Museums of the 21st century develop a dynamic social and educational role in order to respond to the challenges of the contemporary society, to meet the diverse needs and expectations of their audiences and provide them with meaningful learning and social experiences. In this framework over the past decades, the issue of access and participation of people with disabilities who face different barriers in museums is a field of intensive discussions, research and relevant practices within museums. Although museums over the world provide a range of access to facilitations and programmes for people with disabilities, there are still many differences amongst museums. It remains a challenge how museums can respond to the diverse needs, expectations and interests of people with disabilities and within different social contexts of visits in museums. The principles of Universal Design and Universal Design for Learning are considered the most appropriate for museums in order to develop more inclusive practices from which everybody benefits. The adoption of the principles mentioned above and the indicative examples that are presented in this paper reveal that access in museums is not a technical matter but rather a systematic and ongoing process, aiming to provide equal access and participation in terms of quality.

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