Celmira Macedo is a Portuguese educator, social entrepreneur, and founder of EKUI, an award-winning inclusive education methodology transforming literacy and learning worldwide. With a background in special education, she created EKUI to promote equity, knowledge, universality, and inclusion through a multisensory approach that empowers children with autism, dyslexia, Down syndrome, blindness, and deafness—while benefiting all learners. Recognized by Ashoka Fellowship and HundrED Global Collection, her work bridges neuroscience, literacy, and universal design for learning. A pioneer in inclusive literacy, Macedo continues to inspire educators, families, and policymakers to reimagine schools where diversity and empathy fuel every child’s potential.

The Social Digest: Could you share the story or moment that first sparked your idea for EKUI?

The idea to develop a multisensory and inclusive methodology—EKUI—rooted in Equity (E) in access to education, Knowledge (K) as a right for all, Universality (U), and Inclusion (I), was born in 2003, when I began working as a special education teacher. I supported children with autism, dyslexia, Down syndrome, blind and Deaf children—many of whom could not learn to read, write, or communicate through traditional teaching methods that I and other teachers were using.

At that time (and still today in some places), the prevailing school culture followed a “one-size-fits-all” model, where a single approach to learning was expected to work for every child, regardless of their characteristics, needs, or potential. I’ve always been too nonconformist to accept such uniformity in the face of diversity.

In my view, the curriculum must be equitable, foster cooperation, and encourage the shared construction of knowledge, as Paulo Freire once said. It should promote collective growth and develop transversal skills in children—especially creativity, critical thinking, cognitive flexibility, self-esteem, and empathy. Teaching and learning should not just be a process but a dynamic relationship shaped by context, where people build people through their diversity. For this reason, the curriculum must not be static or only written down—it must be a living system, constantly evolving to ensure that everyone can participate and no one is left behind.

The struggles of these children impacted me deeply. Through research, I came to understand that this was not an isolated issue—millions of children and young people around the world were facing similar challenges. I then decided to create a methodology that could democratize education and be effective. I focused on a multisensory approach that made it truly inclusive. At last, all children could learn. That’s how EKUI was born.

The Social Digest: How has your background in special education shaped your vision of what literacy and inclusion should look like?

My training in Special Education deepened my knowledge and helped me reflect on the fact that inclusion begins with access to knowledge. To include is also to empower parents, teachers, educators, and the wider community so that education can truly be transformative. If school can be a social elevator, it must also serve as a social contract that involves everyone within the child’s ecosystem—from birth to growth and development.

For me, inclusion is a purpose. As an educator, my mission is to build a curriculum for all, that is my purpose in action. I don’t believe in quality education unless it is also fair and inclusive. And this fairness depends on our capacity, as adult educators, to recognize the barriers that prevent learning and participation. Are we the barriers? Are our beliefs, our knowledge, our practices, or even our mental health, the real obstacles?

Our organizational culture should be centered on the belief that we all learn and grow together. But is that truly happening?

My fieldwork and research-especially in the neuroscience of reading-gave me a much clearer understanding of how children learn and what strategies, methodologies, and approaches best support each child in reaching their full potential. I’ve come to see the curriculum as a building: to make it accessible, it needs elevators. Learning to read, write, or communicate can feel like climbing countless stairs for many children. Through Universal Design for Learning (CAST, 2000), EKUI becomes a system of ramps and elevators, removing barriers.

Throughout my journey as an educational entrepreneur and innovator, I’ve learned that exclusion begins the moment we fail to adapt to diversity, when we withhold space or voice from those who are ready to learn. That’s why, at EKUI, literacy and inclusion walk hand in hand, honoring children’s neurodiversity. I drew inspiration from many approaches while creating EKUI, some were effective but inaccessible to all. So I developed a solution that was. Its multisensory nature ensures that all children, regardless of difficulty, can learn together and grow as individuals, with empathy and humanism.

The Social Digest: What were the biggest personal or professional challenges you faced while turning EKUI from an idea into a movement?

The biggest challenge was proving that the EKUI methodology was an effective and efficient solution for all children. I had a dual goal: to relieve the struggles of children who could not learn through traditional methods and to enhance the learning experience for all children, making it faster and easier. At the same time, I aimed to fulfill the principles of inclusive education outlined in the Salamanca Statement (1994), which asserts that all children should learn in the least restrictive environment, alongside their peers. That’s what we do.

But reaching this point wasn’t easy. Convincing people that what I had created held real value and could positively transform education was a major hurdle. Later, as positive results began to emerge, the challenge became encouraging even more people to adopt the methodology,which required changing long-established practices.

