South Dublin County selected as finalist for Access City Award.

South Dublin County is one of five places shortlisted for the 2024 Access City Award for our accessible playspaces.  The Access City Award recognises and celebrates cities that prioritise accessibility to improve quality-of-life, highlighting places throughout the European Union that are dedicated to removing barriers and creating truly accessible urban spaces for all.

The other finalists selected for the 2024 Access City Award are:

• Łódź (Poland)
• Saint-Quentin (France)
• San Cristóbal de la Laguna (Spain)
• Tübingen (Germany) 

The finalists were selected for demonstrating best practices and highlighting their commitment to ensure accessibility to urban life for all, including persons with disabilities and older citizens, including for built environment, public transport, facilities, and services, as well as information and communication technologies and services.

Speaking on the news, Mayor of South Dublin County, Cllr. Alan Edge said:

This is a tremendous acknowledgement for South Dublin and I must commend all those involved in transforming our playspaces across the county to be accessible to all. I look forward to attending the awards ceremony to represent the people of South Dublin

Colm Ward, Chief Executive of South Dublin County Council added

“I congratulate all our staff and partners involved in our playspace programme for achieving this recognition for South Dublin County.  As place makers and service providers for our County, we are committed to equality, inclusion and providing services that are accessible to the whole community.  Notification of our shortlisting for this prestigious award is particularly welcome and timely as we prepare for National Accessibility Week, starting on 24th November, during which we will showcase and celebrate accessibility here in South Dublin.”

National experts pre-selected 21 applications from 32 areas with five finalists then shortlisted by an EU jury.  The 2024 Access City Award winners will be announced on 1 December 2023 at an award ceremony during the European Day of Persons with Disabilities conference, organised jointly by the European Commission and the European Disability Forum.  The ceremony will be broadcast live, starting at 9.30 a.m. that day, and will feature international sign interpretation, audio-description and English captioning.

ENDS/