The Willy Aastrup Accessibility Award is one bestowed annually since 2023 on individuals who have distinguished themselves in their work on accessibility of social life for all. Its patron is Willy Aastrup (1948–2019), a Danish philosopher and psychotherapist, founder and long-time director of the Counselling and Support Centre at Aarhus University.
The award has been created by Willy Aastrup’s close collaborators in Poland, which he visited more than forty times, strongly influencing the creation and implementation of an educational support system for students with disabilities, which is still in place and thriving in many universities today. Willy Aastrup’s thought is particularly alive among his colleagues at the JU Accessibility Centre, who owe much of their knowledge and experience of the subject to him.
The members of the Willy Aastrup Award Chapter are:
- Ireneusz Białek, Director of the JU Accessibility Centre
- Katarzyna Duraj-Per, Deputy Director of the JU AC for Accessibility Processes
- Magdalena Ziemnicka, Deputy Director of the JU AC for Student Affairs
- Małgorzata Perdeus-Białek, accessibility expert at the JU AC, fire inspector, author of the Seven Principles of Educational Support developed under the influence of Willi Aastrup’s thought
- Dr Lech Kolasinski, painter and specialist in universal design, whose work was valued by Willy Aastrup
- Mikołaj Sekrecki, sworn translator of English and interpreter for Willy Aastrup during his stays in Poland
- Anna Rutz, Head of the Support Office for Persons with Disabilities at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, the first-ever recipient of the Willy Aastrup Accessibility Award
- Aleksander Waszkielewicz, President of the FRONIA Foundation for Persons with Disabilities and partner of the Willy Aastrup Accessibility Award.