Emine ERDOĞAN said, “When we provide our citizens with disabilities with full access to all areas of life, we will see that the disability is alleviated. Our goal for 2030 is a barrier-free Turkey,” she said.

Idea and Project Competition Award Ceremony for Barrier-Free Cities, organized by the Ministry of Family and Social Services and the Union of Municipalities of Turkey (TBB), with the aim of developing activities that will enable persons with disabilities to reach all urban services in their daily lives without the need for any help, without any restrictions, difficulties and obstacles, and to raise social awareness was held at Pendik Municipality Yunus Emre Culture and Art Center with the participation of Emine Erdoğan and our Minister of Family and Social Services Derya Yanık. The program started with the viewing of the "Barrier-Free Steps Fashion Show" prepared by Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality with the participation of children and young individuals with disabilities.

Speaking at the ceremony, Emine ERDOĞAN stated that the number of valid applications to the competition is 196, and stated that the projects she received information about the contents included original ideas. ERDOĞAN, who stated that according to the figures of the World Bank, 15 percent of the world's population consists of individuals with disabilities, said: " Each disability group has some difficulties that they experience in daily life depending on their disability. However, if there is one thing that makes the lives of persons with disabilities more difficult than their disabilities, it is inaccessible cities.” Emine ERDOĞAN stated that globally, it is known that more than half of individuals with disabilities live in cities, and that a city design that only references healthy and young people makes the disability situation more difficult. Pointing out that individuals with disabilities are condemned to a limited life, ERDOĞAN underlined that this situation has nothing to do with the person's disability, on the contrary, it is a problem of uniform evaluation of people from beginning to end.

"Accessibility comes across as multidimensional"

Emphasizing that accessibility is the most fundamental right of individuals with disabilities, ERDOĞAN continued as follows: " Of course, the issue of accessibility is multidimensional both in service areas and in physical spaces. For example, for a website to be truly useful, it must comply with accessibility standards. All physical spaces, from sidewalks to parking lots, from shopping malls to entertainment venues, should be designed with all disability groups in mind. Persons with disabilities should have free and comfortable access to any physical space, whether private or public, whenever they want. Sometimes I get really upset when I see cars parked in front of curb ramps. Especially in shopping malls, we see drivers using accessible parking spaces. Imagine that you are an individual with disabilities and when you come to the shopping mall, the place reserved for you is occupied by someone who does not need it. Doesn't even that make a person feel like the other in the first place? We all have the right not to be the other, to feel that we have a place in society and to find their needs met in life."

"We must work together to establish an inclusive life for all"

Emine ERDOĞAN drew attention to the fact that when it comes to accessibility, not only citizens with disabilities but also all differences should be considered, and said: " To give an example, considering older visitors in a museum or exhibition is also being accessible. We should open the doors of social life to all age groups. Likewise, we need to organize children's playgrounds in parks in such a way that all children can play together comfortably."

ERDOĞAN said: "When we provide our citizens with disabilities with full access to all areas of life, we will see that the disability situation will be alleviated. Our target for 2030 is a Turkey without disabilities. Since 2002, the government has been carrying out very important works regarding persons with disabilities, numerous revolutionary works have been carried out from health services to employment, tens of thousands of citizens with disabilities are working as civil servants and finding jobs in the private sector, and the number of rehabilitation centres is increasing day by day.” Emine ERDOĞAN underlined that people need the right conditions to make their dreams come true, and said: "We will remove environmental limitations so that dreams don't know boundaries. We have brothers and sisters with disabilities who achieved international success, excelled in their schools, and took pride in many fields from arts to sports. In the history of the world, there are many people with disabilities who pioneered science and gave direction to the world. Here we understand that the infinite potential of man cannot be blocked. As long as we provide the necessary support ."

“We have put making life more accessible for every citizen as our main principle”

In her speech at the ceremony, Minister of Family and Social Services Derya YANIK noted that the competition is important in raising awareness in terms of accessibility.

Stating that accessibility, which means that everyone can access and use services independently and safely wherever they want, is one of the most basic rights and a prerequisite for the use of many other rights, YANIK said that full participation of citizens in all areas of social life, independently and without needing help, is only possible with accessibility.

