The Department of Special Education Teaching of the Faculty of Education at Hasan Kalyoncu University (HKU) organised a special programme on 3 December, World Day of Persons with Disabilities, to raise awareness of people with disabilities and draw attention to the importance of accessibility.
In the programme, which began with a moment of silence followed by the recitation of the Turkish National Anthem accompanied by sign language, the talk titled “My Journey”, given by Merve Erhalı, a first-year student of the Department of Psychological Counselling and Guidance and representative of the HKU Disabled Student Unit, who learned to swim in 3 months and became Turkish champion, moved the participants in the hall.
HKU Rector Prof. Dr. Türkay Dereli began his speech by thanking the HKU Faculty of Education Department of Special Education Teaching for preparing an informative, awareness-raising and emotional programme for 3 December World Day of Persons with Disabilities, and said: “We are working with all our relevant units to the best of our ability to make university life barrier-free and accessible. Our Disability Unit is renewing itself and making intense efforts to remove barriers and offer barrier-free environments. Our Special Education Application and Research Centre continues its services. This year 4 more of our units received the barrier-free badge award from YÖK. Our aim is to make our university as a whole more accessible.”
After the participants watched a video prepared to raise awareness of individuals with special needs, HKU Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Rengin Küçükerdoğan said: “Today is World Day of Persons with Disabilities, but we do not want to use the expression ‘disabled individuals’. As Head of the Department of Special Education Assoc. Prof. Dr. Latife Özaydın has also said, we want to refer to them as ‘Individuals with Special Needs’. Even though they have special needs, as far as I have seen among our own students, every individual with special needs holds a place in my mind as a person who is very self-confident, knows what they want and never gives up in order to succeed. Their success stories should be a lesson to all of us. In fact, today is an awareness day for individuals with special needs, and with this event our students have truly raised our awareness of barrier-free living. I thank them.”
Head of the Department of Special Education Assoc. Prof. Dr. Latife Özaydın, who emphasised equal participation, accessibility and accessibility activities at HKU, pointed out that HKU received 4 badges in the “Barrier-Free Programme Badge” category at the Barrier-Free Universities Awards given by YÖK in 2022.
IF ONE WANTS, ONE CAN ACHIEVE ANYTHING
Merve Erhalı, first-year student of the Department of Psychological Counselling and Guidance and representative of the HKU Disabled Student Unit, who received great applause from the participants for her talk “My Journey”, said: “I told myself that I had to get up the way I fell and continue on my way from where I left off. In 3 months I both learned to swim and, through my coach, took part in swimming competitions. I became Turkish champion in the backstroke. Every disabled individual should feel ‘I exist too’. We must bring disabled individuals into our own social circles, value their ideas and opinions, and contribute them to society. Some of my friends who are watching me in this hall right now and I, 2 years ago, were dreaming of studying together at Hasan Kalyoncu University. We believed and we succeeded. Now my friends and I are here. They are watching me. If one wants, one can achieve anything. Just believe.”
STUDENTS’ KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS ABOUT INDIVIDUALS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS SHOULD BE INCREASED
Prof. Dr. Elif Tekin İftar, a faculty member in the Department of Intellectual Disabilities at the Anadolu University Institute for Research on the Disabled, who gave a comprehensive presentation in the programme, provided detailed information on the diagnosis, education, employment and independent living of individuals with special needs in the light of recent research, and emphasised that higher education programmes in particular should be designed to equip university students better with regard to individuals with special needs.
As part of the programme, posters prepared by students of the Department of Special Education Teaching were also presented to participants at the “Rare Special Needs Poster Exhibition”, on rare special needs such as Progeria Syndrome, Angelman Syndrome and Waardenburg Syndrome.
News: Okan ULUFER /HKU
