In December 2021, implementation of "Inclusion in communities" Program, which lasted for half a year, from May 2021 to December 2021, within "Promotion of Social Infrastructure Development (USIF VI)" Project was successfully completed.

The goal of Program was to increase capacities of local, self-government authorities and community activists of partner communities to meet the needs of low-mobility groups and children with special educational needs.

The Program was implemented by a coalition of organizations, composed of All-Ukrainian Public Association ‘National Assembly of People with Disabilities of Ukraine’, All-Ukrainian Charitable Organization ‘Step-by-Step Foundation’ and ‘Pro.UD/Universal design’ Public Initiative.

The participants of the program were heads and specialists of structural units of departments/divisions of education, social protection, urban planning, architecture and housing and communal services, representatives of inclusive resource centers, directors of school and kindergarten etc.

Among the main achievements and outputs of the Program are following:

• ten video tutorials on various aspects of universal design and inclusive education were produced and made publicly available;
• two booklets: "Universal Community Design: Space, Objects, Information and Services" and "Education: Inclusion and Universal Design" were developed and published;
• four trainings on the following topics: universal design and accessibility, inclusive education in schools and kindergartens, an effective advocacy campaign on inclusion and accessibility were conducted;
• seminar "Design of medical institutions according to accessibility standards and principles of universal design" was conducted;

• 275 hours of community consultations on the accessibility of educational institutions and social services, accessible information on social services, information and advocacy companies on inclusive education and development of a local accessibility strategy were held.

On December 17, 2021, a final online conference on this Program was held in Kyiv with the participation of Tatiana Barantsova, the Government Commissioner for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Tatiana Lomakina, the Presidential Adviser on Barrier-Free Issues. The conference was dedicated to the exchange of experiences between communities in improving accessibility and applying the principles of universal design. 5 out of 11 partners communities shared information about their experience gained under the Program:

• improving the availability of information on social services in Melitopol;
• evaluation of the accessibility of educational institutions in Komysh-Zorya and Pershotravensk;
• development of the information campaign and promotion of inclusive education in Chuguiv;
• development of a local accessibility strategy in Mariupol.

Recording of the online conference can be viewed at the USIFs’ youtube channel.

The Program was funded by the USIF from the grant funds of the Government of Germany, provided by KfW within "Promotion of Social Infrastructure Development (USIF VI)" Project.

13 housing facilities, 4 schools and 8 kindergartens will be renovated in 11 communities and a number of social programs and separate educational and counseling activities will be implemented within this Project by May 2022.