On Pride Day, the University of La Laguna (ULL) demonstrates its commitment to the fight for diversity and inclusion.

The University of La Laguna has shown its strong support for the demands of the LGTBIQA+ community by joining today, Thursday, June 27, in the celebration of Pride Day – which formally takes place tomorrow, Friday the 28th – with an event during which a statement was read. manifest In support of diversity and inclusion, the intersectional pride flag was also added to the website header and institutional social media profiles this week.

The Vice-Rector for Students, Rosario Hernández, was responsible for reading the manifesto, an adaptation for the University of La Laguna of the text agreed upon by the Network of Universities for Diversity, to which the academic center belongs. It highlighted the institution's commitment to inclusion and pride, characterizing itself as a safe space where all life choices can coexist in a climate of respect, without discrimination or violence.

The text championed education as a tool for achieving social transformation and specified that the university is not separate from the society in which it operates, and therefore considers itself an ally of those causes that defend human rights and pursue a society free of discrimination: “The University of La Laguna is feminist, LGTBIQA+, trans-inclusive, depathologizing, mestizo, inclusive, progressive, ecological, multilingual, anti-racist, anti-ableist, anti-patriarchal, follows the principles of equity and social justice and, above all, embraces family diversity, is visible and is proud of its community.”.

Rector Francisco García closed the event by reminding everyone that Pride Day is not just a celebration, but a social demand. He explained that we are currently experiencing setbacks that are questioning and even invalidating some hard-won rights. Therefore, he emphasized the need to continue fighting to recover lost ground and to incorporate new rights so that true equality is achieved and people can freely express themselves as they wish and feel. “We must continue fighting to remain an inclusive and safe space.”.

During the event, several members of the governing team and the Student Council read some poems related to the self-affirmation of one's own identity, love above all labels and the struggle for the recognition of individual freedoms, by authors such as Ana Rossetti, Cristina Peri Rossi, Luis Cernuda and Ángelo Néstore.