“The Amar Joyti Charitable Organisation was an extraordinary place. As a completely inclusive school it had 50% disabled students and 50% non-disabled students. We observed that as integration had happened at such a young age, for these students there was little of the stigma towards disabilities that we had seen elsewhere in India.”
Hannah
09 March 2021
Spotlight on Dialogues on Disability
Alexander Heinz
Article on dialogues on disability in 2013 short term programming.
An example of innovative short term programming, the Dialogues and Disability programme started life in 2013 between Delhi University and King’s, as a collaboration between international Summer Programmes and King’s Disability Advisory Service.
In this annual Disability programme, a delegation of King’s disabled students and disability professionals come together around the world with an active and engaged group of local peers to explore the challenges and opportunities faced by disabled people with respect to accessibility and inclusion. Established as a tool for creating continuous dialogue for improvement, to date the programme has brought together participants from Delhi University, Humboldt University, Federal University of ABC (Brazil), and the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
Dialogues on Disability explores topics from inclusion in all aspects of university life, mentoring and pathways to success after graduation. In London, representatives from King’s Disability and Advisory Service, Careers & Employability, King’s Sport and King’s Student Union discuss how King’s is working to constantly improve the university experience for disabled staff and students.
The programme continues to evolve and prosper, remaining one of the very few programmes of its kind in the world.
King’s Co-founders Lorraine Ishmael Byers and Dr Alexander Heinz, Summer Education Programme Lead, have published about the unexpected internationalisation that followed from the programme in EAIE Forum Magazine and are planning to present together on the programme in Helsinki in September 2019, when hopefully many representatives from partner universities will also be present.