‘Equal Steps for All’ from Medipol

Istanbul Medipol University Vocational School of Health Services and the Office of Students with Disability organized an event titled “Equal Steps for All”. The event, organized for the International Day of Disabled Persons, was attended by Istanbul MP ​​Lawyer Serkan Bayram, Istanbul Medipol University Vice-President Prof. Recep Öztürk, Secretary General of Istanbul Medipol University Assoc. Prof. Semih Korkut, Director of Istanbul Medipol University Vocational School of Health Services Prof. İlknur Keskin, President of the Guide Dog Association Lawyer Nurdeniz Tunçer, Representative of the Rare Diseases Federation Albinism Association Lawyer Alim Yılmaz, academics, and students. Before the event, the movie Buğday Tanesi, which tells the life story of disabled MP Serkan Bayram, was screened.

PROF. KESKİN: WE ALL HAVE A DUTY TO INTEGRATE PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES INTO SOCIETY
The opening speech of the program, which began with a moment of silence and the National Anthem, was made by the Director of Istanbul Medipol University Vocational School of Health Services Prof. İlknur Keskin. In her speech, Prof. Keskin emphasized that the full and equal participation of persons with disabilities in social life is not only a matter of awareness but also a duty that everyone should internalize. Prof. Keskin continued as follows: “People with disabilities struggle not only with physical or mental disabilities, but also with society’s prejudices and access problems. This struggle is a common problem of society. To build a more inclusive and just society, we need to prioritize efforts to increase the participation of people with disabilities in the workforce, social life, and education. We need to act with concrete steps.”

PROF. ÖZTÜRK DREW ATTENTION TO ‘FULLY EQUIPPED WORKSTATION’
Istanbul Medipol University Vice-President Prof. Recep Öztürk drew attention to the importance of equal participation of disabled individuals in social life. Prof. Öztürk said: “As Istanbul Medipol University, our mission is to be a research university that guides science and society with its quality education and training, value-added research approach, innovation and entrepreneurship spirit. In line with this mission, ensuring that our disabled students have access to the opportunities and services at our university and creating an environment that supports their academic, social, personal, and professional development are among our main priorities. Established for this purpose at our university, the Office of Students with Disability identifies the needs of our disabled students and implements the necessary arrangements. In this context, thanks to the ‘Fully Equipped Workstation’ established for visually impaired students, access to information was facilitated by converting printed educational materials into audio format.”

MP BAYRAM: WE WILL BUILD A TÜRKİYE WITHOUT BARRIERS
Istanbul MP ​​Lawyer Serkan Bayram called on disabled youth to take up the fight. Bayram said: “You lose not when you fall, but when you give up. Don’t give up.” Referring to his own life story, Bayram said that he had an accident when he was one year old and became an MP at the age of 41 after years of hardship. Bayram continued as follows: “There are over 10 million disabled people in Türkiye and nearly 1.5 billion in the world. We are working to establish the Disability Rights Center in Istanbul under UNICEF. We will build a barrier-free Türkiye together. The world we live in is already full of problems with its epidemics, earthquakes, and disasters; let’s not kill or maim each other.”

TUNÇER: MY GUIDE DOG IS MY BEST FRIEND
The President of the Guide Dog Association Lawyer Nurdeniz Tunçer also drew attention to the importance of guide dogs for disabled individuals and said: “My dog has been my best friend through all the difficulties in my life. We overcome the obstacles together and share this life together.” In his speech, the Representative of the Rare Diseases Federation Albinism Association Lawyer Alim Yılmaz explained the rare diseases in society as follows: “We are here to raise awareness, but we understand awareness when we see it with our own eyes. However, there are over 8,000 rare diseases that we cannot see with our own eyes. The number of people affected is much greater than the diseases themselves. Therefore, we must work for awareness not just one day, but 365 days a year.”