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A WEB-CHECKER FOR INCLUSIVE POLICY-MAKING

How Ania Mysyshyn and her Lviv-based team introduced an innovative web-checker to make e-democracy tools accessible to everybody

Por UNDP Ukraine

15 de May de 2018

fIGHT FOR LEAVING NO ONE BEHIND

"Now there is a healthy competition among Ukrainian cities. It is trendy for local authorities to do something for inclusiveness. So, it's high time for us to use the momentum!" -

starts her story Ania Mysyshyn, 24-year old youth leader. A fresh graduate from Tartu University in Estonia, she decides to come back to Lviv and make positive changes happen in her region.

“I have never set a goal to emigrate. Experience of studying and living in the EU inspired me to create positive changes here, in my country. I was lucky to find the like-minded enthusiasts to apply for U-Inn Challenge”, - says Ania.

On the top of the Lviv city council - partners on inclusive e-democracy project

ELECTRONIC GOVERNANCE FOR ALL

Last year, while pursuing a Master’s degree in International Law at the Tartu University, Ania decided to learn more about e-governance and e-democracy. She enrolled in a specialized study course developed by Oxford University in the U.K.

“IT BECOMES A BREAKTHROUGH MOMENT FOR ME. SINCE THEN I HAVE BECOME VERY MUCH INTERESTED IN grasping HOW THE INCLUSIVE E-DEMOCRACY WORKS.”

Later on, craving knowledge, she attended training courses on e-democracy in Sweden and the Czech Republic. She learned first-hand from Estonian, Swedish and Czech developers about innovative e-solutions. Not only that: she observed from the inside how inclusiveness has transformed societies:

“Once in Stockholm, I saw a strange situation when traveling in a city bus. The bus suddenly stopped, and slanted onto its right side. I thought: ‘Well, it must have broken down.’ But no! The driver had made a special stop allow a person with disabilities to board.”

"I am motivated by the idea, the goal we are aiming to achieve, and the experience I am gaining. I learn a lot with my team too", tells Ania

FROM AN IDEA, TO WORKING ON A PROJECT SIDE BY SIDE WITH THE AUTHORITIEs

In Lviv she found like-minded enthusiasts and set up the Institute of Innovative Governance. Ania already had in mind the idea of engaging people more with visual impairments in policy- and decision-making.

Using the expertise of Dmytro Popov, a sightless IT developer, the Institute of Innovative Governance's team polished up the idea and entered the highly-competitive Youth Innovations Contest, held by UNDP.

In October 2017, their proposal of creating a web-checker to help state authorities adapt their websites for citizens with visual impairments was chosen as the winner of the Technological Innovations Category, coming first out of 66 submitted applications.

"We believe that we will finally succeed in persuading the state authorities and government to adapt websites to meet the needs of people with visual impairments."

With Dmytro Popov, Kyiv-based IT developer, who helped the team to elaborate on their idea for U-Inn Challenge

Victory moment at the U-Inn Challenge

The Institute of Innovative Governance was awarded 5,000 USD grant to develop and promote a web-checker

THE FRUITS OF EFFECTIVE ADVOCACY

The Institute of Innovative Governance has already signed memorandums with the six city councils in Lviv region (Drohobych, Lviv, Chervonohrad, Boryslav, Yavoriv and Truskavets). The cities’ mayors have committed to using the web-checker and adapting the city councils' websites so that people with visual impairments can access them.

"We have started with six regional city councils, but we’re striving to involve more small towns and big cities across Ukraine,” shares plans for the future youth leader.

Signature of memorandum with Oleksandr Hrasulovyi, secretary of the Chervonograd city council

Working meeting with Iryna Kozak, administrator of the web-portal of the Lviv city council

A WEB-CHECKER IS A TOOL THAT HELPS STATE AUTHORITIES UNDERSTAND HOW TO MEET THE NEEDS OF PEOPLE WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS.

“The websites of the state authorities are the primary sources of information for citizens. So, it’s quite unfair to deprive those with visual impairments of access to the full range of e-democracy tools, such as e-petitions, participatory budgeting, public reviews of draft laws, etc.”

The web-checker complies with the WCAG 2.0 criteria of the World Wide Web Consortium. After analyzing a website, the tool provides recommendations about what exactly should be changed to make the web-content user-friendly for people with visual impairments (contrast, text sizes and font types, audio controls, etc.).

U-Inn is an initiative of the United Nations Development Programme in Ukraine in partnership with the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, financially supported by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. U-Inn winners in 3 categories: 'social entrepreneurship', 'technological innovation' and 'social script' received 5,000 USD grants each to implement in their local communities projects for strengthening democracy and human rights.

Footnotes

Text: Oksana Khomei. Photo credits: Ruslan Bokalo, Nadia Zemnytska, Roman Ostrovskyi

FootNotes

Text: Oksana Khomei. Photo credits: Ruslan Bokalo, Nadia Zemnytska, Roman Ostrovskyi

© 2026 UNDP Ukraine

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