Such joint initiatives with non-governmental sector are key to encouraging other public institutions, organisations and the society in general to pay greater attention to everyday environmental accessibility needs of various groups of society, and thus promote solidarity and cohesion across the society.
Linda Cērpa, a representative of the SUSTENTO, remarked on the positive findings of the Riga Castle accessibility audit and underlined that castle is generally well-accessible for persons with physical disabilities, ‘No doubt, the environmental accessibility of Riga Castle is very good, especially given the age of the building and its heritage status. Not everything is perfect. There are some minor improvements needed. For example, ramps should be less steep, rooms next to lifts should be more illuminated. However, generally speaking, everything is fine.’
Following the meeting with SUSTENTO, Andris Teikmanis, Head of the Chancery of the President of Latvia, said that it is as equally important to consider environmental accessibility and communication needs of persons with physical disability as the other groups of society, and thus promote greater solidarity and cohesion in the society. ‘We must also think about the environmental accessibility needs of other groups of society, for example, persons with visual impairments, hearing impediments and other special needs. Findings of today’s audit will form the basis of staff training to make sure our employees know how to quickly and adequately respond to needs of various people. Limitations that a centuries-old building has are not an excuse to not find the appropriate environmental accessibility solutions,’ said the Head of the Chancery of the President of Latvia Andris Teikmanis. He also urged other public and private sector organisations to focus more on environmental accessibility and communication solutions for persons with physical or sensory impairments.
Tests were conducted by SUSTENTO environmental accessibility experts Daiga Veinberga and Linda Cērpa.
