Ambassador Ole Egberg Mikkelsen shared Danish experience on inclusiveness and a barrier-free society for persons with disabilities in his opening speech.
The meeting was organized by the Council for Human Rights, Gender Equality and Diversity at the MFA of Ukraine aiming to discuss the existing scope of challenges in the field of accessibility and inclusion in Ukraine with government representatives, international partners and representatives of non-governmental organizations.
The event gathered a number of high level key-note speakers, including First Lady Olena Zelenska, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine D. Kuleba, Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine O. Zholnovych, Presidential Commissioner for a Barrier-Free Environment T. Lomakina, Permanent Representative of United Nations Development Programme in Ukraine J. Cilliers as well as many others representatives from the ministries, local government, international organizations and diplomatic missions.
In his opening speech, Ambassador Ole Egberg Mikkelsen shared Danish experience on inclusivity and a barrier-free society, assuring of Danish-Ukrainian cooperation in this field now and in the future. “Ukraine already has a strong and vibrant civil society that has been a driving force in Ukraine’s dynamic transformation since the Revolution of Dignity. And unfortunately the number of people with disabilities will increase as many veterans will return from the battlefield with both physical and mental trauma. So there is a strong need that people with disabilities have a strong political voice if you want to create a barrier free society. Denmark is ready to assist in this. Disabled People's Organizations Denmark is already active in Ukraine. They are working closely with Ukrainian counterparts not least on advocacy in order for Ukraine to meet the EU-accession requirements relating to people with disabilities”.
Please find full speech here.
