The city of Opole, realizing the problems of its elderly and disabled citizens in the public spaces, since 2018, organises a competition called ‚seniors and people with disabilities friendly places ‘within the ‚Opole in the rhythm of kindness ‘campaign.

In 2018 the first edition of the competition took place. The aim of the competition was to select and promote places in which seniors and people with disabilities feel comfortable, are treated with kindness and respect and where they can benefit from the highest level of services. The target of the competition were public institutions, non-governmental institutions, subjects and persons conducting business activity. Entities that were awarded in the competition showed that their business contribute to the elimination of the physical, communication, economic and social barriers experienced by the seniors or/and people with disabilities.

The awarded entities received a ‚Seniors and People with disabilities friendly place in Opole’ certificate.

In 2018 the places that recived the certificate were:

• Wodna Nuta Swimming Pool;
• Biały Kruk Gallery;
• u Dziadka Inn;
• Information and Education Center ‘Senior w Opolu’;
• ‘Złota jesień’ Residence
• ‘Spinacz’ Fundation

In 2019 the second edition of the competition took place and the awarded places were the following:

– Municipal Public Library in Opole;
– The Young Hearts Academy at Opole University of Technology;
– Third Age University of Senior Health and Beauty at the State Medical University of Applied Sciences in Opole;
– Opole branch of the Polish Diabetic Association;
– Stegu Arena Opole;
– ANA CAFE.

Since May 2019 an information and educational ‘Opole in a rhythm of kindness’ campaign is being carried out and it is a continuation of the ‘May as a month of kindness’ campaign conducted in 2017 and 2018 in the City of Opole. The campaign is aimed to promote charity
and kindness towards the elderly and the disabled. The first edition of the campaign was characterized by displaying phrases such as: please, sorry and thank you. The second edition of the campaign aimed to raise the issue of positive behavior of children towards the elderly and disabled people. The “Opole in the Rhythm of Kindness” campaign aims to further spread the friendly social attitude towards others, and therefore stop the hate speech. The main goal of the campaign is to promote kindness understood as: helpfulness, honesty, sensitivity, caring, cordiality, compassion, calmness, friendship, understanding, tenderness, warmth, dedication, grace, empathy, generosity, loyalty, help, understanding, openness, sensitivity , respect, generosity, tolerance, care, goodness and to raise the issue of positive behavior, among others for the elderly or disabled.

As part of the campaign the following activities were carried out:

• an educational and information spot ‘Opole in a rhythm of kindness’ was developed;
  – the ‘Canon of Kindness of the City of Opole’ was created;
  – The Social Policy Department of the Opole City Hall and the Information and Education Center ‘Senior in Opole’ conducted so-called ‘lessons of kindness’ in kindergartens and schools. 18 ‘friendliness lessons’ have been conducted since the beginning of the campaign. The lessons included discussions about kindness and the right behavior towards people with disabilities. In addition, through art, theater and animation classes, children learned about the subject of kindness. In total over 500 students took part in the classes.
  – art competitions such as creating the Mini Guidebook ‘Disabled in Opole’ and ‘Opole in the Rhythm of Kindness’
  – educational and integration events, including ‘We’re Together’, ‘Opole Days of Disabled People’, ‘Fair of Remarkableness’, ‘Song Review for Blind People’.

The “Opole in the Rhythm of Kindness” campaign has the following impact on:
• promoting helpfulness, kindness and honesty among the local society;
• initiating by the citizens of Opole initiatives` aimed at promoting an attitude of kindness towards others;
• integration of various social groups (disabled, seniors, young people);
• promoting cooperation and mutual assistance in society;
• promoting activities for the benefit of the disabled;
• promoting activities for the elderly;
• promoting activities for young people;
• promoting activities to remove hate and hate speech from public space.

All activities implemented as part of the above campaign are aimed at promoting and developing knowledge about disabilities, changing social attitudes towards people affected by them, therefore creating an atmosphere of tolerance, understanding and kindness towards these people. The actions undertaken as part of the campaign contribute to the promotion of an attitude of kindness among the residents of Opole by organizing joint projects with different groups involved.

At the same time, I would like to kindly inform you that project number 98/19 was submitted to the Civic Budget of the City of Opole for 2019 ‘Do you have class? – Give way’ within which the following tasks were planned:

– changing the upholstery of the seats that are intended for the elderly and the disabled to blue (same as the color of the parking envelope for disabled people), which would clearly suggest that those places are reserved only for the above-mentioned people;
– On buses with internal information boards (LED XLT type) installed, display the inscription: ‘Do you have class? – give way’ and ‘Are you sitting on the blue?’;
– On buses that are equipped with a voice announcement system, play the message: ‘Do you have class? – give way’ and ‘Are you sitting on the blue seat?’.
However, due to the insufficient number of votes obtained (502 votes) the project was not qualified for implementation.

At the same time, I would like to kindly inform you that we are planning to submit a similar project called ‘Kindness is in fashion’ in the next edition

of the Civic Budget of the City of Opole.

In addition, a number of actions are being undertaken in Opole in order to adapt the public buses to people with disabilities. MZK Sp. z o. o. (which is the company responsible for public transportation in Opole) uses 95 buses to operate. All buses that are at the public disposal are equipped with a wheelchair ramp. Each bus has a separate space for passengers in a wheelchair and at least 4 spaces for people with reduced mobility. 91 buses have a passenger information sound system (voice announcements informing about next stops inside the bus), 85 of which also have similar system outside the vehicles. 90 buses have internal information screens displaying the names of subsequent stops.
Adapting the public transport to the needs of disabled people and seniors is essentially the issue of concern so that those people can use the public transportation without any barriers.  The bus fleet replacement, successively carried out for years, included, first and foremost, the replacement of older bus models with completely new, low-floor vehicles having, among others: a ramp for wheelchairs, the function of the so-called “kneeling” of a bus that facilitates boarding and disembarking, as well as a specially designated and marked place for the transport of a wheelchair equipped with fastening elements and an additional signaling button. This equipment for the elderly and the disabled is already a standard in terms of the requirements we set for contractors and their factories in the bus purchase procedure. Same goes for the screens displaying the names of the stops and the announcement sound system. Contrasting steps inside the bus and maximizing the number of seats available from the low floor are now also a requirement – these are designed mainly for the elderly, with limited mobility etc.

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