The Ministry of Digital Transformation has launched a UNDP-supported series of educational videos for public officials on the basic principles of a barrier-free environment

Kyiv, 27 January 2022 – The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine has presented a new educational course for civil servants, called “State Without Barriers” which was developed at the initiative of First Lady Olena Zelenksa in partnership with the Presidential Advisor-Commissioner on Barrier-free issues Tetiana Lomakina, the National Agency of Ukraine for Civil Service, the Barrier-Free civil society organization, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, representatives of civil society, and experts

The course answers these questions:

• How can barrier-free principles be observed in communications with citizens? – recommendations from First Lady Olena Zelenska
• How can a barrier-free approach be applied in decision-making?
• Why are accessibility, inclusiveness, and respect for diversity elements of a barrier-free environment?
• What causes stereotypes and how can preconceptions be avoided at work? 
• How can discrimination in the civil service hiring process be eliminated? 
• Why does a barrier free environment depend on public officials? 

The educational course consists of six series of videos, each 6-10 minutes long, covering the principles of a barrier-free environment in public service. First Lady Olena Zelenska features in the first video of the educational course

Valeria Ionan, the Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, stressed that implementation of the barrier-free approach, equality and diversity in governance process are embodied in the implementation of European values.

“Equality and respect should be at the heart of all decisions made by public officials. The services should be accessible, clear, and barrier-free,” said Ionan.

Manal Fouani, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative to Ukraine, stressed that upholding human rights principles should be a core value in the public service sphere in Ukraine

“According to the UNDP-supported sociological study ‘What Ukrainians Know and Think about Human Rights,’ 83 percent of public officials believe that discrimination is a serious issue in Ukraine confirming that age-based discrimination tops the list by 54% followed by discrimination against people based on their property status (39%), gender (36%) and disability (30%),” Fouani said.

“Our ultimate objective is to ensure that a barrier-free approach is adopted and practiced in the civil service where equality and respect are the cornerstones of all decisions taken by public officials. This is what the educational course aims to achieve.” she added.

Oleksiy Chernyshov, the Minister for Communities and Territories Development, stressed that regardless of age, place of living, health or social status, all people in Ukraine should have equal rights.

“This is enshrined in the main state document –  the Constitution,” said Chernyshov “We have made significant changes. Our goal is to create an accessible environment for everyone: persons in wheelchairs, elderly people, young parents and pregnant women, children and others. We aim to make schools, hospitals, museums, cinemas, and administrative buildings accessible and barrier-free. A barrier-free environment is a new philosophy of a society where everyone feels comfortable.”

Natalia Alyushyna, the Head of the National Agency of Ukraine for Civil Service, said that being a civil servant or a local self-government public official is a great responsibility.

“We are people who work with people,” said Alyushyna. “And we should do everything we can to make our country a barrier-free. We developed this online course to demonstrate how we all can contribute to building a barrier-free environment. In this educational course everyone will find something useful for their work, something that will help to rethink their words, actions, and behavior.”

“Together we can change the civil service and people’s attitude to it,” Alyushyna added. “For this we need to constantly work and remember why we have chosen public service.”

Tetiana Lomakina, Presidential Advisor-Commissioner on Barrier-free issues, said that there are many citizens in Ukraine for whom a barrier-free environment is crucial: About 2.7 million people have a disability, while 7.2 million people are aged over 65 years. Besides, every year about half-a-million people become parents, and going for a walk with a stroller becomes an exercise in overcoming of a series of barriers. 

“From time to time, these people – about a third of the Ukrainian population – have to apply for administrative services,” said Lomakina. “That is why it is crucial to make these services accessible, clear, and barrier-free. That is how the reputation of the public officials is built, and trust in the state and public institutions is created. It is highly important for civil servants to be the first to apply barrier-free principles, making them a new social norm, ensuring accessibility and inclusiveness for everyone, and leaving no one behind.”

The course is available on the Dia.Education platform. 

The series of educational videos were developed with the support of the Human Rights for Ukraine Project, which is being implemented by UNDP Ukraine and financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.

To learn more about the results of the sociological study “What Ukrainians Know and Think about Human Rights: Assessment of Changes (2016 - 2020)”, follow this link. 

The course was produced by video production company Ninepro.

Media enquires:

Yuliia Samus, UNDP in Ukraine Communications Team Leader, yuliia.samus@undp.org, +38 097 139 1475