The University of the Southern Cone of the Americas (UCSA) received the visit of the Director General of the ONCE Foundation for Solidarity with the Blind in Latin America (FOAL), Mrs. Estefanía Mirpuri Merino, in order to begin the Project "Training and Professional Skills of People with Disabilities from an Approach of Rights to Promote Sustainable Development ", co-financed by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).

 The objective of the project is to improve the opportunities for access to higher education for students with visual disabilities and their link with the labor market. In this sense, it is planned the establishment of an ICT Accessibility and Information Office in the University of the Southern Cone of the Americas (UCSA) to provide assistance to students with disabilities and, at the same time, offer services in accessibility of ICT to companies and public organizations.

UCSA, in alliance with FOAL, will also provide training to teachers in the area of ​​Computer Engineering in ICT accessibility and usability, so that they, could introduce it into the curriculum of their career in order that  400 students can receive this knowledge.

Group ONCE

The National Organization of the Spanish Blind (ONCE) was founded 80 years ago, offering lottery tickets as a way of life for its members. In eight decades it has created a model of social provision unique in the world.

The ONCE also undertakes wide-ranging international efforts, especially through the ONCE Foundation for Solidarity with the Blind of Latin America (Spanish acronym, FOAL), created in 1998 as an initiative of the Cooperation with Latin America Fund. In 2014 he joined his socio-business initiatives under the Ilunion brand. Since 2018, ONCE, ONCE Foundation and Ilunion are jointly identified under the Social Group ONCE seal.

The Social Group ONCE is the fourth largest employer in Spain with more than 73,000 employees, 60% of them with some type of disability, their main source of funding are the games of and their main objective is the improvement of the quality of life of the blind or with severe visual impairment in several countries through joint projects and actions with governments and civil society.