EU and UNESCO provide support to ‘Accessible Jordan’

Aya Aghabi founded accessiblejordan.com out of necessity. In 2009, she was in a serious car accident that left her with a physical disability and dependent upon a wheelchair to maintain her mobility. Soon, Aya moved to the United States to complete her undergraduate studies at UC Berkeley in California. Having been exposed to true independence in the US, in terms of being able to navigate the city on her own in her wheelchair, Aya was disheartened to return to Jordan and encounter the limitations in terms of accessibility.

Aya grew tired of having to sit on her laptop for hours before going out, trying to find out if she would be able to enter a certain restaurant or hotel. She starting talking to others with mobility challenges, including parents with children in strollers and elderly citizens struggling with stairs and realized the true pervasiveness of the accessibility issue in Jordan. In September 2017, she launched accessiblejordan.com, an online accessibility resource that documents accessible restaurants, hotels, tourist attractions and local sites across Jordan, providing a short description of each place. Aya feels strongly that, “just because you have mobility constraints doesn’t mean you have to be stuck at home!”

In mid-2018, UNESCO began providing much-needed support to Aya’s initiative. within the framework of the Networks for Mediterranean Youth project (NET-MED Youth). Funded by the European Union (EU), the NET-MED Youth project was a four-year (2014-2018) regional project implemented in collaboration with youth organizations, institutions and partners. In Jordan, the project worked towards enhancing the effective participation of youth in developing and implementing national strategies and policies affecting youth through increasing their access to relevant information and resources. In achieving that goal, it strived to reduce the fragmentation of efforts and to harness the collective potential of youth in affecting democratic transition towards active citizenship, political participation, economic development, and social inclusion.

As Aya’s website works to address the needs of people with disabilities through access to information via an online platform, the EU-funded NET-MED project financed a web developer to support Aya in launching her new, high-tech platform. The new site went live at the end of summer 2018. “I am thrilled to have this support. My hope is that this website will encourage the Jordanian government and all business owners to work on the accessibility of spaces to make Jordan inclusive for all people. I also hope that this website will make it easier for people with disabilities from all around the world to come and visit Jordan”, says Aya.

In 2017, a “Youth Policies Review” was initiated by the NET-MED Youth project in Jordan. Within this, disability among youth was considered a significant vulnerability, hindering 22% of Jordanians from ever enrolling in education, according to the Department of Statistics. One of the recommendations that emerged from the review focused on further institutionalized measures or interventions ensuring an enabling environment for the integration of youth with disabilities struggling to access basic services such as employment and health.

“What has most surprised me about starting this initiative is how it has opened a real conversation. Finally in Jordan, people are now taking up the challenges to accessibility as an issue and there is a dialogue that has begun around solutions and progress”.

Inclusion lies at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, speaking to the notion of empowerment and the principle of no discrimination. This is reflected in the pledge to leave no one behind and in the vision of a “just, equitable, tolerant, open and socially inclusive world in which the needs of the most vulnerable are met”. Aya’s Accessible Jordan aspirations align with this vision. Specifically, SDG 11 focuses on “sustainable cities and communities” and outlines the importance of, “creating accessible cities and water resources, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems, providing universal access to safe, inclusive, accessible and green public spaces”.

Aya is heartened that progress is slowly but steadily taking place. “I feel so good when I receive messages saying things like ‘I finally got to take my elderly dad to a place he used to love to eat but has not been able to access for such a long time’. It’s that kind of feedback that keeps me going”.