Minister YANIK said, "We see the issue of accessibility as a responsibility for our friends with disabilities. We have set ourselves the ultimate goal of making all our services and all areas of life accessible. Individuals with disabilities, pregnant and children, elderly people, who are in a disadvantageous position compared to the general society, help us to reach the available services. Our main principle is to make life more accessible to all our citizens who have difficulties.

"Accessibility means a civilized life for all individuals in society"

Stating that the issue of accessibility should be concretized at certain points, the Minister of Family and Social Services YANIK said, "The ability of people to leave their homes and reach educational buildings, workplaces, green areas, public transportation vehicles independently and safely is a factor that directly affects our lives physically. People's ability to use information and communication technologies. "This is another area where we deal directly with accessibility. In this sense, accessibility means a necessity for persons with disabilities, a necessity for the elderly, and a civilized life for all individuals in the society." Minister YANIK stated that as the Ministry, they have bilateral responsibilities in this matter, that they are in direct contact with the citizens as a service provider, and that they are a reference in terms of providing information to other institutions, setting a vision and functioning.

Mentioning that they carry out many collaborations and studies in order to lead and supervise the steps to be taken in terms of accessibility, and to transfer training and experience, Minister YANIK continued as follows: " Our first step in creating barrier-free cities for all was standardization. Ramps, doors, elevators, toilets, sidewalks in open areas, pedestrian crossings, public transportation stops and stations have become standard in terms of accessibility. We collaborated with the Turkish Standards Institute in this area. We have also strengthened our legal infrastructure in order to increase the enforcement power on accessibility practices and to regulate their audits. With the Turkish Disability Act of 2005, we have prepared the legal basis for our practices. We have established Accessibility Monitoring and Inspection Commissions within our governorships, consisting of public officials and representatives of civil society organizations for persons with disabilities. We issue an 'Accessibility Certificate' to buildings, open spaces and public transportation vehicles that are found to be accessible during ongoing inspections. In this context, we have given 1923 documents so far. Thanks to the awareness created in the public after the inspections started, many institutions took action and accelerated their accessibility practices." Minister YANIK stated that they have provided accessibility training to a total of 16,921 managers and technical personnel who have been working on the environment so far, and that they will continue these trainings.

"The question "Is it accessible?" should be asked in every planned service"

YANIK stated that in this process, they published the Accessibility Guide, implemented the Accessibility Evaluation Module (ERDEM), made an effort to raise awareness with the Accessibility Awards given for the first time in 2020, and in 2021 under the title of "Accessibility Workshops", "Accessibility Workshops: Sidewalks" and "Web they carried out two separate studies called "Accessibility Trainings" and that they will hold workshops on the themes of "pedestrian crossings" and "stops" this year.

Derya YANIK, Minister of Family and Social Services, said, "In order to build barrier-free and accessible cities, especially our municipalities and many units of our municipalities have important responsibilities. They should reflexively ask at our municipalities, city administrations, zoning and urban planning, science, parks and gardens, transportation, data processing and media and broadcasting 'Is it accessible?' in every activity they carry out, in every project they prepare and approve, in every service they plan. The answer to this question is an indicator of civilized development all over the world."

The winners of the Idea and Project Competition Awards for Barrier-Free Cities were presented their awards.

After the speeches, Emine Erdoğan presented their awards to the mayors and vice presidents on behalf of the municipalities that won the Idea and Project Competition Awards for Barrier-Free Cities. In the competition, Simav Municipality "Accessible Life Park and Landscape Project", Thermal Municipality "Paralympic Games Centre Project", Yeşilhisar Municipality "Peace Taxi Project", Ardahan Municipality "Overcoming Obstacles Together Project", Pamukkale Municipality "Handicapped Hourly Day Care Home Project", Amasya Municipality "We are Uncle Mehmet's Guests Project", Pendik Municipality "Pendik Barrier-Free Park Project", Manisa Metropolitan Municipality "IOT Technology Based Manisa City Application Project", Konya Metropolitan Municipality "Barrier-Free City Konya Accessibility Master Plan Project" and Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality " Gaziantep Smart, Healthy, Technologically Barrier-Free City Implementation Project" received an award.

After the award ceremony, Emine ERDOĞAN, Minister of Family and Social Services Derya YANIK, TBB and Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Fatma ŞAHİN, mayors and their deputies posed for family photos.