CITS Discusses Regional Experience of Inclusive Education

The 5th regional championship of professional skills among people with disabilities of Astrakhan Region Abilympics took place on May 16 and 17. It is pleasant to note that CITS experts that implement the project on inclusive language environment were invited to this event again.

Abilympics is an international non-profit movement which originated in Japan and is developing all over the world. The championship includes competitions of professional occupations for people with disabilities and is a career guidance platform for students and parents of prospective applicants. In addition, the event programme included conferences, master classes and roundtables.

In 2022, the Astrakhan championship programme included a plenary session Regional Experience of Inclusive Education, which brought together delegates of the Ministry of Education and Science of Astrakhan Region, Employment Agency of Astrakhan Region, and representatives of higher and secondary vocational educational institutions.

CITS Director Uliana Saveleva and staff members Natalia Sergeeva and Yulia Polyakova spoke at the plenary session and presented their project on an inclusive linguistic environment at university, dwelling on the project results and plans for the future.

The project participants have done a lot for the development of Russian Sign Language at ASU and the region. However, CITS not only trains RSL interpreters but also develops audio description programmes. Yulia Polyakova says audio description is also a kind of interpretation, as information turns from visual into verbal. This project has started quite recently, but a lot has already been done: Yulia learned the basics of Braille, shared her knowledge with ASU students, and also held lectures for them on the ethics of communication with blind and visually impaired people.