A regular meeting of the Barrier-Free Environment Council took place on July 12 with the participation of Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and First Lady Olena Zelenska. Members of the Council considered the Action Plan for the Implementation of the National Strategy for Barrier-Free Environment for 2021-2022, which included more than 250 projects.

The Prime Minister noted that 15 ministries, 47 public organizations and experts have been actively working on the Action Plan. Over the last 2 weeks, a series of public consultations was held and comments on each of the projects were taken into account.

"The 250 projects included in the National Strategy for the Barrier-Free Environment are those real changes that millions of Ukrainians have been waiting for in every territorial community rather long: from Uzhhorod to Luhansk region, from Chernihiv to Odesa. The Action Plan will be a roadmap for each Ministry, within its area of responsibility," said the Prime Minister.

First Lady Olena Zelenska, for her part, stressed that both government officials and members of the public are involved in the implementation of the Action Plan.

"Barrier-free environment is a philosophy of a society without limits. It is about the inner readiness to create an environment in which everyone feels comfortable. A powerful team is involved in the Action Plan - government officials along with members of the public. I would not even call it an Action Plan, but a Plan of Change. And this is about changes that can be brought about in the next two years and should help make barrier-free environment a new social norm," said Olena Zelenska.

During the meeting, representatives of the Government presented 7 key projects of the Action Plan that address the biggest challenges related to social barriers. In particular, they concern the physical accessibility of public buildings, the access to school education, the creation of standards of infrastructural availability, access to the Internet in villages, etc.