III Inclusion and Diversity Meeting

The third edition of the Inclusion and Diversity Meeting of Bahiana it was a real lesson in accessibility and education. The event took place on October 25, at Campus Cabula da Escola Bahiana de Medicina e Saúde Pública and had the theme “Academic training and professional development”, with a Librarian interpreter and audio description equipment for people with disabilities. The opening of the meeting was held by Angélica Mendes, coordinator of the Psychopedagogical Care Center (NAPP), together with the psychopedagogists Josélia Abreu and Ana Paula Barros.

Angelica Mendes highlighted the importance of Bahiana promote another edition of the meeting and the positive impact of this on the social environment. “We want to provide true, real and inclusive education, and we have a long way to go, as we have a lot to learn. I feel that the importance of these meetings is the gathering of people from our institution and other institutions to dialogue and share an experience of knowledge. We are very big, when we are together, when we bring the world to us, we grow and the world grows”, he explains.

The first roundtable, "Inclusion process of people with disabilities in the professional and academic environment", was attended by the educator and specialist in Inclusive Education, Cristina de Araújo Reis, who has low vision and told her life story, the difficulties and overcoming it faced in the academic environment. Cristina expressed how people with disabilities need to occupy spaces to ensure a growth process. “The inclusion of the disabled is important, in the sense that they are participating in the university, whether as a student, professor or technician. It is essential, because this academic environment is a formative space”, he stated. 

The pedagogue and PhD in Education Jaciete Barbosa dos Santos also participated in the table and spoke on disability seen as an extension of human diversity, on the laws for the inclusion of the disabled in the university, which are in force in Brazil, and on how to dialogue in events like this one, promoted by Bahiana, is an opportunity to face the challenges and prejudices existing in society.

The meeting also featured the presentation of the band Opaxorô, composed of members of the Association of Parents and Friends of the Exceptional (APAE). The musicians presented the show “Era Uma Vez”, in which they sang successful songs from old artistic productions. The show enchanted the entire audience, who danced and sang along with the band.

Cristiane Oliveira, a Psychology student at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), has a visual impairment and expressed how significant it was for her education to participate in this meeting. “People talk a lot about inclusion, but often, in these spaces, there is no presence of the disabled. The disabled need to talk about their difficulty and need. I found this event wonderful, I'm feeling included and I congratulate the Bahiana by the structure with excellent accessibility, as many institutions do not have this viable access for the disabled”.

Ian Araújo, Dentistry student at Bahiana, tells how relevant the structuring of a meeting dedicated to diversity is: “This event is very interesting, because we see the attitudes of the Bahiana regarding the inclusion of students with disabilities, but often we do not know how to behave properly in front of these people. So, it is essential to have contact with this meeting and understand how to live together and respect the differences in our social and academic life”.

The second roundtable of the event, "Gender diversity in the academic training process", was attended by the psychologist and former student of the Bahiana Álon Maurício da Silva, who addressed the challenges of LGBTQI+ people with disabilities. “It is important to talk about this subject, which, above all, is essential for the social role of the health professional”, he emphasized.

The event ended with the Professor of Dentistry from Bahiana Ricardo Araújo, who spoke about working with transsexual people, from the perspective of the pedagogical context and the health area.