FUNDED PROJECTS

CROSS-ACCESS responds to the urgent need for integrated, inclusive, and participatory solutions to the systemic exclusion of migrants with disabilities. 

Category: ENLIGHT Thematic Network

University: Comenius University Bratislava, University of Galway, University of Göttingen, Uppsala University
Period: 2025-2027

CROSS-ACCESS is a people-centred, interdisciplinary Thematic Network within the ENLIGHT Alliance. It responds to the urgent need for integrated, inclusive, and participatory solutions to the systemic exclusion of migrants with disabilities. The network is led by Comenius University Bratislava, in collaboration with the University of Uppsala, the University of Galway, and the University of Göttingen. It contributes to ENLIGHT’s flagship domains of Health and Well-being, Equity, and Culture and Creativity.

The project explores the intersection of migration and disability as a critical yet underexamined site of exclusion and innovation. It brings together world-class expertise in social work, disability law and policy, global health, inclusive education, and participatory research. CROSS-ACCESS integrates knowledge of CRPD implementation, structural determinants of health, comparative legal reform, and community-engaged pedagogies to develop scalable, rights-based models of access.

The network also examines international instruments explicitly referenced in the project: the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, the Global Compact on Refugees, and the 1951 Refugee Convention. It further draws on principles from the Platform on Disaster Displacement, the UN Network on Migration, and the ILO Labour Protection Conventions.

Key activities include the creation of cross-university CROSS-ACCESS Labs for co-teaching, co-design, and exchange of inclusive pedagogical practice. The project also develops an open-access digital platform with shared learning materials and policy-brief toolkits for educators, practitioners, and policymakers. In line with the principle “Nothing About Us Without Us,” all activities are co-designed with persons with disabilities whose lived experiences guide and validate project outcomes.

CROSS-ACCESS seeks to transform how social work, health, law, and education systems understand and act on vulnerability. By connecting research, policy, and lived experience, the network advances equality and system-wide change—positioning European higher education as a driver of dignity, accessibility, and inclusive transformation.

Personal highlight:
For me, the true strength of CROSS-ACCESS lies in its collective ability to connect law, health, social work, and education within one ethical and participatory framework. The network’s partners combine rigorous research with practice-based insight, co-creating inclusive tools that advance care continuity, legal empowerment, and learning access for migrants with disabilities. Working across universities, organisations of persons with disabilities, and global actors such as WHO and UNICEF demonstrates how interdisciplinary collaboration can transform systems. The highlight is seeing knowledge, solidarity, and accountability converge into lasting institutional and social change.