"Architectural barriers prevent entire categories of citizens from exercising their normal rights, and the National Day for their removal was established with the intention of raising awareness of how these obstacles are harmful to society as a whole. Their persistence results in an injury to the dignity of every person, of all people". Thus speaks the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, on the occasion of the National Day for the Elimination of Architectural Barriers. "No one should any longer be put in the condition of having to give up going to school or work, attending a concert or an event just because appropriate means of access are not provided or because of the presence of aggressive and discriminatory behavior toward people with disabilities," the Head of State said yesterday. "What is needed is a renewed and permanent commitment in the design in the adaptation and management of spaces so that the actions of the Public Administration and private operators are marked not only, of course, by compliance with existing regulations, but also by principles of solidarity and responsibility, in the awareness that only by addressing and living the problem in its community dimension will it be possible to bring benefits to all".
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