Quererla es crearla: An inclusive school for an inclusive society
On Sunday, October 23, 2022, Quererla es crearla called for a rally in Callao Square, Madrid (Spain) at 12:00 PM to advocate for an inclusive education system that serves as a precursor to an inclusive society. A rally for the fulfillment of a right that benefits everyone.
The manifesto for the Rally received over 100 endorsements from local, regional, national, and international entities and groups, and a large number of people gathered in the street to make it clear that we want Inclusive Education and we will support any person and group willing to create it, because this is how we advance in our humanity, and because this will be the best legacy for our sons and daughters, for future generations, and to help achieve a dignified life in society for all people, one that is sustainable and worth living.
For the fulfillment of a right that benefits everyone.
- Download the poster, available in PDF.
- Access the manifesto in English and Portuguese
The concentration in the media
Fragment from LaSexta Noticias Weekend, hosted by Cristina Villanueva.
Audio description [AD]:In Callao square, Madrid, the demonstration for more inclusive education is shown. A large group of people of different ages are gathered. At the front, many people hold a banner that reads: "Quererla es Crearla: a school for an inclusive society", "for the fulfillment of a right that benefits everyone". Next to it, another with the message: "We need inclusive education now", "Families for educational inclusion".
Various banners are visible among the crowd. One person holds a banner with a photo of a young person and the words: "For the rejections, for the walls, for the stares, for the mockery, for the denied rights, today I shout for inclusion". Next to it, another smaller fabric banner, held by several people, reads: "If you say so, it will be", "Basilisa Almendros". Belén Jurado, mother of Lucía, a young autistic woman, holds the book "La Mirada de Ángel: Diario de la Madre de un niño con autismo" (Ángel's Gaze: Diary of the Mother of a child with autism), by María Luisa Fernández. Some are wearing a paper pin on their clothes that says: "Quererla es crearla".
Other visible banners read: "I want my brother to learn happily like me", "Someday you will give feathers to all those who did not believe in your wings" from 'Revolta educativa', "From Nalón to Callao, we want and we create", "We are equally different" and "With everyone, like everyone", from Comisión NEAE. Foanpas.
Fragment from LaSexta Noticias Weekend, hosted by Cristina Villanueva.
Audio description [AD]:In Callao square, Madrid, the demonstration for more inclusive education is shown. In the foreground, Nacho Calderón, speaking to the camera.
Nacho Calderón - N.C.:—I'm Nacho Calderón, from Málaga, just one more in this movement. We demand that school must be inclusive, that it cannot expel anyone, and that all boys and all girls have the right to learn and to learn to live together, and to be together. And that's what we are demanding: that schools make the necessary transformations until there isn't a single boy or girl who is surplus in those schools.
The reality is that there are still many boys and girls who are expelled from schools, many others who are not explicitly expelled, but who have a very hard time in them, because their rhythms, their ways of life, their cultures are not respected... And schools have to change. They are obliged to change.
Inclusive education is a fundamental human right, recognized by the UN and also recognized by our country, by our State, through the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, but also through the LOMLOE itself, which states that it is a right of the students. But it is not fulfilled, it is violated. And we are here to say loud and clear that this has to change. That they comply with the law, yes. That they comply with the law. And that the things that are currently in contradiction with the Convention be changed, so that no boy or girl continues to suffer in schools or feels that it is not their place.
Interviewer (1):—Any additional measures?
N.C.:—Well, there are actually many additional measures. For this group, there are a lot of measures, there are a lot of proposals made that appear on the collective's own website, which show paths that can be used to make these schools more inclusive. It's a matter of actually wanting to do it, it's not a matter of anything else. It's a matter of political will and the will of citizens to say: we've had enough, and we will not continue to make space for schools that remain exclusionary.
Audio description [AD]:In the foreground, Alejandro Calleja, speaking to the camera.
Alejandro Calleja - A.C.:—Hello, good morning. I am Alejandro Calleja. We don't hold any official positions within this movement: we all belong to the "Quererla es crearla" movement. We want and strive to create a truly inclusive school for everyone. For everyone in general, not just for individuals labeled as having disabilities or functional diversity, because in the end, inclusion is a right for all; either we all win, or we all lose as a society. If we want an inclusive society, we must have inclusive education. And we, particularly, have been fighting for many years.
