The “Access Days” event – an experience that transforms perspectives on accessibility

The day began at Lielezers Beach in Limbaži, where we explored solutions designed to ensure a comfortable and safe environment for people with disabilities, older persons and families with children. Tactile elements, adapted access points and thoughtfully planned infrastructure enabled us to experience everyday situations from different perspectives, while gaining a clearer understanding of how essential such improvements are in real-life settings. Following the visit to the beach, representatives of the Vidzeme Planning Region presented the progress achieved within the project at the Limbaži municipal agency “LAUTA”, highlighting the importance of cross-sectoral cooperation in the field of accessibility.

The central event of the day, the “Sensory Lunch”, took place at Hotel Wolmar in Valmiera. This experiential learning method allowed us to perceive everyday situations from the perspective of people with functional impairments. We enjoyed appetisers while blindfolded, ate the main course wearing special gloves, and ordered dessert in a noisy environment, experiencing first-hand how even seemingly simple tasks can become challenging for a person with hearing impairments. The experience fostered a far deeper understanding of the importance of environments adapted to diverse needs.

The programme was enriched by personal stories shared by accessibility experts. Līga Ķikute, accompanied by her guide dog Rīga, Daina Podziņa together with her daughter Rita, Baiba Baikovska with her guide dog Elfa, and Inese Immure offered powerful insights into everyday life with visual, hearing and mobility impairments. Through openness and, at times, humour, they highlighted the significance of plain language and aspects of Deaf culture. Their contributions helped us to recognise accessibility as a multidimensional system, encompassing not only the physical environment but also communication and societal attitudes.

At the end of the day, Alise Lūse, Project Manager of the Kurzeme Planning Region, presented the achievements of the Access Routes project, emphasising good practice examples and future directions. Together with representatives of “Apeirons” and other participants, we developed a Roadmap summarising proposals for further advancement of accessibility. The event concluded with remarks from Anna-Monika Modzelewska, representative of the European Commission, who shared her perspective on accessibility policy at European level.

Participation in this event reaffirmed that accessibility is not solely about engineering solutions – it is about attitude, empathy and collaborative effort. We are proud to be part of an initiative that contributes to building a more inclusive environment in Latvia and across the Baltic region, and we will continue working to ensure that accessibility becomes a self-evident value in our region.

The event and the project “Development of Accessible Tourism Routes (Access Routes)” (EE-LV00043) are implemented with financial support from the EU Interreg Estonia–Latvia Programme 2021–2027, providing regions with knowledge, tools and practical examples for creating inclusive environments in the fields of tourism and cultural heritage.