The week of December 4 was marked by the celebration of multiple events within the framework of the ACCESS project, which were the Final Conference and the last Coordination Meeting of the project at the Occidental Arenas Blancas Hotel in Varadero, Cuba.

Firstly, on the morning of December 4, the Coordination Meeting of the ACCESS project took place. The Institutional Project Management Office of the University of Alicante, organizer of this meeting, was represented by Inmaculada Caturla, Deputy Director of the OGPI; Noelia López, Senior Project Manager; and Carolina Tur, Administrative Project Manager. During this meeting, the progress and achievements of the various work packages were presented, as well as the main results of the project before its completion in January 2024. That afternoon, a group dynamic was also organized as a “team building” based on empathy.

On the 5th and 6th, the Final Conference “Advancing towards inclusive and accessible higher education in Cuba, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic” was held, organized by the University of Matanzas. In this, the ACCESS Network “Promoting the Accessibility of Students with Disabilities to Higher Education in Cuba, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic” was presented as a platform to improve accessibility at the regional level and its accession to the RITIE Network - International Network of Technologies inclusive and Education as a tool to ensure its sustainability. In addition, 3 national networks on inclusive higher education were also presented, 11 Support Centers for students with disabilities created within the framework of the Project, the results of the round tables held on the challenges and opportunities to address the challenge of a more accessible education and inclusive education and roadmaps with recommendations to develop public policies focused on how to build a framework for Inclusive Education in Higher Education Institutions in Costa Rica, Cuba and the Dominican Republic.

On behalf of the University of Alicante, Sergi Soriano, Director of the Student Support and Employability Secretariat, participated with the presentation “Employability and job placement of students with disabilities” and José María Fernández, Head of the Digital Accessibility Unit who participated in the round table “Challenges and Proposals for an inclusive and accessible higher education that took place on the first day and made a presentation on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Accessibility, on the second day of the conference.

The conference not only aimed to increase public awareness and understanding of inclusive education in the field of higher education, but also to encourage policy change towards the inclusion of students with disabilities and increase cross-sector awareness about the importance of promoting more inclusive and accessible education schemes in the countries participating in the ACCESS project through the formulation of public policies.

Inspiration, innovation and collaboration marked these exciting events that will undoubtedly create a long-term impact in the member countries of the ACCESS project, given the positive results that have been achieved to date.

For more information, visit the ACCESS Project website and its social networks: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.