“Now I can go back to the field where the world basketball was created”

“I liked to train on these basketball courts the most. And from a man who almost became a plant, I managed to get back to them. The greatest success in life is when a person realises what happiness is,” says Danilo Jovanov, one of the greatest Serbian basketball talents, who has been using a wheelchair for 22 years after a car accident.

In Kraljevo, about 500 people with disabilities and about 6,000 people facing an inaccessible city environment can now use sports facilities. Ramps and access roads to the athletic stadium and the recreation complex were built.

“I wouldn’t be here now if it weren’t for the good people from the European Union, the donors to whom I want to express my gratitude for helping us make this beautiful ramp for people with disabilities and for all of us who use wheelchairs. World basketball was created here, great names played on this basket with me, from Vlade Divac, Duci Simonović, Nenad Krstić, Miloš Babić,” says Danilo.

The construction of access paths to sports and recreational facilities for people with disabilities has created the necessary conditions so that all citizens can use the athletic stadium and recreational complex. The project has provided safe and easier access to the quay on the river Ibar, not only for people with disabilities, but also for cyclists, parents with small children and senior citizens.

The construction of access paths was completed in June 2020. Access paths were built through the project Improving the Quality of Life of People with Disabilities in Kraljevo funded by the European Union in partnership with the Government of Serbia through the EU PRO programme.

In the future, all people with disabilities, as well as all citizens of Kraljevo will be able to reach the promenade near the Ibar, the nearby sports and recreation complex and the athletic stadium more easily and safely. The total value of the construction of access paths in Kraljevo is almost 120,000 euros; the municipality of Kraljevo invested almost 20,000 euros, while the EU financed the construction with more than 100,000 euros.

So far, the EU has supported the improvement and accessibility of sports and recreational facilities in more than fifty municipalities in Serbia.

The full economic and social participation of people with disabilities is crucial to success in achieving smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. The European Union’s support for the social inclusion of people with disabilities is worth almost 62 million euros, from 2008 until today.

The funds intended for the social inclusion sector are used for the improvement of the social protection system, the increase of the employment rate, the fight against discrimination in employment and the care for groups that are less present in the labour market. The Delegation of the European Union to Serbia supports the Paralympic Committee of Serbia. The goal of this support is the best possible results of athletes and inclusion in sports, which should be available to everyone. The European Union is working to promote inclusion in all spheres of society.