Montserrat Vilarrasa: “It is important that people with intellectual disabilities are given opportunities to be leaders”

PRESS RELEASE

  • People with disabilities take centre stage at the inauguration of the academic year dedicated to the University’s social commitment.
Montserrat Vilarrasa.
Montserrat Vilarrasa.
News | Institutional | Academic
07/10/2024
At the opening of the academic year 2024-2025, the University of Barcelona has asserted itself as an institution committed to three essential pillars: diversity, solidarity and social integration. The inaugural lecture was given by Montserrat Vilarrasa, editor of the digital magazine Exit21, member of the Montserrat Trueta Human Rights Assembly, and member of the Governing Council of the Municipal Institute for People with Disabilities (IMPD). Vilarrasa said: “It is important that people with intellectual disabilities are given opportunities to be leaders”.
Montserrat Vilarrasa.
Montserrat Vilarrasa.
News | Institutional | Academic
07/10/2024
At the opening of the academic year 2024-2025, the University of Barcelona has asserted itself as an institution committed to three essential pillars: diversity, solidarity and social integration. The inaugural lecture was given by Montserrat Vilarrasa, editor of the digital magazine Exit21, member of the Montserrat Trueta Human Rights Assembly, and member of the Governing Council of the Municipal Institute for People with Disabilities (IMPD). Vilarrasa said: “It is important that people with intellectual disabilities are given opportunities to be leaders”.
The event began with the drone show “The UB is commitment”. The ceremony also included artistic appearances by Xamfrà, the Raval music and stage centre, under the title “The University is diverse”; the musical group Clams, made up of performers with intellectual disabilities, and the Bravo band, also made up of people with disabilities.

In the opening lecture, Vilarrasa reviewed his personal and professional career, with special emphasis on his work as a member of the Governing Council of the Municipal Institute for People with Disabilities. “In my first term of office, I paved the way by ensuring that a person with an intellectual disability could take part in this Governing Council and was given the necessary cognitive accessibility measures to participate”, she said. And she recalled that one of the points of her programme as a member states: “We are not sick, we are like this; we have the right not to be discriminated against”. Vilarrasa was vindictive regarding about people with disabilities: “We need to improve job opportunities, salaries and wages, and access to higher education. We need to have better studies and better jobs, more dignified and with better salaries”.
 
The rector, Joan Guàrdia, pointed out that with the opening ceremony of the academic year the UB wanted to “highlight and vindicate our commitment to society as a basic value of the University; it is a fundamental part of who we are”. Guàrdia stated that the word inclusion will be fundamental in the new academic year, and mentioned various aspects of the concept, such as from the linguistic or gender point of view. The Rector highlighted the work carried out by the University when it comes to training people “in rigour and knowledge” and also pointed out that “science is useful because it makes our society work better and be fair”. He concluded: “We are a University with a project and a will for the future”.

The event, led by the political scientist and cultural journalist Andrea Gumes, included the presentation of the 2023-2024 academic year report by the secretary general of the UB, Marina Solé.
People with disabilities take centre stage at the inauguration of the academic year dedicated to the University’s social commitment.
In his speech, Carlos Campos, representative of the Student Council, said that the University “is much more than a place for learning, it is a beacon of commitment to our society”. He remarked that “nowadays it is more essential than ever to vindicate diversity”, and added that the student body, like the university as a whole, “must be an example of how diversity enriches”.

The president of the Board of Trustees, Joan Corominas, emphasized the importance of innovation to increase competitiveness in Europe. He said: “Europe has strengths such as its education systems, it has many talented researchers and entrepreneurs, but collectively we are not turning these strengths into productive and competitive industries, especially in advanced technologies”.

Afterwards, the Catalan Minister of Research and Universities, Núria Montserrat, remarked that the slogan of the opening ceremony, The University is Commitment, “reflects the fundamental values that we as a university must promote”. “Diversity is not a barrier, but a source of wealth”, she said. Montserrat stressed that the UB “is a fundamental pillar in the education of generations” and that it must be “an active agent for change” in society as a whole.

Multimedia gallery

The rector of the University, Joan Guàrdia.

The ceremony included various artistic performances.

Flickr

Montserrat Vilarrasa: «És important que a les persones en situació de discapacitat intel·lectual se’ns donin oportunitats per ser referents»

Opening of the academic year 2024-2025.


Contact

Institutional Communication

Telephone