I am the father of Rubén Calleja, a young man with Down syndrome. We have taken our fight all the way to the Constitutional Court and to Strasbourg. In the end, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities ruled in our favor, issuing an opinion in which it demands that Spain ensure inclusive education, as a human right, as a fundamental human right, is real and effective, and that the rights of persons with disabilities are not violated.
Because we are talking about people, we are not talking… They have the same rights, the same equality, and the same dignity as everyone else.
Interviewer (1):—So you are asking the government to comply with the law, right?
A.C.:—Logically, because in 2008 the State signed the International Convention on Human Rights, and that Convention and its Optional Protocol are Spanish domestic law and oblige the State to comply with both the Convention and the Spanish Constitution, and it is not complying. On the contrary, the Committee itself has issued a ruling, a report, stating that Spain, as a country, as a State party, gravely and systematically violates the right to inclusive education for persons with diversity or disabilities.
Interviewer (2):—I arrived late, and that's why I'm asking you what you are demanding here.
A.C.:—We are demanding effectiveness. It is a right that is recognized, recognized both in the Spanish Constitution and in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and it is a constitutional right. It is a right, a human right, a fundamental human right, for it to be truly effective. We are not talking about ethereal things. No, in inclusive education we all have to be together.
I have several children, my child with diversity is with his siblings, his siblings with him, and in schools it is the same. And in society it is the same. We all have to be together because if not, we don't know each other and, in the end, if we want an inclusive society, we will have to start with a real, quality inclusive education. Not with the excuse that there are not enough supports… No, it is a right of the students, not a favor that the administration does. Because the right belongs to the students, not to the parents; it belongs to the students. They are the ones who truly have the right as persons to education and to inclusive education.
Interviewer (2):—What consequence does it entail that inclusive education is not being implemented?
A.C.:—Ultimately, the LOMLOE, unfortunately, does not contemplate inclusion as a right but as a principle, and it allows, through schooling reports, for students to be separated from mainstream school. By being separated, it ultimately becomes a death sentence both educationally and socially, because it expels people from school and from society.
Fragment from LaSexta Noticias Weekend, hosted by Cristina Villanueva.
Audio description [AD]:In Callao square, Madrid, the demonstration for more inclusive education is shown. In the foreground, Susana Fajardo, speaking to the camera.
Susana Fajardo - S.F.:—I am Susana Fajardo, I am a member of the 'Quererla es crearla' movement and also an Education councilor for the Mérida City Council, and we are here to demand improvements in education that allow all boys and girls to be educated together. Not only for those who are currently in schools, but for those who have already been through school and for those who are yet to come, which is very important.
Interviewer (1):—You mentioned that you want the Government to comply with the law.
S.F.:—Indeed. We must comply with the law. Be aware that this law exists, that this commitment to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities exists, is in force, and we have a commitment to fulfill it for everyone. We must be aware that the non-compliance with this right is causing harm to students. Not only to students who are discriminated against, because they might be expelled from school at some point, but also to students who stop interacting with each other.
Because equal opportunities are not just a certain number of resources, which are also important, we are talking about the fact that we are who we are because of the interactions and the people we have related to. And that is a difficulty that many boys and girls are encountering, the difficulty of relating to others, which is not being given the importance we believe it has and which makes us, as I say, who we are.
Interviewer (1):—What is the reality of this problem in Spain?
S.F.:—The reality of this problem in Spain is that regional legislation... Now the LOMLOE recognizes the right to inclusive education as a right, but a series of criteria are still being established that still allow for segregation.
Regional legislation also supports it, but furthermore, it's no longer just students with a certain label who are expelled; we are talking about boys and girls who do not find a response in school for other needs that do not necessarily lead to their expulsion.
We are talking about the right of boys and girls, of young people, and we are talking about a substantial improvement of what we know today as mainstream school so that it becomes a school for all students, and we are also talking about avoiding suffering for both students and families.
Interviewer (1):—And besides complying with the law?
S.F.:—Complying with the law would lead to having to apply those measures. We are talking about how on many occasions we focus the discourse on the need for resources, which is true that they are needed, but we are also talking about improving teacher training, so that it is not a specialization...
We are talking about implementing shared tutoring, or shared teaching, that UDL (Universal Design for Learning) has a greater presence in schools, that teacher training allows them to cover all of this in an adequate way and with adequate resources...
