The DOST Agency has been awarded the European Social Services Award in Portugal once again!

The DOST Agency, under the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population, has once again become the winner of the European Social Network's "European Social Services Awards – 2024" (ESSA 2024) competition.

The competition aimed to evaluate achievements in areas such as initiatives in social services, the application of creative solutions to ensure care for people, the implementation of new technological tools, and other related results.

The DOST Agency was awarded the European Social Services Award in the "Digital Transformation" category for ensuring web accessibility for people with disabilities and other at-risk groups.

The award ceremony took place in Lisbon, Portugal. The winners of the competition were determined based on a combination of the votes from the jury (85%) and public voting (15%). The DOST Agency was declared the winner in the "Digital Transformation" category, achieving the highest score among the five final projects, which were submitted by countries such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and Ukraine.

The project submitted by the DOST Agency aimed to develop and implement a sustainable mechanism to ensure access to information resources for people with disabilities, bridging the gap between the use of service environments for people with disabilities and existing legislation. As a result, the satisfaction level of citizens with disabilities has consistently remained high (98%).

It is worth noting that this award is the second one received by the DOST Agency from the European Social Network and the 27th international award overall.