Experiences of the INCLUDEC-UDEC program, construction of inclusive policies and practices

Abstract

In Chile, since the ratification in 2008 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN 2006), laws and regulations have been developed in this area, being essential in them to guarantee accessibility. The purpose of putting these guarantees into practice for a group of university students with disabilities at the University of Concepción, in Chile is that in 2014 the INCLUDEC (Interdisciplinary Program for Inclusion) was created, whose objective has been to promote an intersectoral view on the inclusion of people with disabilities. This article describes the contributions of the INCLUDEC Program, mainly in the area of accessibility, of an educational institution that has a campus (Campus Concepción) declared a National Monument and how the interdisciplinary look of the program has allowed the development in the institution of inclusive practices, which are a national and international reference in the approach to this issue. The conclusion of this review shows that to continue advancing on the issue of accessibility, the INCLUDES volunteer program must move towards a necessary institutionalization as a directorate or unit, which maintains the condition of intersectoral operation and with a transversal view of the accessibility issue.