Preface

Discussing inclusion and social participation in an emergency context such as East Jerusalem requires us to critically re-examine some of the core concepts of our discipline: barriers, facilitators, the right to education, and vulnerability (UNESCO, 1994, 2011; UNESCO & UNICEF, 2015). Within this perspective, the questions addressed in this volume are not confined to the Palestinian context. Rather, they strive to extend beyond geographical boundaries, resonating with the concerns of the broader international scientific community and calling for meaningful change. Such an understanding lies at the heart of our scientific tradition and recalls the enduring legacy of Andrea Canevaro, one of the founding figures of contemporary Special Pedagogy. Canevaro encouraged us to attend carefully to both visible and invisible boundaries, questioning their meaning and educational implications while reminding us that there can be possibilities of passage (2006). Our Scientific Community is deeply grounded in the complementarity he saw between boundaries, which acknowledge and preserve uniqueness and differences, and pathways, which make encounter, dialogue, and community possible. The pedagogical challenge, therefore, is not to choose one over the other, but to hold them in creative balance (Aiello & Giaconi, 2024; d’Alonzo & Giaconi, 2024). It is this pedagogical intuition that we hope to cultivate, nurture, and carry forward through continuous reflection and research. These considerations therefore invite us to reflect on how inclusive educational systems can rise, evolve, and continue to uphold human dignity, democracy, and Quality of Life even when educational communities are confronted with instability, turmoil, and uncertainty.