Celmira Macedo, PhD researcher at the Centre for Philosophical and Humanistic Studies (CEFH) of the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences of the Catholic University of Portugal, in Braga, was distinguished as an Ashoka Fellow by the organization “Ashoka Social Entrepreneurs”. Ashoka is an international non-profit organization, founded in 1980 by the American Bill Drayton, specializing in entrepreneurship and social innovation, which currently has a community of more than 3600 social entrepreneurs around 90 countries.

Celmira Macedo was recognized this week in Spain (Bilbao), for the inclusive alphabet learning methodology she has developed, called EKUI (“Equity, Knowledge, Universality and Inclusion”).

Implemented since 2015, EKUI, is an innovative methodology with a Universal Design for Learning, which has is operationalized through a set of letters with four forms of expression and representation, which associates the letters of the alphabet, how they sound like and how to produce those sounds (phonetic alphabet), sign language, motor movements and Braille code. Thus, it promotes a multisensory and inclusive stimulation to learn how to speak, read and write. Headquartered in Vila Nova de Gaia, EKUI is present in 419 schools across the country and in 320 different locations. According to the awardee, this methodology "activates different sensory channels, which activate, simultaneously, different areas of the brain, making learning more effective and more motivating".