Núcleo Disca

Disability and citizenship

Author Archives: Andrea Medina

  3. Conversation with Activists: Agendas and struggles of disability in Chile

    Leave a Comment

    The Millennium Nucleus DISCA developed the first Conversation with Activists, called “Agendas and struggles of disability in Chile”, a space to learn about the experiences of prominent people with disabilities.

    On this occasion, the discussion had as protagonists:

    • Olga Balboa is president of the Communal Association of and for People with Disabilities of Concepción and leader of the Regional Association “Defense of Disability ‘ del Biobío.
    • Jaime Ramirez is president of the National Collective for Disability (Conadis) and part of the Council of Experts by Experience of the Millennium Nucleus DISCA. He is also a professor at the Universidad de Chile and Universidad Alberto Hurtado and facilitator for Chile of Flacso’s working group on critical disability studies.
    • Jimena Luna is founder and executive director of Fundación Vida Independiente Chile. She holds a degree in industrial civil engineering, mention in computer science, from the Universidad de la Frontera (UFRO) and currently works as project coordinator at CEDETI UC and CIAPAT Chile.
    • César Rodríguez is president of the Vitachi Foundation, national advisor of Senadis and treasurer of the National Federation of Organizations of and for Disability (Fedich). He is also a prominent disability activist, nominated four times for the National Human Rights Award given by the National Institute of Human Rights (INDH) and was general coordinator of the 2019 International Day of Persons with Disabilities march.

    The discussion was moderated by Juan Pino, principal investigator of the DISCA Millennium Nucleus and academic at the Universidad de O’Higgins.

    The activity was held on Thursday, May 11, 2023, at 6:00 p.m., through Zoom and is available at https://youtu.be/FvCll9XZgic.

    A sign language interpreter and simultaneous subtitling are available.

  5. DISCA Millenium Nucleus visits Punta Arenas

    Leave a Comment

    The director of the DISCA Millennium Nucleus, Florencia Herrera, and the general coordinator of DISCA, Andrea Rojas, traveled to Punta Arenas to carry out a series of activities around the line of Sexuality and Reproduction of people with disabilities.

    Both shared with members of the Network of Protection of Rights and Social Inclusion, Reprodis, a program aimed specifically at mothers and fathers with disabilities in the region, which emerged in the School of Occupational Therapy at the University of Magallanes, UMAG.

    “It was a very nice, intense and rewarding experience. We went to learn about the work of Reprodis, which has an area of comprehensive sexual education for people with intellectual disabilities and also an area of maternity support for women with intellectual disabilities,” commented Florencia Herrera.

    “Reprodis has followed several cases of mothers with intellectual disabilities and its work is transcendental, because it changes lives. We interviewed women who had had problems, who had had their motherhood prosecuted, the State had intervened to try to take away the custody of their children, and Reprodis had acted in these cases, managing to help them continue raising and living with their children, even independently. On the other hand, we interviewed two mothers whose cases have not been prosecuted, thanks to the support provided by Reprodis”, added the director of DISCA.

    Florencia explains that they accompany women with intellectual disabilities “which is a support for autonomy and independence in motherhood, without doing things for them (…) So, being accompanied by Reprodis staff, it means going with someone who is supporting you and gives you the security that you will not be treated badly or you will have someone to translate the complicated language of health professionals,” she added.

    “I don’t think there is any other program in Chile, nor probably in Latin America, that provides such effective support as Reprodis, which has allowed mothers with disabilities to raise their children autonomously and independently”, concluded Florencia.

    The trip to Punta Arenas was also an opportunity to share with students and academics of the Occupational Therapy career of the Universidad de Magallanes, to present in a class the Fondecyt advances on parental experiences of people with disabilities, Dispar, and DISCA’s line of Sexuality and Reproduction.

  9. DISCA Millennium Nucleus seeks Postdoc

    Leave a Comment

    In the DISCA Millennium Nucleus we are building our team, so we are looking for a Postdoctoral Researcher in Disability Studies.

    This is a full-time postdoctoral position for one year, which includes 44 hours per week and the possibility of extension to a second year, subject to evaluation.

    Those interested in applying should submit the following documents:

    • Motivation letter (one page)
    • Curriculum vitae
    • Copies of relevant certificates
    • Copies of relevant publications
    • Research proposal
    • Two letters of recommendation

    The deadline for applications is Thursday, April 6, 2023 and should be sent via email to contacto@nucleodisca.cl.

    For more details, please review the Call for Postdoctoral Position 2023 document.