Celebration of the XV Institutional day of the UAB in commemoration of the 8M
12/03/2020
On March 5 the XV Institutional day in commemoration of Women's International Day was celebrated, in the Sala d'Actes of Rectorat. The event was started by the rector of the UAB, Margarita Arboix Arzo, and presented by the vice-rector of Students and Employability, Sara Moreno Colom, and the director of the Observatory for Equality, Maria Prats Ferret. The director presented the work lines of the Observatory and did a review of the work that is done. They both defended the need of continuing making gender policies in order to build a feminist university.
Later, Dr. Maribel Ponferrada Arteaga, gender equality specialist in the Observatory, presented this year's honouree, Dr. Laura Duarte Campderrós, responsible specialist at the Observatory, for her professional career and her defence of women's rights in the university. Ponferrada put an emphasis on the key figure that the honouree represents for the Observatory, as she has worked there since its opening. "Laura has been and is the historical memory of the Observatory", she claimed. She also pointed out her feminist practices in the management of the Observatory team, valuing the importance of the good working environment.
After the projection of a tribute video for Dr. Duarte Campderrós, the awarding took place. In her speech, Laura Duarte did a review of the career and evolution of the 15 years of the Observatory, identifying four phases: the first one, a phase of creation and definition of the work lines and tasks of the Observatory; the second one, to transmit the knowledge and expertise; the third phase, to extend the policy areas; and the last one was defined as the consolidation phase. She also mentioned the main contributions focused on the analysis of the inequalities at the university and on the design of tools to promote, follow and evaluate the implementation and impact of the action plans' measures.
After, the roundtable composed by the former directors of the Observatory started: María Jesús Izquierdo Benito, Carolina Gala Durán, Montserrat Rifà Valls and Joana Gallego Ayala, who reflected on their tasks throughout the past 15 years. Lluís Ferrer Caubet, former rector of the UAB, was the moderator.
"The place that the Observatory has in the university is very important. Nowadays, we would need to make a change and give it more importance. We took a step back. No more pity. It's time to frighten", remarked María Jesús Izquierdo. Carolina Gala reminded the legal obligation of universities to have equality units. On the other hand, Montserrat Rifà manifested that “an observatory is not a camera, it is a space where inequalities must resound”, pointing out the importance to raise awareness about the inequalities at the university. Finally, Joana Gallego remarked that “it is necessary to raise awareness of the harassment and violence that happen within the university", in the line of reflections on the importance of reporting any case of male violence detected in the university.
The entire event was infoaccessible, with Catalan sign language interpreting by the group Feteseamans - Interpreters of Transfeminist Sign Language.