Yesterday, 3 April 2024, the members of the Nova Gorica Inter-Municipal Association of the Blind and Visually Impaired were presented the new modifications to facilitate their walks in Nova Gorica. The representatives of the Nova Gorica Police Directorate and the Municipality of Nova Gorica lead by the Mayor Samo Turel joined them in the town walk. After completing the walking presentation of the adjustments, the President of the Association Igor Miljavec confirmed that one can now say that Nova Gorica has become friendlier for the blind and visually impaired pedestrians. This achievement is a result of the exemplary collaboration between the Association, the police and the local community. Their successful model of cooperation is now being transposed to other Slovenian municipalities to improve the accessibility for the blind and visually impaired pedestrians and persons on wheelchairs.
The police and the Association, which brings together the members from all the 13 municipalities in the area of North Primorska, first began to collaborate in 2007. Their partnership cooperation continued in the following years, namely in the framework of the Mobility day on the occasion of the International White Cane Day. At the time of the initial cooperation, the police proposed to the Association President the preparation of the Hand in hand, together for better safety of the blind and visually impaired preventive project and brochure, which was published in 2009. The brochure provided general traffic safety recommendations as well as advice on how to protect one's property and the list of services and locations, where the blind and visually impaired can turn for support.
The Project Hand in hand, together for better safety of the blind and visually impaired was then recognised as a case of best practice on the national level and started to be implemented throughout the entire territory of the Nova Gorica Police Directorate, before growing into a country-wide project in 2011.
The Mayor of Nova Gorica additionally stressed the importance of accessibility in the light of the upcoming European Capital of Culture 2025: "Accessibility is one of the key topics of the European Capital of Culture. All the events that will be taking place are going to attract many visitors. We really want them to be accessible to everyone. So this is something we will be paying a lot of attention to."