Workbook final

236 - Initiative of University Students with Disabilities, Association of

Visually Impaired in Education, Turkey

ONTACT

Association of Visually Impaired in Education

Mr. Emre Tasgin

Turkey

+90 535 736 9037

VERALL GOAL

MISSION

The projects goal is to ensure that students with disabilities enjoy the same opportunities in universities as their non-

disabled peers. It also aims to empower university students with disabilities through trainings and workshops on their

rights and demand mechanisms.

HE SOLUTION THAT HAS BEEN DEVELOPED

In the Turkey of today university students with disabilities are confronted with problems like the accessibility of

facilities, of learning materials and so on. Another problem is that there is no data available about the accessibility

conditions at universities. It is also added that many students with disabilities are unaware of their rights and do not

know how to raise their demands at universities or within the society. They also can mostly not enjoy their educational

rights on the same level as their non-disabled peers due to accessibility problems and a lack of information at

universities. Although the law requires that "Disabled Student Units" shall be formed in every university, these units do

not function sufficiently and in many cases the person in charge of the unit does not have enough knowledge about

disabilities or students simply do not have the information about the units and its services at hand. Therefore, the

project reaches out to universities to inform, strengthen and organize students with disabilities so that they can face the

challenges that university life brings with it. For this purpose, trainings are held where students are informed about their

rights and how to make demands within their university. After these trainings, the students organize working groups on

specific problem areas, where discussion about various issues is made possible. They also make inquiries to public

institutions and universities to receive information about the current situation regarding accessibility and services and

university evaluation surveys are carried out to understand and present current problems at universities. The within the

project created website, called "University without Barriers", provides them with constant information and connects

them with other university students.