incluD-ed at the II International Congress on University and Disability held by Fundación ONCE, November 2014
Mon, 01/12/2014
On 27 and 28 November 2014, Fundación ONCE celebrated the II International Congress on University and Disability, co-funded by the European Social Fund, in Madrid.
Martine Aitken from the incluD-ed Network Secretariat as well as Carla Bonino from Fundación ONCE, leader of the incluD-ed network, participated in the congress and presented the European Network of Inclusive Education & Disability as well as its Statement on Promoting Inclusive Education Systems in Europe during the congress. Carla Bonino participated furthermore in the working group “Guidance, Employment and Promotion programs” where she spoke about incluD-ed’s efforts to put inclusive education and equal employment opportunities for people with disabilities on the political agenda in Brussels.
The CIUD congress in was the perfect place to learn about and debate experiences and best practices of universities on inclusion and discuss the most relevant investigations, which suppose an advancement in the improvement in the quality of education and the quality of life of persons with disabilities, in accordance with the mandates outlined in the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The congress showcased the opportunities that exist for progress along strategic lines that guarantee inclusion at university and promoted actively access and participation of persons with disabilities in university studies, as well as actions and policies that have an impact on greater inclusion in university systems.
Next to the incluD-ed network, a diversity of stakeholders participated in the congress: representatives of universities, persons with disabilities teaching and research staff from international universities, administration and service personnel, students, technicians and executives from the disability movement as well as experts.
Different thematic roundtables have been organised during the congress.
Yannis Vardakastanis, President of EDF, insisted during the roundtable “Policies of inclusion for persons with disabilities in Universities: Current situation and future challenges” on the fundamental right to education of people with disabilities. He underlined that “not only the architectural barriers must be suppressed but the curriculum must be more flexible”. Consuelo Velay from the Spanish National University of Distance Education (UNED) explained that UNED has about 9000 students with disability that are exempted from university fees. For her “to extend education does not prevent from reaching excellence”. Humberto J. Rodríguez from International Special Education and Services (Philadelphia) explained that inclusive education should be “flexible, acceptable, accessible and adaptable. Student should not adapt to university, but university has to adapt”.
Within the roundtable “Curricular Training of Universal Design for Learning” new curricular guides have been presented. Jesús Hernández Galán, Director for Universal Accessibility at Fundación ONCE / Grupo Fundosa, explained that Design for All beneficiates all learners.
Another roundtable presented the Report on University and Disability 2014 elaborated by PwC for the Universia Foundation and the Spanish Committee of Representatives of People with Disabilities (CERMI).
Ms. Maria Tussy, Head European Programs Unit at ONCE Foundation and leader of the incluD-ed network Tmoderated the roundtable “The challenge of mobility and research for student with disabilities”.
In the afternoon different working groups have been organised on the following issues: Support services of universities students with disabilities and support resources, Researches on disability, Guidance, Employment and Promotion programs, ICT’s and Universal Accessibility and Training curricula.
The second day of the congress focused especially on the topic of new technologies and the TICs. In the roundtable “New Technologies for Training and Learning of Persons with Disabilities - MOOC and Digital Platforms” Pedro Pernias, Director of UNIMOOC - a Spanish platform for free courses for Entrepreneurs, underlined the importance of MOOCS of being massive, online and experimental.
Furthermore, four students with disability explained how they managed to in their universities, the daily challenges they faced and the resources they had to find.
On behalf of Fundación ONCE, José Luis Martínez Donoso, General Director, and Isabel M Martínez Lozano, Commissioner for University Youth and Special Plans, closed the conference.
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Workshops and different working groups during the conference:
- > Support services of universities students with disabilities and support resources - Best practices for inclusion of students with disabilities in university education. Resources and inclusive actions
- > Researches on disability - Researches on improving the quality of life for people with disabilities
- > Guidance, Employment and Promotion programs - Employability of students and graduates with disabilities and how to solve problems and prevent early school dropout
- > ICT’s and Universal Accessibility - Relevance of ICT’s in improving the process of teaching and learning and accessibility of ICT’s
- > Training curricula - The impact of Design for All into University Grades and Postgraduates
Roundtables during the conference
- > Roundtable: “New technologies for training and learning of persons with disabilities. MOOC and digital platforms.”
- > Roundtable: University leaders with disabilities.
- > Roundtable: “External internship practices and new tools for labor market inclusion”.
- > Roundtable: “The challenge of mobility and research for student with disabilities”.
View the full programme here http://ciud.fundaciononce.es/programa_en.html
- Conference website
