The inclusion of vulnerable groups in university museums. The case of the Complutense University of Madrid

Abstract

The present paper discusses the results obtained after a qualitative research considering 8 Complutense university museums by the research project Art, Accessibility, Museography, Social integration, Disability, Culture for all. The main objective of the research project is achieving the social integration of groups of special accessibility, such as people with different degrees of physical and intellectual disability and people at risk of social exclusion. We have applied the Responsible research and Innovation (RRI) approach in this study, in order to align the research process and its results with the values, the needs and the expectations of our actual society through cooperation between different stakeholders. The results show the barriers and challenges that they face when trying to obtain the desirable cultural accessibility for all. Thereby we can describe in this paper the main inclusion activities that we have designed and done with them in our museums, thanks to the relevant information obtained from the stakeholders involved: responsible for the museums, responsible for the University, vulnerable groups, organizations, teachers, students and volunteers.