The General Foundation of the University of Valencia and the Vodafone Spain Foundation have signed on Friday a cooperation agreement to boost the attention to the infoaccessibility in order to improve the welfare and social inclusion of students with functional diversity of the University of Valencia, served by the Unit for the Integration of People with Disabilities.
This agreement, signed by the principal Esteban Morcillo, president of the General Foundation of the University of Valencia, and the general manager of Vodafone Spain Foundation, Santiago Moreno, focuses on the development of actions related to the availability of new technologies for students with disabilities from the University of Valencia and includes four strategic objectives: dissemination, training, research and development, and accessibility and social inclusion.
The actions related to diffusion will be put in practice trough conferences and seminars organized by the General Foundation of the University of Valencia, with the collaboration of Vodafone Spain Foundation and addressed to university students, associations composed of people at risk of social exclusion and the general public.
It will be also carried out training activities for professionals and specialists in new technologies and ICT services and courses on training and development of training materials for general users and people with disabilities.
The research and development in new technologies and services will follow the following lines of work: on the one hand, students of the University of Valencia may test tools and applications provided by the Vodafone Foundation, and on the other hand, those students enrolled in undergraduate studies or master’s degree studies may do final dissertations related with integration of people with disabilities relying on the support of Vodafone Foundation.
Finally, the Vodafone Foundation and the Unit for the Integration of People with Disabilities work together to promote social integration and inclusion of people with functional diversity within the University of Valencia through the access to new technologies .
During the agreement signing ceremony, principal Esteban Morcillo highlighted the work done by the Unit for the Integration of People with Disabilities of the University of Valencia, just like the importance of these policies to favour the access to public university to all persons on equal terms. Additionally, he thanked, in the name of the academic institution, the samples of support received by the society in general and, particularly, Vodafone Spain Foundation’s backing, in words of the principal, "it will allow, from the development and application of technology, the improvement of wellbeing and social inclusion of people".
For his part, the general manager of Vodafone Spain Foundation, Santiago Moreno, has pointed that the new technologies of information and communications have proven to be "a tool of great value in improving the social integration of people with disabilities". "With this agreement we want not only improve the access of vulnerable groups to university space, but also raise awareness of the importance of developing ICT solutions and services which are accessible to all", he said .
The attendees to the signing of the agreement: the Vice-Principal for Finance, Maximo Ferrando, and the Vice-Principal for Academic Planning and Faculty, Maria Vicenta Mestre; on behalf of the General Foundation of the University of Valencia, his manager, Christopher Suria, and the director of the Unit for the Integration of People with Disabilities, Celeste Asensi; and on the behalf of the Vodafone Spain Foundation, AAPP director of Vodafone in Valencia, Antonio Alvarez.
The Unit for the Integration of People with Disabilities (http://upd.uv.es) is a service of the University of Valencia, integrated into the General Foundation of this academic institution and constituted by a multidisciplinary team whose business is to provide care, counselling and support on matters of disability to the entire university community. Its primary mission is to favour equal opportunities for all people within the University through a series of actions contained in psychoeducational counseling programmes; equal opportunities, increasing awareness, training and volunteering; universal accessibility and attention to teachers.
This year the Unit for the Integration of People with Disabilities takes attention over 1,100 enrolled students with functional diversity in the University of Valencia. Moreover, this is the first academic institution to implement a project of attention to teachers with disabilities in Spain.
Furthermore, Vodafone Spain Foundation is a non-profit institution that contributes to the promotion of innovation and the use of ICT to improve the quality of life of people and, especially, of vulnerable groups. It participates in projects of national and European technological innovation, aimed at investigating new applications of mobile communications that make life easier for dependents, the oldest and those chronically ill. It also promotes various training programs with Spanish universities aimed at the research and teaching excellence in new Information Technologies and Communications. In addition, other goals, such as dissemination of telecommunications in society through publications, courses and seminars (www.fundacionvodafone.es).
Last update: 25 de october de 2013 12:58.
News release
