Secretaria-Geral do Ministério do Trabalho, Solidariedade e Segurança Social

The National Strategy for the Promotion of Accessibility and Inclusion of Museums, Monuments and Palaces 2021-2025 (EPAI) was published today, under the auspices of the Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage and the four Regional Directorates for Culture. The document now approved is the result of a joint work with the State Secretariat for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities. The Order, published in the Diário da República and signed by the Assistant Secretary of State for Cultural Heritage, Ângela Ferreira, integrates the contributions sent by the various entities consulted since 2021, and reflects the importance of the heritage under the responsibility of the Public Administration having a structuring instrument to further promote accessibility and inclusion of all people. The EPAI, which was presented in December 2021 and was in public consultation until 14 January 2022, comprises 90 measures, organised around 5 strategic axes. These measures include concrete objectives and targets and aim to enhance the quality of public policies in promoting universal accessibility, thus contributing to greater social cohesion. The Assistant Secretary of State for Cultural Heritage, Ângela Ferreira, underlines that "EPAI 2021-2025 represents a qualitative leap, responding to people with different degrees of autonomy and who therefore lack different solutions. This far-reaching vision, underpinned by concrete goals, is a paradigm shift and will decisively mark cultural heritage in the next decade.” For the Secretary of State for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities, Ana Sofia Antunes "it is extremely enriching to know that we are indeed the first country – the first State of the European Union – that has a strategic document, which defines a set of structured political guidelines and policy measures, organised towards their implementation, with time targets defined in a coherent way and to know that we are effectively at the forefront in this matter." Document is available online.

Source: Government Portal