Gelisim News

An accessibility symposium was held

Istanbul Gelisim University, which set out with the slogan of "accessible education for everyone", continues to maintain its understanding. “Accessibility Symposium” organized by the School of Physical Education and Sports on Wednesday, January 4, 2022, was held with the participation of Master Architect and Accessibility Specialist Ebubekir Gündoğdu, Physically Disabled Swimming National Team Coach Abdullah Duran Arslan, Visually Impaired Psychologist Mizgin Gemsiz and Paralympic National Swimmers Umut Ünlü and Serdar Demir.

 “We want to show activities in the field of health technology for people with disabilities”

Stating that he will remove all obstacles that make it difficult to study at Istanbul Gelisim University, Rector Prof. Dr. Bahri Şahin indicated:
“One of the most developed units of Istanbul Gelisim University is the School of Physical Education and Sports. Our school is in an important position both in the sports community and in Turkey with the number of national athlete students it has. Accessibility is very broad. We all have goals we want to reach, the important thing here is accessibility at the physical point. Physical accessibility is much easier to me than mental accessibility. We, as Istanbul Gelisim University, have also talked to our expert friends, and we are ready to do whatever needs to be done in this regard. There is much more to be done, one of which is to develop health technology. We want to be able to continue activities for disabled individuals in this health technology and in the field of accessibility. I do not consider them disabled since there is no obstacle in their minds. As a university, we are ready to do our part. Our university is open to all our students with disabilities who want to pursue graduate, doctorate or undergraduate education.”



We aim to ensure accessibility and be sustainable!

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Soyal, Director of Istanbul Gelisim University School of Physical Education and Sports:
“Accessibility is of great importance in all areas of social life. Individuals should benefit from health, education, transportation, rehabilitation services, participate in production, participate in social, cultural and sports activities, and the transportation systems of these places should be accessible. As the School of Physical Education and Sports, we are ready to do our part to create an accessible world and society with our departments, field practices, observations and solution-oriented projects. We aim to be sustainable with the steps we take in this area.”



With accessible architecture, it can be ensured that individuals with disabilities can self-actualize themselves

One of the speakers of the “Accessibility Symposium”, Master Architect Accessibility Specialist Ebubekir Gündoğdu stated the following:
 “One of the most important elements in Maslow's hierarchy of needs is the human self-actualization factor. The most significant need for people with disabilities is the need for self-actualization. As in the definition of the concept of accessibility, our duty here is to ensure that all individuals living in a city can access all the services offered by the city in all public spaces.” Ministry of Youth and Sports, Federation of the Physically Handicapped Swimming Team National Trainer Duran Arslan:

“When the students of the School of Physical Education and Sports start their profession in the future, their biggest task is to know how to get the disabled to do sports. In this way, when disabled people come to your schools or gyms, you can teach them the sport you do and help them hold on to life. You have a lot of work to do here. We need to protect these students.”



A 100% barrier-free university promise

In the symposium, in which the difficulties experienced by individuals with special needs in all social life areas and how to establish a more accessible living space for them were discussed, Ebubekir Gündoğdu, Abdullah Duran Arslan, Psychologist Mizgin Gemsiz, Umut Ünlü and Serdar Demir shared all the difficulties they experienced in daily life with the participants. A question-and-answer activity was also held at the end of the symposium. Rector Prof. Dr. Bahri Şahin asked about the problems they encountered during their university education and their expectations from the university administration. He promised IGU students a 100% barrier-free university within a year.