Parliament fully open to people with mobility and vision impairments

The Parliament of Georgia will rearrange its premises to ensure easy access for people with mobility and vision impairments.

The concept "An Accessible Parliament for All”, which describes some major changes that will be introduced to the former parliament building in Tbilisi, was presented to the public today.

Parliament represents people with all abilities and its premises must cater to their needs without discrimination. We are proud to declare that the Parliament of Georgia soon will be fully accessible to people with mobility and vision impairments,” Irakli Kobakhidze, Chairperson of the Parliament of Georgia, said.

The project was developed by the Parliament of Georgia in partnership with the Georgian NGO, Mariani.

The initiative was supported by the European Union (EU) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in cooperation with the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI).

Presentation of the concept. Photo by Parliament of Georgia press office. 

It is encouraging to see that public spaces in Georgia are opening up for people with disabilities. The European Union is contributing to adapting public transport, public service halls, legal aid offices and now the building of parliament, ensuring adequate access and equal participation for all”, Dorota Dlouchy-Suliga, Head of Political, Press and Information Section of the Delegation of the European Union in Georgia, said.

By endorsing the Accessible Parliament plan, the Parliament of Georgia joins the ongoing Global Legislative Openness Week (GLOW) on November 20-30, 2017, which promotes advocacy and innovative initiatives aiming to increase legislative openness.

Accessible Parliament is part of the Open Parliament Georgia Action Plan adopted in 2017, in line with the principles of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) and the Declaration on Parliamentary Openness.

Georgia is the OGP chair this year.