"Favourite places for all" investment programme: 17 measures selected for funding
Under the motto "Favourite places for everyone", the Free State of Saxony has launched the accessibility investment programme for 2014 with a total funding amount of 2.5 million euros. With up to 100 per cent funding, barriers can be removed in cultural, leisure and educational facilities.
cultural, leisure and educational facilities, as well as healthcare facilities such as doctors' surgeries. In this way, many small projects in the city area enable people with disabilities to participate better in life in the community.
The call for proposals met with lively interest in the city of Chemnitz. Within a very short space of time, the City of Chemnitz received 50 applications from associations, businesses and municipal offices and organisations from all areas of social life. The total costs of all project proposals amounted to over 840,000 euros. The actual funding requirement was therefore significantly higher than the lump sum of 176,500 euros provided to the City of Chemnitz.
A committee consisting of the City of Chemnitz's Disability Officer, Petra Liebetrau, the Chairman of the Disability Advisory Council, Klaus Möbius, the Barrier-free Building Advice Centre at the VdK Sachsen e.V. social association and the city offices evaluated the project proposals. It was important that they could be realised quickly and that a lot could be achieved for as many people and projects as possible with as little money as possible. 26 proposals were submitted to the Sächsische Aufbaubank (SAB) for funding totalling over 270,000 euros.
A funding amount of 176,500 euros has now been confirmed with the approval notice from the Sächsische Aufbaubank. This means that 17 projects throughout the city can be realised with this funding over the next few months. Barrier-free toilets will be installed, access will be improved with ramps or stair lifts, technology for events for the hearing impaired will be provided and much more.
The great interest in the funding programme is a good signal for Chemnitz, for the many initiatives and opportunities to reduce barriers in everyday life. The organisations represent a very broad social spectrum. This not only corresponds to the intention of the initiators but also shows that the removal of barriers for people with disabilities is in the public interest in our city. The high demand suggests that further support programmes of this kind should follow.