The first day started with a public presentation part, in which several topics and organisations were presented in turn. The conference was opened by the Mayor of Znojmo Ivana Solařová, who welcomed the participants and wished them a successful meeting. This was followed by a presentation of the project and further plans by CENIA, an evaluation of the questionnaire for people with disabilities by BOKU, a presentation on good practice in accessible tourism by CZEPA, an online presentation of the hotel Hnanice and a presentation of the activities of ParaCENTRUM Fénix. After a short break, the presentation part was followed by EDF and architect Zíka from BUT. Colleagues from CENIA concluded with information on mapping in the pilot area Znojmo-Retz.
The presentation part was followed by an interactive workshop. All attendees were divided into three groups and had the opportunity to contribute their knowledge and experience to the evaluation of the three main themes that emerged from the questionnaire survey for people with disabilities. The first part of the workshop consisted of an evaluation of statements about accessible transport – everyone had the opportunity to evaluate whether they agreed or disagreed with each statement according to their own experience in their home area. We talked about, for example, the willingness of public transport drivers to allow people with disabilities to board buses, the availability of accessible toilets at bus stops and main stations, or audible signals for bus stops directly in the means of transport. The second part of the workshop dealt with the lack of information to help people with disabilities in their travel planning. And the third part addressed barriers in general.
The workshop part was followed by a study visit, where a guide with expert commentary took us through the centre of Znojmo. And then we moved on to one of the examples of good practice, the Lahofer winery, which has a building adapted for wheelchair users. Their dominant feature is the possibility to visit the roof overlooking the vineyards, which is also accessible to wheelchair users thanks to the elevator.
The second day was a meeting for project partners only. A large part of the morning programme was devoted to the evaluation of the project’s work so far, as well as the financial and control aspects.
The next project meeting will take place this autumn in Austria.