Our trip thus far has been incredibly insightful on the history and culture of Ireland and its disability initiatives. We had the opportunity to visit three disability sites thus far, the Trinity College Centre for Ageing and Intellectual Disability, the UCD Centre for Disability Studies, and Special Olympics Ireland. Despite all of these programs being quite different in their functions, one message that rang true for all of them was “inclusion”. Before this trip started, keeping the United States’ viewpoint and my experience in mind, I thought supporting disabled people meant finding ways to support them as they navigate our often inaccessible world. I have come to learn how important inclusion for the disabled is and how impactful it can be. The Trinity Centre for Ageing and Intellectual Disability and the UCD Centre for Disability Studies both emphasized the idea of a “universal design”, meaning establishing infrastructure and systems that work for everyone rather than focusing on the difficulties of one group. This design is the hallmark of inclusion in a community because it enforces anti-discrimination practices and prejudices. 

During yesterday’s visit to UCD, the speaker touched upon a key principle that the Centre for Disability Studies has called, “EDI” or “Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion”. She stressed how a thorough understanding of what “EDI” means to each individual can help our collective community develop systems that are beneficial for everyone. What caught my attention was meeting to see the image contest finalists for a picture based on the question, “What does EDI mean to you?” Two images depicted sunsets and the third image showed a student with a chronic disability’s disheveled nightstand. The different perspectives on disability and the practice of acceptance of this were heartwarming to hear about. We got to see how much these programs value inclusion and the great amount of effort put into making this a reality. That felt like the highlight of this course and trip.