Dulce Torres, technician of the Island Society for the Promotion of People with Disabilities (SINPROMI) believes that universal accessibility is the first step towards inclusion. “There are numerous barriers in the environment, and to this day, we are still unaware that 401% of the population benefits from universal accessibility at some point.” This mobility specialist was in charge of opening the conference “From Universal Accessibility to Inclusive Employment: Accompanying People,” which was held today, Tuesday, November 28, in the César Manrique Building on the Guajara Campus of the University of La Laguna.
During the inauguration, the Vice-Rector of Students, María del Rosario Hernández Borges, pointed out that this meeting commemorates the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, The event, which will take place next Sunday, December 3, is linked to the 2030 Agenda for the Promotion of Human Rights. “From within institutions, we can repeat words like 'inclusion,' 'diversity,' or 'equity' over and over again, but if we don't turn them into values, we're not doing anything. Inclusion means putting values into action,‘ Hernández Borges emphasizes.
Francisco Díaz Cruz, director of the Student Support Secretariat, added that universities assume not only an important role in the academic and educational sphere, but also in social outreach and support for people with disabilities. “From the university, we are creating networks that work towards inclusion through visibility and awareness-raising initiatives. These conferences are a drop in the bucket towards achieving full inclusion,” he commented.
This conference showcased the collaborative initiatives undertaken by several Spanish universities to provide educational support to students with disabilities. Raquel Santana and Javier Castañeda, technicians from the Program for Supporting Students with Disabilities (PAED), explained the guidelines for accessing employment and professional opportunities promoted by the social sector and their connection to university education. “Our goal is to understand the needs of these students while collaborating with the faculty. Much progress has been made in recent years toward becoming an inclusive university, but there is still much to be done. We want these students' university experience to be as barrier-free as possible,” Santana commented.
In her address, Dulce Torres emphasized that SINPROMI wanted to highlight at this event that the importance of universal accessibility is not only for people with disabilities, but for everyone. Environments and services are mostly designed based on a standardized model that limits the autonomy of people with disabilities and the exercise of their fundamental rights. In the Canary Islands, 11.51% of the population has a permanent disability, and almost 201% is over 65 years old. This figure does not include the population with temporary disabilities, such as those who have broken a leg or suffered an accident, or those who have difficulty walking or moving.
Since 1995, various regulations have been established to improve accessibility, but the problem is that they are not rigorously enforced. “We forget that we not only have to be able to access the facilities, but also to be able to use them,” says Torres. Furthermore, accessibility is often incorporated after the infrastructure has been built, when it should be integrated from the beginning, and because of a lack of maintenance, people with disabilities are unable to use them.
Accessibility must be cross-cutting and have a comprehensive and inclusive approach. It must include physical accessibility; cognitive accessibility, meaning that people with intellectual disabilities can orient themselves in their environment; and sensory accessibility, which is the ease of access to spaces for people with visual or hearing impairments.
Furthermore, accessibility should promote personal autonomy through inclusive solutions. Access to natural parks and historical buildings must be guaranteed while respecting both the environment and heritage. Moreover, accessibility should be seamless, with simple approaches from the design process that ensure people with disabilities can access all services, such as a ramped swimming pool in a hotel, a library in a university, or accessible sports facilities. “Infrastructure shouldn't need to be adapted; the design should be accessible to everyone from the outset, without requiring any modifications,” Torres concludes.
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