The partners of the ILSIR participated as invited speakers in the seminar "Diversity, Equality, Inclusion" on October 3, 2023

The seminar was hosted by the head of the Laboratory, Elena Iarskaia-Smirnova, as part of the course for sociology students "Diversity, Equality, Inclusion".

Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash

The invited speakers were Anna Bitova, the founder of the "Center for Remedial Pedagogy", and Grigory Syrkin, the head of the volunteer department of the Center, as well as Igor Novikov, the co-founder of the organization Everland and the head of the NGO "Space of Equal Opportunities".

— "Why are you involved in this?"

— "I was simply intrigued by a non-trivial task"

With these words, the meeting with the ILSIR partners began. One of the speakers, Igor Novikov, briefly shared his life story and the long and challenging journey that led him to engage in social projects. One of the key moments was his role as a dean, during which he "marketed" the law faculty to prospective students and their parents. One day, a mother of a child with a disability approached him, and a dialogue unfolded between them:

— "What do you think, can my child become a lawyer?"

— "Yes, of course. There are so many opportunities within the university"

But, as Igor recalled, he immediately asked himself, "Why am I lying? After all, the harsh corporate environment would push a person with a disability out, not allowing them to fulfill their potential". That's when Igor decided that something needed to be done, and that's how the idea of the "Everland" platform was born—an inclusive yet social and entrepreneurial project.

"We were naive when we started implementing the project", Igor notes, remembering how they initially thought they just needed to create an organization, assemble a team, and talented young individuals with disabilities would flock to them. The global concept behind the commercial aspect was ambitious: to "help humanity not destroy itself through inclusion." However, over time, the team encountered the harsh reality, unwillingness, and lack of understanding from others.

Within the seminar, there was a reminder to accept society as a given. If at first glance, inclusion seems to be about "people with disabilities", it is necessary to broaden the scope of what it means.

Igor Novikov examined challenging cases, such as the integration of people who have committed acts of violence or former inmates into society. Therefore, the seminar served as not only a source of theoretical inspiration for the students but also a practical guideline for working on applied projects.

According to Igor Novikov, for inclusion in the broadest sense to be a successful project that genuinely improves and dignifies people's lives, sociologists must equip managers with expertise. The speaker noted that in addition to specific theoretical knowledge and skills in organizing research methodologies, it's necessary to be able to translate complex scientific language into something understandable for managers and the general audience: "We need to speak louder, clearer, and simpler". By the way, this is also a principle of inclusion – increasing accessibility.

Representatives of the "Center for Remedial Pedagogy" talked about their organization's mission, which involves helping individuals with mental peculiarities acquire skills for independent living. Initially, the Center focused solely on the rehabilitation and education of children with such peculiarities, but later on, the organization also started providing assistance to adults.

Then, the students watched a film about one of the individuals under the care of the Center. Afterward, Grigory suggested that the students participate in a "social experiment", which involved answering several questions to reflect on their ideas of a dignified, good life. These questions revolved around the simplest yet fundamental aspects of life, such as what constitutes a happy life, the ideal number of rooms in a dwelling, preferred living companions, leisure activities, and free time management. But after each answer to these questions, Anna and Grigory shared insights into the lives of those under the care of the institutions.

In this way, the questions posed to the students led the group to contemplate the issue of living in institutions for individuals with disabilities. Do the conditions in such places meet the criteria for a happy life?

It's worth starting with the fact that getting into such an institution is much easier than leaving. Anna shared stories of people who had to grapple with life in these institutions. One particularly noteworthy case was about a girl who was declared incapacitated in early childhood due to academic performance issues. The commission making the decision about the girl's future "found" mental disorders that supposedly prevented her from managing her life independently. The result was her legal incapacity. Much later, it was discovered that her academic performance issues were actually caused by serious vision problems. The girl, who had been declared incapacitated in 15 minutes, fought for about 5 years to regain her rights.

It's challenging to imagine what it's like when your destiny is limited not just by external conditions or your own health problems, but by the decision of a group of people and the subsequent stigma. However, life doesn't end there. What lies ahead is the routine of living in an institution.

Being legally incapacitated implies restrictions on a person's choices: where to live, what to eat, what their daily schedule will be, and so on. Such a situation affects all aspects of life in most institutions. The residents there don't decide who they will live with, how much time they can dedicate to their own activities, or when they can venture out into the world "beyond the fence". Everything must be approved by the institution's management – they make choices on your behalf.

According to the invited speakers from our Laboratory, despite health limitations, a person should have the opportunities to make choices. The problem of living in an institution, linked to the loss of freedom and subjectivity, is not so much about the institutions themselves but the lack of alternatives. This is what the Center for Remedial Pedagogy seeks to address. Its mission is to provide people with choices and, equally importantly, to teach them how to make choices, offering them a language system that suits their health peculiarities.

Although the seminar was primarily dedicated to practical issues related to the lives of individuals with disabilities in Russia, after the meeting, students, based on the knowledge gained about people with cognitive differences, began to contemplate the phenomena of subjectivity, responsibility, and freedom, asking questions:

How does humanism align with an inclusive project? Using the example of the "Everland" team, which focuses on those categories of people who can truly be helped, it can be assumed that humanism ceases to be abstract and metaphysical and becomes quite rational and pragmatic.

Why do companies need inclusive principles? On the one hand, inclusive principles conform to quality standards, enhance the company's image, and sometimes meet consumer demands. On the other hand, they are an effective mechanism for solving complex economic challenges. In every company, one must find what is precisely needed: which group to integrate, inside or outside the company, and by what means? By answering these questions, a company will understand its motivation for implementing inclusive principles.

Our Laboratory expresses gratitude to our partners – Anna Bitova and Markovich Syrkin (Center for Remedial Pedagogy), Igor Novikov (Everland, NGO "Space of Equal Opportunities"), as well as Irina Krylova, Nikita Demenok, Anna Vasilieva, and Anna Samosudova for preparing the material about the seminar.