On Thursday, 27 November 2025, the UMH Elche Campus will host the second edition of ‘En sus zapatos’ (In Their Shoes), an awareness day for secondary schools organised by the Disability Support Unit (UAD), which is part of the Vice-Rectorate for Culture, Equality and Diversity, and UMH student volunteers. This activity is designed to allow participants to reflect on and empathise with the barriers faced by people with disabilities in their daily lives by offering a unique awareness-raising experience that allows participants to put themselves in the shoes of people with disabilities.

During the activity, the participating secondary school students, comprising a total of more than 300 students, will be divided into groups to take turns experiencing a simulation of a specific disability (blindness, hemiparesis, physical disability, upper limb amputation, etc.) and will have to perform everyday activities with the resources available. Throughout the event, students will participate in various activities, sports and everyday situations that seek to simulate the reality of people with disabilities. In addition, techniques and strategies will be offered to facilitate the performance of these tasks, helping to better understand how autonomy and inclusion can be promoted in different environments.

The main objective is to foster empathy and understanding of the difficulties and challenges that many people face in their daily lives.

The activity involves undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students from all UMH campuses, who volunteer to help run the event. The volunteers will accompany the secondary school groups, help to facilitate the activities and play a key role in the experience, contributing to a university that is more committed, aware and empathetic towards people with disabilities.

You can see a summary of the first edition here:

With activities and events such as ‘In Their Shoes’, the UMH Disability Support Unit (UAD) reaffirms its commitment to respect and awareness towards people with disabilities.