European Day of Protest for the Equality of People with Disabilities

May 5 is the European Day of Protest for the Equality of People with Disabilities – this time under the motto: "Your voice for inclusion - join in!"

The protest day has existed since 1992 and is intended to draw attention to the fact that the interests of people with disabilities have to be taken into account more strongly. This requires not only a legal basis but also a lot of (political) will for equality. All over Europe, people are campaigning for the participation of people with disabilities on this day – even if many actions have to take place digitally due to the corona virus.

Strengthening the rights of students and employees with disabilities and chronic/mental illnesses and enabling an equal opportunity in everyday life is a major concern of the TU Dresden: A broad network of responsible persons in the Extended University Executive Board, the departments and faculties of the university carry out essential fields of action and measures around inclusion.

Contact persons for students, employees and guests of the TU Dresden (e.g. Representative for Employees with Disabilities, University Inclusion Officer, Liaison Officer for Students with Disabilities and Chronic Illnesses, Interest Group Study and Disability) advocate for the interests of students and employees with disabilities or chronic/mental illnesses in the environment of the university.

Currently, the action plan for the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is being updated at TU Dresden under the leadership of the Advisory Board Inclusion and under the direction of the Vice-Rector for University Culture. In 2017, TU Dresden was the first university in Saxony to publish a strategic guiding instrument in the form of an action plan, which serves as a kind of signpost and guideline for action for all members of the university and makes the objectives in the field of inclusion publicly transparent.

The TUD-wide Future Lab forum "Excellent Inclusive 2.0" on January 23, 2020 marked the start of its updating. Here, students and employees discussed and exchanged ideas on how TU Dresden can further develop as an inclusive university. The main questions were: How does inclusion work? How can inclusion be anchored as teaching content? How can barrier-free events be planned? Which university structures still need to become more inclusive?

The 57 measures of the previous action plan were also put to the test. The ideas from the Future Lab will be incorporated into the updating of the action plan.

In the context of the protest day, it is a matter of concern to draw attention to the topic of accessibility. The TU Dresden has a variety of offers, all of which should be as barrier-free as possible, but overlooking a barrier unfortunately may still be happening.

In terms of the idea of inclusion, tips on this are particularly helpful and an expression that all members of the TU Dresden can and should get involved. TU Dresden's "Barrier Reporting Office" can be used to provide information on "Structural Barriers", "Digital Barriers" and "Other Barriers" so that, in addition to providing an overview, it is also possible to coordinate the continuous removal of barriers in this way, because conditions should be suitable for people and not vice versa. Participation or inclusion is a human right that applies to everyone, indivisibly and universally.

University Inclusion Officer
Liaison Officer for Students with Disabilities and Chronic Illnesses
Representative for Employees with Disabilities
TUD’s Diversity Management Team

This article appeared in the Dresden University Journal 08/2021, May 4, 2021. The complete issue can be downloaded free of charge at https://tu-dresden.de/uj or in pdf format. The UJ can be ordered as a printed newspaper or as a pdf file from .