The Vice Mayor of Madrid, Inma Sanz, received today representatives from the eight member countries of a social development program of the World Bank in Latin America and the Caribbean focused on accessibility and digital inclusion, visiting Spain to learn about the experiences developed in our country and establish connections. Sanz shared the good practices of the Madrid City Council in this area, highlighting the transversal nature of the measures implemented by municipal areas and bodies, and the Council’s commitment to policies that promote personal autonomy and inclusive and participatory life.
During the working day, held at the Palacio de Cibeles and organized by the Accessibility Office of the City Council –under the Government Area of Sanz–, the Vice Mayor emphasized to the representatives of Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Panama, Uruguay, Peru, and Bolivia «the path that, since 2019, has led us to be at the forefront in Spain and Europe» in this area.
Some milestones: the creation of the Universal Accessibility Office in 2019; the Accessibility Board in 2020; the General Directorate of Accessibility in 2021; the approval of the Strategic Plan for Universal Accessibility for the city in 2022; the incorporation of the General Directorate of Accessibility into the Vice Mayor’s Area in 2023 with a more transversal approach, and the approval of the first Universal Accessibility Action Plan, which specifies the Strategic Plan in 334 actions, in 2024. «It is a trajectory that has turned accessibility into a strategic subject for the city and has provided the City Council with the tools and structures to carry out concrete actions,» she said.
The General Directorate of Accessibility has prepared an extensive program for this delegation with the departments of Social Innovation and Disability Care; Housing and Rehabilitation, and Citizen Participation, among others, which includes a guided tour of the Gran Vía-Sol area for them to see on-site the accessibility solutions implemented. /
