The third conference on “Subaltern Memories,” organized by the European Observatory on Memories of the University of Barcelona’s Solidarity Foundation, will bring together political and social activists, educators, and researchers in the field of inclusion on June 18 at the University of Barcelona. The event will explore commemoration and redress initiatives in Europe and will conclude with a panel discussion on the struggles for inclusion in Catalonia.
Barcelona, June 12, 2024 – The Historic Building of the University of Barcelona (UB) will host the third International Conference “Subaltern Memories” on Thursday, June 18. This annual event by the European Observatory on Memories of the UB Solidarity Foundation aims to highlight the memory and reparation processes led by historically silenced social groups. Titled “Persons with Disabilities, Towards Inclusion,” this year’s edition will focus on how historical and collective memory can contribute to a more inclusive society through practices of recognition and redress.
The opening lecture will be given by Professor Monika Baar from the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute. She will present an overview of her current research, “Rethinking Disability: The Global Impact of the International Year of Disabled Persons (1981) from a Historical Perspective.” In her talk, she will pay special attention to disability protests, the development of a distinct identity, and their creative forms of expression.
The morning session will continue with a panel on commemoration and reparation initiatives in Europe. Stefanie Endlich, Honorary Professor of Art in Public Spaces at the Universität der Künste Berlin, will highlight the memorialization processes undertaken to give visibility to the victims of the Nazi euthanasia program against people with disabilities. Hisayo Katsui, Professor of Disability Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki, will focus on the forced sterilization and abortion of deaf people in Finland during the 19th and 20th centuries.
In the afternoon, the documentary “The Other Normality” (1980) will be screened, followed by a discussion with screenwriter Ferran Miquel and educator and social activist Efren Carbonell. The documentary provides a critical view of society’s treatment of people with intellectual disabilities forty years ago. To conclude the conference, Carbonell will moderate a roundtable discussion on the struggles for inclusion in Catalonia. The debate will feature participation from Sergi Moncunill, social and political activist; Josep Ruf, member of the expert committee of the Ibero-American Federation for Down Syndrome (FIADOWN); and Maite Ruiz, president of the Association for the Defense of the Rights of People with Intellectual Disabilities (LADD).
The conference is supported by the Barcelona City Council and co-financed by the European Union’s Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV).
Admission is free and open to the public, but prior registration is required at this link. Simultaneous interpretation from English to Catalan and Catalan Sign Language will be provided.
About the speakers
Monika Baar, professor of the Department of History and the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies of the European University Institute. She has recently completed the ERC Consolidator Grant project “Rethinking Disability: the Global Impact of the International Year of Disabled Persons (1981) in historical perspective”. In this speech she will pay particular attention to the protests of disability, the development of a discernible identity based on disability and the creative forms of self-expression.
Stefanie Endlich, honorary professor of art in public spaces at the Berlin University of the Arts. She is a freelance journalist and author of several books and exhibitions on memory in the fields of fine arts, architecture and urban history. She collaborates in different projects and committees of memory and documentation spaces, including the Memorial and Information Site for the Victims of the National Socialist “Euthanasia” Murders (Berlin).
Hisayo Katsui, professor of Disability Studies at the University of Helsinki. She has been a board member of the Nordic Network on Disability Research, president of the Finnish Society for Disability Research, and is a permanent expert on the Finnish Advisory Board for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. She has conducted research projects and collaborations about disabilities in Central Asia, Ethiopia, Finland, Uganda, Nepal, Japan, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, Cambodia, Mongolia and Nordic countries.
Ferran Miquel, scriptwriter and technical director of the documentary “L’altra normalitat”, co-founder of the cooperative Grupdem (1971). He holds a degree in Philosophy and Education Science specialising in Therapeutic Pedagogy, is a civil servant in the Secondary Education Teaching Staff of the Government of Catalonia, and doctor in qualitative evaluative research methods.
Efren Carbonell, social and educational activist, he is the treasurer of the Catalan Federation of Social Volunteering and spokesperson for the executive board of Rosa Sensat. He led ASPASIM for almost 40 years and has been president of the Coordinator of Workshops for people with disabilities in Catalonia, of BCN esports and of DINCAT. In 2012 he was awarded the Medal of Honor of the City of Barcelona.
Sergi Moncunill, political and social activist, member of the boards of directors of LADD and Dincat, where he is also a reserve representative. Born in Valls, he lives in Tarragona and is a civil servant in the Ministry of Finance.
Josep Ruf, pedagogue, he is the technical director of the adults area of the Catalan Down Syndrome Foundation (Spain), coordinator of the National Network for Independent Life of Down Spain, and member of the board of experts of the Ibero-American Down Syndrome Federation (FIADOWN). He is professor of social education in the University of Barcelona (UB) and the Open University of Catalonia (UOC).
Maite Ruiz, president of LADD (Association Defending the Rights of Persons with an Intellectual Disability). She has worked for more than 35 years in the sector of persons with a disability, directing different services in the occupational training and special work centre of ATAM (Telephone Assistance for Persons with Disabilities) and participating as an activist in different organisations in the sector.
Cover image: The Grey Bus memorial at the former Hadamar extermination center (2024). Picture: CC SA 4.0 Whgler (Wikimedia Commons). Created by artists Horst Hoheisel and Andreas Knitz, this moving monument follows the footsteps of the Nazi euthanasia operation “Aktion T4”, carried out with the knowledge, tolerance and active participation of many institutions in Germany.
Programme (PDF)
Related activity
Persons with disabilities, towards inclusion