The “Access to and through Education” conference was a joint initiative between the Centre for Disability Studies (CDS) and the Coordinating Centre for Students with Disabilities (CCSD) of the University of Kelaniya and the Centre for Disability Research, Education and Practice (CEDREP) of the University of Colombo. This online conference held via Zoom on the 23rd and 24th of August 2021 marked the 30th anniversary of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya and the 100-year anniversary celebrations of the Faculties of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Colombo.
The prevailing COVID pandemic has created added barriers to access and inclusion across the board. Given these realities, the conference aimed to bring together researchers, academic staff, students, and policy makers to engage in critical discussion on topics related to equity and equality of access to education and beyond, of access to and through education. The pandemic has posed unprecedented global challenges to education and learning at all levels. The exacerbation of existing inequities requires urgent innovative interventions, offering an opportunity for cross-institutional collaboration, especially in terms of inclusion, access, knowledge creation and co-imagining solutions. It has highlighted the need for intersectional and informed approaches to policy and practice. The aim of the conference was to offer a space for critical reflection on the inclusion of students with disabilities by exploring the larger ecology of access in relation to education, especially higher education.
The inauguration of the conference was attended by close to two hundred participants. Our Vice Chancellor, Senior Prof. Nilanthi de Silva and the Vice Chancellor of the University of Colombo, Senior Prof. Chandrika N. Wijeratne, as well as by our respective Deans, Senior Prof. Janaki de S. Hewavisenthi (Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya) and Senior Prof. Lasantha Manawadu (Faculty of Arts, University of Colombo) graced the occasion and addressed the gathering.
The conference featured keynote addresses and invited presentation by world renowned and highly respected international scholars and practitioners in the field of disability studies and education. This included a keynote address on day one by Professor Fiona A. Kumari Campbell, Professor of Disability & Ableism Studies at the University of Dundee in the UK and Adjunct Professor in Disability Studies of the Department of Disability Studies, University of Kelaniya, who spoke on ‘’The Tyranny of Low Expectations: Ableism, Education and Advancement.” Dr. Janet Price, academic and activist, presented the keynote address on day two on “Adding Access and Shifting the Norm’’. Our invited speakers on day one, Mr. Isuru Ayeshmantha (Department of English, University of Kelaniya) presenting on “Understanding Diversity and Inclusion within a Teleological Reading of Contemporary Pedagogic Practices’’ and Ms. Thilanka Wijesinghe (Department of Disability Studies, University of Kelaniya & University of Cambridge, UK) shared her research findings under the title “Local perspectives on Deaf education.” Our invited speakers of day two, Dr. Dinesh Palipana OAM (2021 Queensland Australian of the Year) and Dr. Samitha Samanmali (SLMA Expert Committee on Rehabilitation & Ragama Rehabilitation hospital) shared their lived experiences of accessing medical school in Australia and Sri Lanka as adults with spinal cord injury, discussing contextual differences and the impact of accessibility to education and life opportunities.
Additionally, the conference comprised a round table discussion on Deaf education by Prof. James Woodward (Adjunct Professor of Linguistics, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa) & Nguyen Thi Hoa (Center for Studying and Promoting Deaf Culture, Dong Nai University, Viet Nam), Prof. Gladys Tang & Prof. Felix (Chinese University of Hong Kong), Brayan Susantha, Geshani Amila, Mohamed Rasak and Pubodha Sarani (Asia-Pacific Sign Language researchers, Sign Linguistics Centre, Ayati Centre), a panel discussion on Universal Design of Learning. and a presentation on perspectives on access to mental wellbeing by Ms. Dinusha Wickremesekera. It also included four research sessions to showcase original research under the conference themes, a student forum on access to higher education, and an inclusive arts hour organized by the Batch 9 and 12 Speech & Hearing Sciences students in collaboration with students with and without disabilities from the universities of Colombo, Kelaniya and Ruhuna. The conference ended with a round table discussion on ‘’Initiatives at university from within and in collaboration’’ with Ms. Niluka Gunewardena, Ms. Lasanthi Daskon, Ms. Dumini de Silva and Dr. Tharindi Udalagama, which afforded an opportunity to gain experience from good practices and policies in place at present in our respective universities.
The conference marked an inaugural collaboration of research and academic capacity and influence between the University of Kelaniya and the University of Colombo in the field of Disability Studies. We hope the conference laid the foundation for further collaboration and cross—university learning and exchange in the future.
