CUCO – Conference on heritage and sustaintability

Inclusion and accessibility as keys to the Conference on Heritage and Sustainability organised by UNESCO and the University of Cordoba

The Club Unesco Córdoba (CUCO) and the IN-HABIT project organised an inclusive event driven by people with functional diversities at the Rectorate of the University of Cordoba

The Conference on Heritage and Sustainability breaks with the traditional scheme in which functional diversities are passively included. This meeting, organised by the Club Unesco Cordoba (CUCO) and the IN-HABIT research project, coordinated by the UCO, decided to innovate not only in its contents but also to promote inclusion and accessibility in the organisation of conferences and congresses.

The event was divided into five sessions were national and international experts spoke about the heritage, culture and accessibility. These five sections were entitled: “Towards a sustainable heritage”, “Culture for a small planet”, “The heritage community as protagonist”, “Inclusive and accessible heritage” and “A guide for strategic management”.

The event was attended by 2 speakers from the European Commission, invited by the IN-HABIT project, Emanuela De Menna, from REA, and Mariachiara Esposito, from the Directorate General for Culture, Education, Youth and Sports.

The event was held at the Rectorate of the University, and was conducted by a member of the Organización Nacional de Ciegos de España, integrated by blind people; while people from the Down Syndrome Association of Cordoba acted as congress hostess and catering was provided by Cinco Panes, an initiative that employs people with a high risk of social inclusion.

In this sense, the event was conceived to break the stigmas related to the most vulnerable groups and to reach all audiences by making inclusive speeches translated into sign language by experts that made them accessible to all people.

The main objective of this action was exactly that one, to break boundaries and show society how these spaces, that traditionally exclude these groups or give them a secondary role, can give them a leading role in the dynamics of the event. This will open new scenarios of inclusion at the labor market for them as well.

Finally, IN-HABIT intends to continue exploring, together with congress organising companies, options to include this accessible business model in their portfolio, demonstrating with this action, that the future might lead us to an inclusive and diversity world.