Conference "Making Feminist Universities"

The activities take place at the Lavardén Platform, where a feminist book fair also takes place, and at the University Cultural Space.

La Universidad Nacional de Rosario It is the headquarters of the National Conference: “Making Feminist Universities”, which aims to share and update the advances and challenges of university feminisms. 

The conferences were visited by hundreds of participants from different public universities in the country, who gathered to discuss and work on various axes within the theme. In addition to the UNR, the event is organized by the Interuniversity Network for Gender Equality and Against Violence (RUGE-CIN) and the Ministry of Equality, Gender and Diversity of the Province of Santa Fe. 

The proposal has work groups for socialization, balance of experiences and production of concrete proposals on addressing sexist violence, mainstreaming of the gender perspective, conciliation policies, care and sex-generic diversity policies in the university system. .

The Conferences are organized by UNR, by the Interuniversity Network for Gender Equality and Against Violence, and the Ministry of Equality, Gender and Diversity of the Province of Santa Fe. 

The conference was opened by the rector of the UNR, Franco Bartolacci, the coordinating rector of RUGE, Sandra Torlucci, and the Minister of Equality, Gender and Diversity of the Province of Santa Fe, Florencia Marinaro. 

Rector Bartolacci thanked the UNR Gender and Sexualities Area team, and stressed that it has made a true revolution in gender matters in little more than two years, gathering a long and broad trajectory to produce changes within the University. “Real changes take place in institutions when borders are broken down and for that there must be many people who push from different sides to make it possible. We began to gain centrality with the gender agenda, which is why I want to acknowledge everyone who committed to making it possible", and added: "The University has to be a sounding board, and I am convinced that in the fight and march of feminisms there is a public mandate that as university students we must promote and accompany, but also take it to give new meaning to our institution from a different place, breaking parameters to produce transformations within”.

In addition, the Rector recalled that one of the first objectives of the management was to advance the implementation of legislation and provisions on gender in order to transform the University, and for this reason "it is necessary not to settle, to accompany what is done in this aspect because there is a genuine commitment to this agenda, and to be able to begin to measure how these implementations changed the lives of our communities to continue deepening this path, modifying errors and valuing successes”. 

Finally, Bartolacci defined that there is no place to fail in this feminist agenda and that "we must take on the challenge from all sectors, highlighting this way of feeling and thinking about the world."

Rector Bartolacci stressed that one of the priorities is to continue consolidating the feminist agenda.

On the relevance of this activity, the secretary of the UNR Gender and Sexualities Area, Florencia Rovetto, pointed out that it seeks to "generate a space for discussion where the experiences passed in each university that make up the map of university feminist policies are promoted and strengthen." She also emphasized that, as a result of these exchange tables, "a document will be developed that synthesizes the balance made and generates collective projections to consolidate inter-university articulation and with the different levels of the State."

For her part, Florencia Marinaro, emphasized that "the Government of the Province joins these conferences convinced that they contribute to deepening the exchange of experiences, articulations and projections with public universities, with the horizon of democratizing and territorializing access to higher education with a local and gender perspective”.

The Minister also stressed that the pandemic jeopardized the structures that society is going through, and that these political processes are not alien in terms of gender and sexuality. “I think there has been a great change in recent years within the National Universities, especially in the two in our Province, which opened up to being able to raise debates in these terms, giving them real importance and a place on the agenda. The path is to continue contributing to build popular and feminist universities.”

The opening took place at the Lavardén Platform, where representatives of different National Universities attended.

For her part, Sandra Torlucci, highlighted the commitment that different universities have had in recent years with the construction of more feminist institutions. “It is necessary to break the glass ceilings and start to create a different higher education system. The RUGE prioritizes actions on the agenda and it seems to me that this type of initiative is necessary to build that agenda that allows us to change the horizons”. 

The activities are being carried out simultaneously within the Lavardén Platform and the University Cultural Space, where special activities will be carried out with prominent national figures such as Marlene Wayar, who will be awarded the UNR Doctor Honoris Causa distinction within the framework of a public interview, Susy Shock and the Hummingbird Band, as well as the renowned Dora Barrancos, and international reference like Sara Ahmed.  

Journalist: Gonzalo J. García/ Photographer: Sebastián Suárez Meccia.