Agreement with DIF Mexico City Strengthens Inclusion Efforts

Cecilia Balderas / Photo: Israel Vera

Through this agreement, initial efforts will focus on promoting and teaching Mexican Sign Language

The Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN) and the System for the Comprehensive Development of the Family (DIF) of Mexico City signed a General Collaboration Agreement to develop projects and actions that promote the inclusion of people with disabilities. As a first step, the initiative will prioritize promoting, teaching, and learning Mexican Sign Language.

Accompanied by the Director General of DIF Mexico City, Beatriz Rojas Martínez, IPN Director General Arturo Reyes Sandoval noted that Mexican Sign Language is already taught at the Foreign Language Centers in Santo Tomás and Zacatenco under international academic standards, allowing students to progress through structured levels. This effort, he emphasized, reflects IPN’s commitment to inclusion, accessibility, and a culture of peace—principles established in the Institutional Development Program 2025–2030.

“We recognize the strong commitment of DIF. We admire its capacity and its long-standing contributions to social work in Mexico City. Today, its experience and our academic vision come together to transform barriers into bridges and turn inclusion into a reality for our country,” Reyes Sandoval stated.

He added that the agreement will enable several key actions, including training deaf individuals as instructors, sharing best practices, supporting the development of the DIF’s Mexican Sign Language curriculum, producing teaching materials, and assessing competencies through diagnostic evaluations for both students and instructors.

“We fully embrace the challenge of continuing to build truly inclusive societies. In the specific case of hearing disability, we know it affects 2.3 million people in Mexico. In this context, Mexican Sign Language—officially recognized as a national language—plays a fundamental role in social inclusion and the full exercise of rights,” he emphasized.

For her part, DIF Mexico City Director General Beatriz Rojas Martínez stated that formalizing the agreement represents an opportunity to strengthen public action from a human rights, inclusion, and community development perspective.

“The value of this alliance lies precisely in the convergence of two key strengths in public service: on one hand, IPN contributes its extensive experience in education, research, science, technology, and innovation; on the other, DIF Mexico City brings its territorial presence, community-based work, and institutional responsibility in promoting rights, inclusion, and accessibility for children, adolescents, families, and people with disabilities,” she concluded.