UNU Jogja, Pijar Foundation, and Asia Human Development Center Explore Collaboration on Inclusive Education Access for Persons with Disabilities in Indonesia

Yogyakarta, Indonesia — The Center for Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) at Nahdlatul Ulama University (UNU) Jogja, together with Pijar Foundation and the Asia Human Development Center (AHDC), held exploratory talks on collaboration to promote more inclusive education access for students with disabilities in Indonesia. The meeting took place at the UNU Jogja campus on Wednesday, September 17.

The initiative is part of the “Indonesia Higher Education Disability Student Support Project,” which is set to launch in April 2026 with support from The Nippon Foundation, one of Japan’s largest non-profit organizations. The program focuses on strengthening the capacity of higher education institutions to provide both academic and non-academic services for students with special needs.

AHDC Chairperson, Hisao Chiba, Ph.D., emphasized that the program will prioritize four areas: raising awareness of the social model of disability, developing human resources through staff and mentor training, realizing academic support with reasonable accommodations, and building integrated regulatory and service systems.

“These four priorities are expected to serve as a strong foundation for universities in Indonesia to create learning environments that are fair, inclusive, and accessible for students with disabilities,” Chiba stated.

The Director of the Center for GEDSI at UNU Jogja, Wiwin Rohmawati, expressed full support for the collaboration. She stated that the program is in line with UNU Jogja’s efforts to create an inclusive campus environment. “This collaboration is an important step for UNU Jogja to strengthen its commitment to providing inclusive access to higher education and to develop disability-friendly technological innovations, particularly through the Informatics Study Program,” she said.

Through this initiative, UNU Jogja aims to contribute to building a more equitable academic environment and serve as a model of best practices for other higher education institutions in Indonesia. [Latifah]