Does Inclusion Mean Everyone Every Time?! – Critical Reflection on a Popular Concept

It seems that inclusion is being discussed everywhere you turn; organisations, institutions, government services all claim to be places of inclusion. What does this really mean?  Does it mean that every location will be designed so that anyone can access and act in it? Is it enough to declare your intention to work together to be inclusive?  Will this concept be able to remove the subtle (and not so subtle) forms of exclusion that have developed over the years in our society? Is it really intended that each person in it’s unique way of being should be acknowledged and accepted as an active participant? How can such processes of change be carried out and supported? My presentation will focus on the inclusion of children with handicaps in public schools; I will reflect on the questions above and consequential topics.