1 / 13

Access City Award… The South Dublin County Experience

Access City Award… The South Dublin County Experience. Selina Bonnie MA Disability Liaison / Access and Equality Officer 10 th July 2013. Access City Award – SDCC Background. Access City Award 2011:

zeheb
Download Presentation

Access City Award… The South Dublin County Experience

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Access City Award… The South Dublin County Experience Selina Bonnie MA Disability Liaison / Access and Equality Officer 10th July 2013

  2. Access City Award – SDCC Background Access City Award 2011: • European Champion Category – 4 Dublin local authorities collaborated on application. No winner selected by EC and category dropped from future years. Access City Award 2012: • South Dublin County passed through first stage onto shortlist of 33 out of 114 applicant cities. Access City Award 2013: • Tallaght as the main County Town became one of the final 7 ‘cities’ for the Award out of 99 applicant cities • At the Awards Ceremony in Brussels on the 3rd December 2012 Tallaght received a Special Mention for the Accessibility of its Public Facilities and Services.

  3. Vice-President of the European Commission Viviane Reding, EU Justice Commissioner (in green jacket) and Vice-President of the European Disability Forum Erzsebet Foldesi with Deputy Mayor Cllr Guss O’Connell and representatives from Pamplona, Gdynia and Bilbao (also recipients of Special Mentions)

  4. Issues and Benefits Issues • What definition of ‘city’ is being used i.e. Is it exclusively aimed at those that have official designation as a city? • What have past winners done with award? • Is pursuing the Award worth the time that will have to be invested in putting the application together? Definition of ‘City’ • Submitting body must be a government authority of a city of over 50,000 inhabitants. Urban areas composed of two or more towns may also participate if their combined population exceeds 50,000 inhabitants (booklet also refers to towns of at least 50,000. Benefits • European / International recognition of ‘City’s’ accessibility • Opportunity to promote accessibility at local level within City / Town / County • Opportunity to ‘take stock’ of achievements • Gathering information and evidence for the application can be a catalyst for many diverse conversations regarding accessibility • Sense of pride – Deputy Mayor “a highlight of his term”

  5. Application - Core areas to focus on… Accessibility to: • Built environment and public spaces • Transportation and related infrastructures • Information and communication, including ICT • Public facilities and services Remember 2000 characters per area (including spaces) plus corresponding evidence!!

  6. Built Environment and Public Spaces

  7. Transportation and Related Structures

  8. Information and Communication incl. Technology

  9. Access to Public Facilities and Services

  10. Application Structure • Your overall approach and global strategy to improve accessibility in your city and how the policy is implemented • How has the city’s policy improved equal access and quality of life? • How do these initiatives benefit wider parts of the population? • How do you ensure the quality and sustainability of accessibility measures? • What are your plans and initiatives to continue these efforts in the future? • Involvement of disabled persons, representative organisations and accessibility experts in both the planning, implementation and maintenance of city’s policies and initiatives aimed at increased accessibility. • Awareness raising or information activities around accessibility • Do you exchange and share experience and good practices with other cities at local, regional, national and/or European level? • Why should your city deserve the Award?

  11. Supporting Evidence ZIP files under 10mb Awareness Raising and Media Awards and Testimonials Policies and Plans Images Spreadsheet of relevant hyperlinks

  12. Final tips… Strict character limits for each question Online application form can be frustrating – no save as you go facility Complete application as word file – if you edit text after pasting to online form, note the change in Word file Don’t get too stressed about filling each section – it’s quality not quantity that matters Let your supporting evidence tell your City / Town / County’s story

  13. Selina Bonnie • Disability Liaison / Access and Equality Officer • Corporate Services Department • Tel:014149041 • Mobile:087 2708918 • Skype Id: selina.bonnie • Email:sbonnie@sdublincoco.ie • Web:http://accessible.southdublin.ie • Twitter:www.twitter.com/sdublincoco

More Related