During her visit to Germany, First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska presented the "Barrier-Free Handbook" at the Frankfurt Book Fair, and also took part in an interview-discussion at the invitation of Brigitte magazine.
The "Barrier-Free Handbook" is a guide to correct communication, which has recorded new norms of barrier-free language. It was launched in 2021 at the initiative of First Lady Olena Zelenska in cooperation with NGOs, human rights defenders, psychologists, parents raising children with disabilities, Ukrainian and international experts, and is available at https://bf.in.ua.
Due to the Russian invasion, the presentation of the printed version of the guide, which was supposed to take place at the 2022 Book Arsenal International Festival in Kyiv, took place on October 22 at the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany. This is a multi-format publication that you can not only read, but also touch.
Olena Zelenska spoke about this project in an interview with Brigitte, the largest women's magazine in Germany, which has been published since 1886 with a circulation of 800,000 copies.
The First Lady noted that the barrier-free topic became important for Ukraine even before the Russian invasion.
"We determined for ourselves a long time ago that the most important thing in the state is a person. The philosophy of the state should be people-centeredness. And for this, a person must be given all the opportunities. It was my job to facilitate these opportunities. Barrier-free environment is not only physical barriers, but also psychological barriers, prejudices, economic inequality, such as unequal pay. We fought against all these obstacles: we created a friendly space, we sought equal pay and employment for everyone, regardless of gender and physical condition, we fought against prejudice and violence - physical and psychological," she said.
At the same time, the First Lady noted, with the Russian invasion, the barrier-free issue has gained even greater relevance and new meaning.
"Because aggression has created even more barriers. Even more physical barriers, because every day more and more adults and children are injured by shelling, lose arms and legs. Even more mental barriers, because today almost every Ukrainian is under stress due to the war. Even more economic barriers, because people are losing their homes, jobs, and businesses. But we are not Russia. We want our people to have all the opportunities, to be healthy. Our principle is that the person is at the center of everything. We send people for prosthetics and create a national mental health program so that everyone can get the relevant services when they need them. We are rebuilding the country so that after our victory, people will have better opportunities," said Olena Zelenska.
She noted that the "Barrier-Free Handbook" is an open source project: its electronic version is regularly enriched with new relevant information. In particular, the section "In wartime" was added, in which you can find answers to the questions of the most vulnerable sections of the population: families with children, older people and their relatives, people with disabilities. And work on filling the handbook with useful information continues.
