‘Christmas with the Stars’: inclusion as the norm, not the exception
30.12.2025
Events
‘Christmas with the Stars’ is not just a festival.
It is a clear and very important signal to society: inclusion should be the norm, not the exception.
A few days ago, the Lviv Opera House hosted a Christmas concert featuring Ukrainian artists and children with disabilities. The event, organised by the Small Victories Foundation, demonstrated a simple but fundamental point: accessibility does not begin with ramps or lifts.
It begins with attitude.
With a willingness to accept.
With the decision to give every child the right to be on stage, in the spotlight, in the centre of attention.
Especially now, during the war.
Childhood in war should not be a double ordeal. Children with disabilities should not have to fight not only against war, but also against the barriers that adult society has created over the years.
The Christmas festival stage showed what Ukraine could be like without barriers:
– when the stage is open to everyone;
– when talent is more important than diagnosis;
– when a child is not ‘special’ but equal among equals.
Inclusion is not charity.
It is the responsibility of society.
It is a conscious choice to build a country where every person has a place, a voice and dignity.
On behalf of LAOPD, we sincerely thank the organisers, artists, volunteers and partners of the event for not just talking about accessibility, but putting it into practice.
And a special thank you to the children.
You remind us of the most important thing: the world becomes stronger not when everyone is the same, but when there is room for everyone in it.
May this Christmas be another step towards a Ukraine without barriers.
A country where childhood is protected.
Where diversity is valued.
Where inclusion is a reality, not a promise.
News and events
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