site.btaLocal Governance in North Macedonia Municipality to Become More Accessible to People with Disabilities under Bulgarian-Funded Project

A project titled Accessible and Open Municipality, funded under the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry's Development Aid Programme, was launched in Kriva Palanka, North Macedonia on Friday. It is aimed to encourage a more adequate local government policy for people with special needs and to get people with disabilities involved in public policies and decision-making at the local level. The project will help bring about social change in Kriva Palanka, initiated by people with disabilities, to make local governance more transparent, responsible and socially inclusive. It will be implemented by the Handicap Plus Association (HPA), which is based in the town.

The association successfully carried out an earlier project related to regional policies for people with disabilities. This is their second undertaking funded via the Bulgarian Development Aid Programme. "It shows Bulgaria's consistence in protecting human rights and supporting people with special needs," said Reni Ivanova, Second Secretary at the Bulgarian Embassy in North Macedonia.

Kriva Palanka will become the first municipality in the Balkans to acquire a council for people with disabilities, HPA President Brankica Dimitrovska said. According to her, the 15-member council will comprise representatives of organizations working for this social group and experts. Rules of procedure will be drawn up for the municipal government and will be published in the Braille alphabet and as an audio recording to make the document accessible.

Various initiatives and recommendations will be devised in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and will be submitted to the Municipal Council.