Kyiv, 11 May 2026 — The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine, in partnership with the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories, has launched a new training cycle of the Barrier-Free Routes School. 

This hands-on educational programme helps communities design accessible and user-friendly routes that connect key everyday destinations, including administrative buildings, social institutions, parks, and other public spaces. 

This year, 139 communities from across Ukraine applied to join the school. A total of 22 teams from 12 oblasts – Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Poltava, Lviv, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, Khmelnytskyi, Rivne, Volyn, Chernihiv, Kirovohrad, and Odesa – were selected to participate. 

A total of 66 participants will take part in a four-day in-person theoretical training in Kyiv, followed by a practical module with a mentor directly on their selected route. They will then continue developing their projects with expert support. The full programme will run for three months and conclude with presentations of the barrier-free route projects that have been designed. 

“Barrier-free access is ultimately about the quality of life in a community – whether people can move freely in public spaces, access services, and participate fully in everyday life,” said Christophoros Politis, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Ukraine. “Strengthening the capacities of local professionals is critical, as they are the ones making decisions that shape people’s daily experiences.”  

“Barrier-Free Routes School is about practical solutions at the community level. Last year’s participants did not simply complete a training programme — they started changing the way they approach accessibility, thinking not in terms of isolated facilities, but of complete routes that people use every day. Today, we are scaling up this approach: 22 new communities will work on routes designed to make urban spaces truly accessible — from home to hospitals, administrative service centres, public transport, and other essential locations. This is no longer only about infrastructure, but about ensuring that all people can fully live, work, and participate in community life,” said Nataliia Kozlovska, Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine. 

The initiative was launched last year at the request of the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine, and received financial support from the Government of Japan. The training is part of the Ministry’s flagship “Movement Without Barriers” programme, implemented under the First Lady Olena Zelenska’s “Barrier-Free” initiative. 

“Barrier-free communities are those where accessibility becomes part of everyday planning and decision-making for all residents,” said Tetiana Lomakina, Advisor-Presidential Commissioner for Barrier-Free Environment.  “It;s at the local level that accessibility moves from vision to practice. What makes this school particularly valuable is that teams go beyond learning – they immediately work on real accessibility routes that transform people’s daily experiences: getting to a hospital, school, transport stop, workplace, or accessing essential services.” 

In 2025, 61 participants from 15 communities completed the programme and developed barrier-free route projects. These solutions demonstrate how accessibility standards can be integrated into recovery processes – from adapting urban spaces to rethinking public infrastructure. The 2026 school builds on and expands this work. 

“Japan remains firmly committed to supporting Ukraine’s recovery in a way that is truly accessible for veterans, people with disabilities, older people, and families with children. For us, accessibility is not only about infrastructure — it is about people’s dignity, independence, and equal opportunity to participate fully in community life,” said  Hirotaka Kawakami, First Secretary of Economic and Economic Cooperation Section of the Embassy of Japan in Ukraine. “Together with UNDP and our Ukrainian partners, we are investing in the knowledge and skills of professionals who shape environments to serve everyone". 

The Barrier-Free Routes School complements a broader set of UNDP initiatives promoting accessibility and universal design. Through three cycles of the Universal Design School, UNDP has already trained around 170 professionals from across Ukraine, supporting the development of inclusive solutions in their communities. Some of these projects are already being implemented, while the accumulated experience has been compiled into almanacs of developed projects – practical publications designed to support the scaling up of such approaches across Ukraine. 

Media inquiries: 

Yuliia Samus, Head of Communications and Advocacy, UNDP Ukraine, yuliia.samus@undp.org