Oschadbank expands the geography of barrier-free communication training in communities: a two-day workshop was held in Zhytomyr

Oschadbank continues to scale up its barrier-free communication training program for communities across the country. The next two-day training workshop, "Accessibility. Correct Communication" was held on February 18-19, 2026, in Zhytomyr for representatives of the city council and regional military administration.

The event was attended by about 30 representatives of Zhytomyr local government bodies and specialists who work with community residents on a daily basis. The accessibility of services and the comfort of interaction for different groups of citizens largely depend on their decisions and communication. They were joined by Danylo Zelinsky, ambassador of the “Movement Without Barriers” project, and war veteran Andriy Zabigailo.

"You can build accessible premises, but if employees don't know how to interact with people correctly, the barrier remains. That's why we invest in both infrastructure and training. Today, 33 Oschadbank branches are fully accessible to people with disabilities, another 740 comply with state building standards for inclusiveness, and all bank employees have undergone training in barrier-free communication. Now we are sharing our experience with communities," said Anton Tiutiun, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Oschadbank.

Oschadbank is the only bank in Ukraine that conducts regional training on barrier-free communication for government agencies and communities. The program is gradually covering communities across the country. Zhytomyr became the sixth city to join the initiative. Previously, training sessions were held in Rivne, Poltava, Chernivtsi, Vinnytsia, and Odesa.

The program is being implemented with the support of Tetiana Lomakina, the President's Office representative for accessibility issues, as part of the “Accessibility is when you CAN” project, launched on the initiative of Olena Zelenska.

The aim of the training is to develop practical skills for interacting with people with various types of functional impairments and combat experience, as well as to deepen understanding of the importance of integrating accessibility principles into the activities of public authorities. This involves changing everyday communication and management decisions, on which the real accessibility of services in communities depends.

The program is structured as a practical intensive course with analysis of real cases and rehearsal of interaction scenarios. Participants studied the specifics of communicating with people with visual, hearing, and musculoskeletal impairments, as well as mental disorders; examined common myths about what to do in case of epilepsy; and discussed the specifics of communicating with people with combat experience.

The program coordinator is Olga Lappo, head of accessibility projects and programs at Oschadbank, who ensures the consistency of educational initiatives in this area.

The accessibility program will be continued in other communities in Ukraine.