'UDA Accesible', education and inclusion

For 15 years, Ximena Vélez belongs to the University of Azuay, she works as a research teacher and coordinator of certain internal research niches; One of its greatest challenges has been to convert the establishment into a space that maintains the same opportunities for all of its members, not as a benefit, but as a right fulfilled for all.

While studying her first year of doctorate, Ximena Vélez was an intern at the University of Valencia, in the 2013 and 2014, exactly in the Unit for the Integration of People with Disabilities, a period that sensitized and cultivated her in the area.

Once again in the city, in the 2011, the university council, under the direction of the rector of that time, Mario Jaramillo, entrusted Vélez with the task of creating a program in which people with disabilities were included in the third level institution. The teacher accepted the challenge, which until now is fulfilled as a project in constant development.

After applying the lines drawn in the strategic plan of the 'accessible UDA' created in the 2012, four years later the 'Principles and general inclusion policies' of the university were generated, which are already among its regulations. 
Some of them revolve around the accessibility of documents, materials, work equipment, facilities and services, by the people benefited from the project; for example, Vélez cites the creation of the library card, with which a family member or friend can, on behalf of the owner of the document, request, withdraw or return a text, in order to facilitate the processes of 62 students, 17 teachers and 13 administrative.

Achieved goals 
Among the activities that the 'accessible UDA' has accomplished, is the awareness training to the administrative team of the establishment, about the reality that people with disabilities live. 
Likewise, training in customer service with disabilities was carried out in the area. 
Within the work teams, strategic changes have also been made for inclusion, among which there are special programs for the use of computers, optimal for those with visual disabilities. 
The copiers also do their job within the project, as they maintain the special service, with which people who have poor vision access photocopies in a larger size than usual and at the same price. 
The parking of the institute now has an inclusive area with a prior request; students, teachers and administrators with disabilities can access the space. 
Additionally, students generate degree works, based on the principles and needs of the project.

Plans
The next point to fulfill within the plan is the training of the teaching staff regarding the reality and needs of students with disabilities, as well as the creation of the appropriate institutional website for the entire student community. On the other hand, work is being done to create an effective protocol for events in inclusion. 
Although Ximena Vélez has taken the post of the project, the doors are open for those who wish to contribute from their area in the fulfillment of this program in permanent development, as the teacher of the Faculty of Administration, José Vera Reino, who, for five years, belongs to the entity, and that, for six months, contributes with his research about the perception that has the initiative 'UDA accessible'.

Data
The data collected demonstrate an interesting reality, for example that students understand the challenges that their colleagues with disabilities have, in what concerns the delivery of tasks; unlike the majority of teachers, who, according to statistics, do not maintain an awareness of the greater effort required to comply with the regulations applied to the class in general. 
Similarly, the data collected show that, when talking about disability, the students who make up this percentage are the ones who register the smallest scale, as far as being at a disadvantage with the intellectual aptitudes of all students.

Challenges
The biggest challenge is to transform the buildings into a friendly place for 1,2 percent of the community with disabilities that make up the institute, among students, professors and administrators, given the age of the university buildings. Infrastructure transformation is a complex issue, says Vélez. 
The change of attitude is another of the high points, because the disability is of consciousness, but not intellectual. 
Adequate bathrooms, special ramps and open mentalities are some of the successes that the UDA cultivates with its inclusive project, which has caught the attention of the Municipality of Cuenca, an entity that wishes to implement, in its facilities, the initiative of inclusion and fulfillment of rights, that the university fulfills day by day for the benefit of all those who make up its community.