The same challenge applied to investors, stakeholders, and funders. It wasn’t easy to stay resilient, knocking on doors, receiving rejection after rejection, and still refusing to give up (continuing to study, to research, to believe). The most incredible part is realizing that EKUI stopped being “mine” the moment I started hearing, in every place I went, during every training I gave, that someone knew someone else who was already implementing EKUI. That’s how it evolved into a movement that is no longer about me, it’s about something much greater. And so, no matter what happens, the EKUI methodology and movement will endure.

The Social Digest: How do you see EKUI not only helping students with special needs but also shifting society’s mindset towards difference and diversity?

Although EKUI was born in 2003 to support children with special educational needs, once the methodology began being implemented with a wider range of children in schools, I, as a researcher, realized I was holding a diamond in the rough. EKUI could successfully support literacy for children with learning difficulties or disabilities, but it was also a highly effective tool for children without any diagnosed needs. It reached those who needed support, but also enriched the learning of those who didn’t, developing life skills across the board.

What truly changed teachers’ mindsets were the results. Many held the belief that some children with learning difficulties simply couldn’t learn to read or communicate. But when they saw their students thrive within the same inclusive context, with different outcomes than they had anticipated, it gave them confidence to adopt EKUI, working collaboratively, with all children, in the same space.

EKUI is not just for children with difficulties, it is for everyone. Inclusion is achieved with and for all, and that is what transforms school culture. Slowly but surely, it becomes “normal” that some children learn through Braille, others through Sign Language, others still through phonetics (like migrant children learning the sounds of a new language) and that’s perfectly okay. Children develop empathy and come to see difference as something natural. This changes how they relate to their peers. Each child knows something another does not, and they can share it. Everyone benefits. With EKUI, no child is “left out.” Diversity and human connection become the foundation for learning.

The Social Digest: Could you share a powerful story or feedback from a child, family, or teacher that has stayed with you?

I’ll never forget Luana, a six-year-old girl who surprised her mother in a shopping mall by greeting a group of Deaf young people in Portuguese Sign Language. When her mother asked if she was bothering them, Luana replied, “No, I’m not bothering them. I’m talking to them. I learned at school with EKUI that my hands can speak.”

With EKUI, children don’t just learn to read and write, they learn for life. They gain tools that can transform their environment, their workplace, their family life, and their personal relationships. It’s a form of lifelong learning.

The Social Digest: EKUI has gained international attention—from HundrED Global Collection to Ashoka Fellowship. What do you think makes it resonate across cultures?

EKUI is based on a universal language: human learning and communication. All cultures face barriers when education is not inclusive or fails to serve everyone. Our methodology is universal and grounded in scientific evidence. Its design allows anyone, anywhere, to adapt it to their context through our training. That’s why it works across countries and cultures.

What draws international organizations to EKUI is not only its innovation, but the fact that its materials are truly accessible. Furthermore, impact assessments show that EKUI meets key criteria of efficiency and effectiveness, providing a single, inclusive tool that benefits all children.

The Social Digest: How can policymakers and educational institutions better support social innovations like yours?

Policymakers and educational institutions must begin to see scientifically validated innovations and social entrepreneurship initiatives like EKUI, not just as ideas, but as real solutions to real problems.

EKUI has demonstrated scientifically validated results with more than 160,000 children across Portugal. The evidence shows that children learn to read and write in half the time theoretically expected for these skills. They also develop stronger communication, language, and social-emotional skills.

This leads us to believe that if the EKUI methodology were scaled across regions and schools, we could significantly improve learning outcomes and perform better in international benchmarks like PISA.

We need policies that not only allow for innovation but actively integrate it into curricula. School should no longer be “one-size-fits-all”, it must respect the unique size and shape of every child.

The Social Digest: What keeps you hopeful or inspired on days when change feels slow?

What gives me hope is seeing an entire class learning more and learning better. It’s seeing teachers change their practices, making their classrooms more inclusive, integrating EKUI across subject areas, and diversifying their curriculum. It’s hearing parents say, “My child has finally started to read,” or “My child is finally speaking.” Or when a teacher thanks me for helping them believe in their profession again. Those moments remind me that this journey is worth it.

What also fuels my hope are the children themselves. Every year, when we receive the results of our impact evaluations, conducted in partnership with universities, we consistently find that EKUI learners outperform control groups by double. They learn twice as fast, twice as deeply. That gives me hope.

The hope that while we may not change the whole world, we are changing the world for these children. A child raised with empathy will become an adult capable of critical thinking, of reflecting on social issues, of looking around and asking what’s right or wrong, and becoming a more just and compassionate citizen.

This interview was conducted by Vansh Shah, The Social Digest on 15/09/2025. If you have any interview recommendations or have a story that you want to share with our readers, get in touch with our editor Vedant Bhrambhatt, at editor@thesocialdigest.com