We are talking about a total change of perspective that will also lead, because we have to demand it, to an inclusive society.
Because keep one thing in mind: separated in school, separated in life. I mean, that student body that leaves does not return, and usually, as I tell you, the relationship aspect is very important, but it's also that we continue to be separated in terms of employment, for those who can work...
It is not a matter of productivity alone. It is a matter of dignity and human rights.
Audio description [AD]: In the foreground, Sesa Camean, speaking to the camera.
Sesa Camean - S.C.:— I am Sesa Camean, president of ‘Revolta Educativa’ and also the mother of a son with a complex chronic illness.
Interviewer (1):— Tell us what you are advocating for.
S.C.:— I advocate for an education for all.
Interviewer (1):— What is the reality in Spain currently?
S.C.:— That the laws are not being met, and that breaking the law in this country comes free of charge.
Interviewer (1):— According to the UN, Spain is not complying with the law, right?
S.C.:— Yes. What happens is that Spain turns a deaf ear, and this cannot be allowed any longer. My son has been fighting for 20 years for him to have a quality education, just like everyone else.
Interviewer (1):—They are demanding that the government, really, comply with that law.
S.C.:—We demand that they comply with that law with urgency and not delay it any further. They have the right to be and to belong. That they comply with the law, expand it, and provide educational centers with all the necessary resources. And that the resources go to the educational center, and that children are not segregated.
Children are the future of tomorrow, they are citizens of the present and the future, and they must be respected.
Audio description [AD]:In the foreground, Inés, speaking to the camera.
Inés:—My name is Inés, and I come from Palma de Mallorca. I have a 6-year-old daughter with Down syndrome and I am involved in several inclusive associations such as
'APIES' (Pitiusa Association for Educational and Social Inclusion), 'FARSEP', and 'Illes', from the Balearic Islands.
Interviewer (1):— What are you advocating for?
Inés:— Well, I am advocating for a right that benefits everyone, which is not a trend but a right in which we all must be involved: inclusion. We all have to be together, and resources must be provided.
I do not agree with having other educational modalities besides mainstream education; I do not agree with special education, combined education, or specific classrooms, and I believe that support and opportunities must be provided for everyone, starting with school and continuing with options after school.
In secondary education, support must be put in place so that people can graduate and are not segregated. This also applies to V.E. (Vocational Education) and university.
We all have to be together. It can't be that everyone fends for themselves and that people suffer and are left out.
And if Spain has ratified being in the UN, and defending the rights of persons with disabilities, then it must comply. It must comply once and for all. Because people suffer a lot and it's not right.
Interviewer (1):—What is the reality in Spain?
Inés:—Well, I think there's still a lot to do. It's true that progress is being made, and that more inclusion cases are emerging all the time, but there's still a lot to do.
And look, with the pandemic, people were teleworking in two days, companies had no other choice, and inclusion has to move faster, it can't be: 'Well, someday… Well, we'll see…'
No, these are the rights of people with diversity, with disabilities, which benefit everyone. It cannot be that it is seen and normalized that people are set aside. This cannot be.
I think steps are being taken forward in Spain, because it's true, and because we see more and more professionals involved, but there is still a lot to do. For example, in Portugal there are no special schools, and we need to copy good practices and move forward. Because it is everyone's obligation and a benefit that also enriches and helps everyone. Because you never know. In other words, our lives can change in two days, and no one should be left behind.
Interviewer:Are you asking the government to comply with the law and copy the model of other countries?
Inés:Yes, that we all learn from good practices. Surely here in Spain we can also contribute, of course, and there are many people who want to and help. Many people from different parts of Spain are here, but there is still, there is still a lot to do.
The politicians up there have to ensure that these rights are fulfilled through the law. That support is provided, and training is given, that there is awareness, and that resources are supported in schools... And that we all get involved.
Fragment from LaSexta Noticias Weekend, hosted by Cristina Villanueva.
Audio description [AD]:In Callao square, Madrid, the demonstration for more inclusive education is shown. A large group of people of different ages are gathered. At the front, many people hold a banner that reads: "Quererla es Crearla: a school for an inclusive society", "for the fulfillment of a right that benefits everyone". Next to it, another with the message: "We need inclusive education now", "Families for educational inclusion".
