On the way to ALTER 2022

The ALTER 2022 conference on the trilogy "institution, deinstitutionalisation and disability" is not only a beautiful scientific opportunity, which is currently being prepared. It is also an opportunity for the academic community of the host institution to take up the issue of disability and to gather as an institution around a number of events that will be presented as stages.

First stage: teasing at the launch event of the new academic year for staff and faculty

At the invitation of the Rector of the USL-B, on 10 September 2021, a teasing event was held to announce the ALTER Conference and its related projects to the entire university community, in the form of a "dare you get carried away?".

Second stage: "reasonable accommodation" seminar

On 26 October 2021, it was the turn of a seminar on students with special profiles and reasonable accommodation, organised by the Educational Administration Service and AutonomiCap with the participation of UNIA, the Interfederal Centre for Equal Opportunities.

Third stage: Josef Schovanec, Anne Dasnoy and Christian Nile

Two highlights, then, with 180° conferences organised by the AutonomiCap team, the Rector and the Administrative Director of USL-B, with the idea that the university community should allow itself to be (over)taken by encounters with extraordinary speakers, in order to deconstruct, by this means, the institutionalised representations of disabilities.

The first conference took place on Thursday 16 December 2021, from 11.30 to 12.45, with a special guest: Josef Schovanec, philosopher and author, who awakened us to "The Art of the World Otherwise". Those who have already read or heard him will know: Josef Schovanec is one of those people who move, shake up and renew. Do you doubt it? Then listen to him!

The second conference took place on Wednesday 9 February 2022 at 19.00, with an invigorating duo  : Anne Dasnoy, psychologist, and Christian Nile, VRAS referent (emotional, relational and sexual life) at the AVIQ, gave a talk entitled "Handicap, sexuality, emotion,... and me???". We advise you to let yourself be moved by the questions that the speakers raise with brilliance and nuance: to your headphones!

Ongoing...

In parallel, discussions are underway to reflect on the accessibility of the University, not only at the ALTER conference, but also beyond. In accordance with its strategic plan for inclusion, the Université Saint-Louis applied in 2021 for the accessibility project proposed by the Commission de l'Enseignement Supérieur Inclusif (CESI) in order to reflect on improving the accessibility of its buildings to people with disabilities. In this context, the University benefited in September 2021 from a 4-day technical audit carried out on two of its three buildings (43 and 109) by the non-profit organisation AccessAndGo-ABP, an expert in the field of accessibility. Several actions are already underway. Accessibility plans for the venues where the ALTER conference will take place are being studied. The recommendations of the association will also bear fruit in the future, as major renovations are planned in one of our buildings as part of the European recovery plan, with the intention of drawing inspiration, as far as possible, from the audit's recommendations.

In addition, discussions will soon be held with students, some of the University's administrative services and the Vice-Rector for Education to consider the possibility of setting up various projects related to the issue of disabilities. More information will be provided as soon as the meeting takes place.

In short, the momentum is there; discussions and projects are underway. Other ideas will emerge; it is up to us to create the desire and federate the troops around it. Not everything will be achieved by 7 and 8 July 2022. But we can be sure that the conference will be a decisive step on the road to the gradual implementation of inclusive systems that are meaningful for everyone. Cheer up!