Kyiv, 17 February 2026 — From seamless digital access to a culture of mutual respect, the standards for public service are evolving. A new educational series called “Public Service Without Barriers” is now available on the Diia.Education platform to equip public officials with the tools to build truly inclusive and comfortable environments for every citizen.

The seven short episodes of the series explain:

• what physical, digital, informational, and social barriers are;

• how to make public services accessible and understandable to everyone;

• how to create working conditions that consider the needs of people with disabilities, veterans, and parents of young children;

• why respect and non-discrimination are the foundation of effective public service;

• how to implement accessibility principles in practice at the local level.

“During wartime, public service operates under conditions of constantly changing needs of people and teams. It is important for us that public servants receive not only an understanding of accessibility principles but also concrete management tools for their daily work. This educational series is about practical solutions: how to change internal processes, how to build inclusive teams, how to ensure accessible communication. Through such applied formats, we are consistently building a modern public service that is people‑centered and capable of responding to the challenges of the country’s recovery”, emphasized Nataliia Aliushyna, the head of the National Agency of Ukraine on the Civil Service (NAUCS). 

Christophoros Politis, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Ukraine, highlighted that systemic change often begins with simple first steps – recognizing problems and understanding how to solve them.

“This educational series will help explain how to implement accessibility principles in practice,” Politis said. “Many changes do not require additional resources – they’re often just simple and accessible actions: respectful communication, understanding diversity and the needs of different people who use services or who work in public service, whether they are parents of young children, people with disabilities, internally displaced persons, older adults, or veterans.”

Tetiana Lomakina, Advisor–Presidential Commissioner for Barrier-Free Environment, also emphasized: “Accessibility in public service means creating conditions in which everyone who enters public service not only understands the need to provide people with the best possible services, but also feels mutual respect and support within the public service, and has the conditions that allow any person to work in a team and freely use the space.”

Ruslana Korenchuk, CEO of Diia.Education, CDTO Campus and Manager of joint projects of East Europe Foundation and the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, stressed:

“Public service today means the state’s ability to be accessible and responsive to people’s needs,” Korenchuk said. “This requires skills, and Diia.Education provides access to them – from digital literacy to the principles of accessibility. Over 3 million registered users and an average course completion rate of 80 percent show there is a lot of demand for practical knowledge. This new educational series responds to that demand, helping to implement accessibility in concrete decisions – from organizing space and digital services to plain language, HR approaches, and an action plan within an institution.”

The educational series was developed for the Diia.Education platform at the initiative of the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service (NAUCS), in cooperation with the Advisor – Presidential Commissioner for Barrier-Free Environment, and with the support of the project "Human Rights for Ukraine, Phase II", implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine and funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.

Media enquiries: 

Yuliia Samus, UNDP Ukraine Head of Communications and Advocacy; e-mail: yuliia.samus@undp.org