The Disability Council of the City of Tampere annually awards an accessibility prize to a site that significantly enhances the equal opportunities for Tampere residents with mobility and functional limitations. The aim is to enable them to participate, access services smoothly, and live a full life in the city. The prize can also be awarded to a project or person who has shown exemplary merit in promoting accessibility.
The award aims to highlight conscious accessibility solutions that are key to achieving equality and human rights for people with disabilities. Failure to ensure accessibility in new sites and neglecting reasonable accommodations in existing sites is considered discrimination.
The City of Tampere Disability Council has been awarding accessibility prizes for more than ten years.
According to the Disability Council, this year’s award recipient was an obvious choice.
– The Disability Council was about to open a survey to get suggestions from residents for the winner of the award, but we found that there was no doubt about this year's winner, as an accessible swimming beach has been on the Disability Council's agenda for 20 years. Once the additional accessibility improvements identified this summer are completed, the accessible beach at Pyynikki will become a new tourist attraction for Tampere, says Katja Metsävainio, Chairperson of the Disability Council.
The accessibility award was presented on Tuesday 17 December 2024 at the final meeting of the Disability Council's term in Tampere Hall.
The award was received by Hanna Savolainen, team leader of Tampere Infra oy, who was present with the Disability Council's accessibility team at the last inspection of the beach before its opening in June. In addition to the actual establishment and construction of the beach, it is important to recognise the key role of the city's sports services in enabling the beach to be used as part of the sports facilities.
