Odysseus in Action: 5th Interview in Nafplion
Our sponsors and partners, whose support made this DHIAfest journey possible: Attica Group, KTEL Athens, KTEL Thessaloniki, KTEL Igoumenitsa, KTEL Chania, and Hellenic Train. Thank you!
Στις 22 Σεπτεμβρίου επισκεφθήκαμε το Ναύπλιο, όπου, την 4η ημέρα του DHIAfest, μιλήσαμε με τον Χρήστο Γκούμα, εντεταλμένο δημοτικό σύμβουλο για θέματα πολιτισμού και Πρόεδρο του Δημοτικού Λιμενικού Ταμείου Ναυπλίου, σχετικά με την ένταξη και την προσβασιμότητα των ατόμων με αναπηρία. Το Ναύπλιο μας έδειξε πώς μια όμορφη ιστορική πόλη μπορεί ταυτόχρονα να γίνεται πιο προσβάσιμη και φιλική προς όλους, ενώ ο Χρήστος μίλησε για τα σχέδια περαιτέρω βελτίωσης των υποδομών της πόλης.
September 22nd, we are in Nafplion, approximately 85 km from Athens. A small, quiet and beautiful city, and the destination of the fourth day of DHIAfest!
I had the opportunity to speak with Christos Goumas, an appointed municipal councillor responsible for culture, libraries, archives, museums and art galleries, and also the president of the municipal port fund of Nafplion.
Our conversation focused on inclusion and accessibility for people with disabilities, particularly their ability to move around the city independently and interact with the environment around them. We walked along the waterfront, which also serves as the city’s port. Christos showed me how much the infrastructure in this area has improved over the past three years. In the photographs, you can see:
1. The port area, people with a designated disability parking card can park their cars in specially marked spaces. What is particularly useful is that these parking spaces are completely free, and currently there is no time limit on how long a vehicle can remain there. The accessible parking spaces are marked not only on the road surface but also with clearly visible signs, making them easier to identify. There are 11 designated parking spaces for people with disabilities around the port and on the nearby streets.
2. There are also public toilets in the area around the port and its surroundings. In total, there are 18 toilets, four of which are larger and designed to be more accessible for people with mobility difficulties.
3. The city, at least in the port area and the central part that I visited also has gentle slopes on pedestrian paths, making movement easier for wheelchair users. There are also specially designed tactile paths for blind and visually impaired people who use a cane.
Step by step, Greece and other developed countries are becoming more accessible and more universal for everyone. I am glad to hear that Christos and his team have ambitious plans for further improvements to the city’s infrastructure. Hopefully, next year we will be able to talk about these plans not as future projects, but as completed work.
After our interview, I spent some time walking around the city myself. And I can honestly say that, at least in the central area I visited, Nafplio is very well designed and maintained. It is not only beautiful, it is also becoming more accessible. Ramps for wheelchairs, tactile paths for visually impaired people, designated accessible parking spaces and other accessibility measures are visible throughout the centre. For me, Nafplio was one of the most disability friendly cities I have visited during DHIAfest so far.
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