2025 Award "Best Practice in Citizen Participation"

The Accessible Service in Salvador was a set of actions by the City Hall of Salvador aimed at including people with disabilities (PWD), through the integration and expansion of accessible public policies. The initiative was developed by the Directorate of Policies for People with Disabilities (DPCD), linked to the Municipal Department of Social Promotion, Poverty Combat, Sports, and Leisure (SEMPRE).

During the implementation process of the project, integrating access to services proved to be an institutional challenge, as there was no defined internal service flow, and many municipal employees and agencies were unaware of the existing public policies directed at people with disabilities.

To address this challenge, meetings were held with relevant municipal agencies responsible for executing these policies, such as CRAS, CREAS, and municipal secretariats, including the Secretariat for Women's, Children, and Youth Policies, the Municipal Secretariat for Economic Development, the Municipal Health Secretariat, and the Municipal Mobility Secretariat, among others. The goal of this mobilization was to enhance the cross-cutting nature of actions and promote better structuring of policies for people with disabilities.

Subsequent action lines, among many others, included the creation of the Communication Accessibility Center (CACS), to provide sign language translation and audiodescription in municipal services; the creation of an Accessibility Guide for municipal employees; and the creation of a city services guide for people with disabilities, democratizing access to information for this audience.

Additionally, this process encouraged the development of the Municipal Plan for People with Disabilities (PMPCD), which is about to be published. The creation process of the PMPCD involved active listening, thematic workshops, and popular participation, including social organizations serving the PWD population in health, education, and social assistance.

The project also takes a gender perspective, recognizing that the care system disproportionately falls on women. This approach includes action lines focused on mothers of PWDs, based on their reports of challenges related to employability, access to education, leisure, and culture.

• https://planejamentoestrategico.salvador.ba.gov.br/atendimento-acessivel/ (External link)