Officials at the Accessibility Forum.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar is set to become the most accessible and inclusive tournament ever with special services and facilities for people with disabilities.The services, including infrastructure, transport and management, for the event will stress on requirements for people with special needs.
As the first step to gaining this goal, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) launched its first Accessibility Forum here yesterday. The meeting identified five key priorities that need to be addressed to ensure SC’s goal of an inclusive World Cup event. The meeting recommended adopting a master plan criteria guide for people with disabilities in buildings and installations. It stressed the need for having a motor disability guide on how to use public transport from and to the airport.
Training for airport and hotel personnel on ways to deal with the disabled in general was also recommended.
The meeting also stressed to set up a mechanism to involve the disabled community in the planning and implementation of projects by the participants in the Forum through workshops to be held all year long.
Added to this, people with disabilities will be included in the Volunteer Programme of 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The Accessibility Forum will act as an independent consultation group that will advise the SC and its stakeholders on specific disability requirements. The forum will make the event the most accessible and inclusive tournament ever, leaving a lasting legacy for people with disabilities in the country.
Over the next 12 months, the SC and other stakeholders involved will assess the recommendations from the inaugural Accessibility Forum. There will then be a meeting in 12 months’ time where the stakeholders involved will update the Forum members on progress against the five recommendations and update on how they have helped shape policy and procedural matters connected to their specific projects.
“The Forum’s purpose is to provide a platform for meaningful engagement between Qatar’s disabled communities and the various organisations and government departments that are delivering infrastructure for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Our goal is to ensure that everyone attending the World Cup in six years’ time has a truly seamless fan experience, whether that’s entering stadiums, staying at hotels or enjoying Qatar’s public spaces. We are also committed to ensuring the tournament leaves a lasting legacy for disabled communities in Qatar. The Forum and recommendations that came from this inaugural session will help us achieve that goal,” said Khalid Al Jumaily, SC Community Engagement Manager.
Accessibility Forum members represent individuals with different types of visible and invisible disabilities, ranging from physical (visual, speech, hearing, deaf, brain injury, use of a wheel chair); cognitive (intellectual impairments); perceptual (learning disability) and mental health disabilities.
Other members, who may not have disabilities, come from organisations representing disabled people across Qatar and the region. They have been selected on the basis of the nature of their work, their experience, availability, expertise and interest in participating in accessibility and community matters related to the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