Various banners are visible among the crowd. One person holds a banner with a photo of a young person and the words: "For the rejections, for the walls, for the stares, for the mockery, for the denied rights, today I shout for inclusion". Next to it, another smaller fabric banner, held by several people, reads: "If you say so, it will be", "Basilisa Almendros". Belén Jurado, mother of Lucía, a young autistic woman, holds the book "La Mirada de Ángel: Diario de la Madre de un niño con autismo" (Ángel's Gaze: Diary of the Mother of a child with autism), by María Luisa Fernández. Some are wearing a paper pin on their clothes that says: "Quererla es crearla".
Other visible banners read: "I want my brother to learn happily like me", "Someday you will give feathers to all those who did not believe in your wings" from 'Revolta educativa', "From Nalón to Callao, we want and we create", "We are equally different" and "With everyone, like everyone", from Comisión NEAE. Foanpas.
Manifesto
Quererla es crearla: A School for an Inclusive Society
The people and groups who promote this initiative firmly believe in the need to transform and improve the Spanish education system from an inclusive perspective, with the conviction that, in this way, we contribute to the development of a society with greater equity, more just and, therefore, more democratic.
We share the basic moral principle of considering that all human beings are equal in dignity and rights, regardless of differential characteristics in matters of gender, ability, beliefs, social stratum, or any other, and that these characteristics constitute the richness of human diversity through which we shape plural societies.
We affirm that this conviction in favor of inclusive education is based on an extensive body of international norms, conventions, and treaties that, in matters of human rights, form an International Code of Human Rights, which gives legitimacy and legal backing to the aspirations that mobilize us to achieve deeper and more sustained progress in inclusive education.
We recall that the Spanish Constitution, according to its article 96.1, requires that international treaties that Spain ratifies in matters of human rights become part of its legal system and that, therefore, and due to their superior rank, lower-ranking norms (Laws, regulations, or other provisions) must conform to what is established in said treaties.
Sabemos, además, que el Sistema de Naciones Unidas ha establecido como uno de los principales Objetivos para el Desarrollo Sostenible, en el marco de la Agenda 2030 (ODS 4), el compromiso ineludible para todos los estados de avanzar, sin demora, hacia el desarrollo de sistemas educativos de calidad guiados por la equidad y la inclusión.
Somos conscientes de que esta ambición educativa y social supone necesariamente una transformación profunda y sistémica de los sistemas educativos vigentes, a través de un proceso que debe hacerse sostenible en el tiempo, y que requerirá de determinación, voluntad y recursos efectivos, pero que no puede dilatarse, porque la vida escolar y el futuro de muchas niñas y niños que hoy viven ya situaciones de exclusión está en juego, y no acepta demoras.
Nos apoyamos en un amplísimo corpus de conocimientos e investigación en este ámbito, realizadas con el más alto nivel y rigor, que han puesto de manifiesto que no solo es justo y necesario sino posible y factible el desarrollo de culturas, políticas y prácticas escolares inclusivas, y nos oponemos a que todo ello quede ensombrecido por falsas creencias, mitos, malentendidos, bulos y mentiras.
Exigimos una planificación coherente a corto, medio y largo plazo, acompañada de una inversión sostenida y suficiente para generar las capacidades adecuadas en el sistema y en los docentes de todas las etapas educativas. Esta planificación e inversión permitirá crear y construir culturas, políticas y prácticas escolares que encarnen los valores de igualdad, respeto a la diversidad y desarrollo de la libertad, de forma que todo el alumnado, sin eufemismos, pueda compartir un espacio común de aprendizaje y participación social, donde sentirse parte y formar parte del grupo de niños y niñas de sus barrios, pueblos o entornos, que se aceptan y reconocen por quienes son.
We act as free and responsible citizens, without ties to economic interests or any other kind, except for the best interests of children and the fulfillment of the rights that all children have recognized.
We are convinced that we are right, that we have legality on our side, and the ethics that care for the well-being, full life, and welfare of everyone, and here we declare:
We want Inclusive Education and we are going to support any person and group willing to create it, because this is how we advance in our humanity, and because this will be the best legacy for our children, for future generations, and to help achieve a dignified life in society for everyone, a sustainable one, and one worth living.
Endorsements
![Logo of Poten100mos [Potenciemos]. Three person silhouettes in simple lines within a rectangle. Behind their faces, circles in yellow, blue, and brown colors.](https://creemoseducacioninclusiva.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Poten100mos-logo.png){kind=logo}
