The first webinar in the #InclusionTalks series explored the fundamental principles that underpin inclusive education, explaining why inclusion matters and how it can be embedded in education systems. The session highlighted global perspectives and practical strategies for creating equitable learning environments.

Date and time

Thursday 29 January 2026, 11.00–12.00 CET

Speakers’ biographies

Professor Mel Ainscow

Mel Ainscow is Emeritus Professor, University of Manchester, Professor of Education, University of Glasgow, and Adjunct Professor at Queensland University of Technology. A long-term consultant to UNESCO, he is internationally recognised as an authority on the promotion of inclusion and equity in education.

Dr Gordon Porter

Gordon Porter is the Executive Director of Inclusive Education Canada and has focused on making schools inclusive for over four decades. Dr Porter has worked as a principal, school district administrator and university professor. He has been a policy advisor and trainer for Education Ministries in Canada, Peru, Panama, Colombia, the Bahamas, Australia, New Zealand, Dubai, Portugal, Sweden and the Netherlands.

Dr Porter is the former chair of the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission and the Canadian Association of Human Rights Agencies. He has edited several books and videos about inclusive education. He received the Canadian Education Association’s Whitworth Award for Research in Education. He is a member of the Order of New Brunswick and the Order of Canada, his country’s highest civil honours.

Mónica Domínguez García

Mónica Domínguez García is Director General of Assessment and Territorial Cooperation in Spain. She has previously worked as a maths secondary education teacher, a deputy headteacher and a headteacher, and was an associate professor for the Primary Education Teaching Degree at the University of the Balearic Islands. She has also been a school inspector in the Ibiza and Formentera District of the Balearic Islands.

In July 2022 she became Director General of Assessment and Territorial Cooperation at the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports. This Directorate General is responsible for: co-ordinating co-operation relationships in the educational field with the autonomous communities and local corporations; developing the national curriculum and national regulations for the different education fields from infant education to post-compulsory secondary education, excluding vocational training; educational evaluations; inclusion; digital education; in-service teacher training and professional development; research, innovation, studies, and reports on education.