility. The target group in the two countries is approximately 14 million citizens in Slovakia and twice as many in the Czech Republic.
The project focuses on several levels of action: European, national (Czech Republic and Slovakia), regional, and local. Within these levels, specific projects focusing on transport, tourism, the training of professionals in the field of accessibility, and the legislative processes in both countries are addressed. There are plans to set up a training and certification system for accessibility assessment experts in line with the new European rules applicable in 2021. This also includes professional publications, awareness-raising activities, and the organization of conferences and seminars on the subject.
Other project objectives are aligning transport and tourism rules and developing strategic documents and expertise for the 2030 barrier removal strategy in both countries. Furthermore, the project proposes to work with state institutions to develop and implement relevant legislation and to create a central information system for citizens on mobility conditions in different areas, such as transport and access to services. The project also proposes a register of barrier-free places to be created in cooperation with regional governments.