Translation as a process of mediation: framing accessibility, inclusion, participation and belonging across cultures.

Over the past two decades, the concepts of disability, accessibility and inclusion have undergone a profound transformation: from a clinical and deficit-oriented model to a relational and universal approach. This change, supported by international references such as the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) and the WHO’s International Classification of Functioning (ICF), redefines disability as the result of interaction between individuals and their environments. In this context, translation plays a crucial role as a means of making knowledge, practices and experiences accessible across languages and disciplines. This article examines how these developments are reflected in the English translation of Manuale di progettazione per l’accessibilità e la fruizione ampliata del patrimonio culturale. Dai funzionamenti della persona ai funzionamenti dei luoghi della cultura (hereafter Manuale), coordinated by Gabriella Cetorelli and Luca Papi for the Italian National Research Council and supported by the Ministry of Culture. The handbook represents an interdisciplinary contribution to cultural accessibility, redefining access to heritage as a dynamic relationship between people’s functioning and the functioning of cultural spaces. The study approaches translation as a process of mediation, where linguistic, conceptual and cultural choices contribute to shaping how accessibility, inclusion, participation, and belonging are understood and communicated in cultural contexts. By analyzing the translation process of the Manuale, the paper highlights how translation supports the circulation of ideas on accessibility and inclusion at an international level, fostering shared understanding and dialogue between disciplines and cultures. Ultimately, it argues that translating accessibility is an active contribution to building an inclusive cultural perspective grounded in diversity, participation and belonging.