A Victim of Discrimination Now Helps Others Avoid It

New York Times

06-03-2025

The first time she encountered discrimination, Isidora Uribe Silva said, she was 12.
'Up until that point, having cerebral palsy was never a problem from the perspective of others, but when I changed schools, I was bullied by my classmates,' said Ms. Uribe Silva, who relies on a walker or cane to get around. 'My teachers and the school wouldn't accommodate me, and I was increasingly isolated.'
Ms. Uribe Silva (whose birth name was Isidora Guzmán Silva) said that she ended up leaving and didn't attend school at all for seven months until she found Institución Teresiana in Santiago, Chile, where she still lives, which was willing to accept her with her disability.
'This experience made me deeply aware of the systemic exclusion that exists, not just for myself but for many other marginalized communities worldwide,' said Ms. Uribe Silva, now 20 and a law student at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. She became an advocate for inclusion policies, working to promote equality in Chile and globally, especially for women like her who have disabilities.
Ms. Uribe Silva was 13 when she developed an app, Encuentra Tu Lugar (Find Your Place), to help disabled people in Chile find accessible parking spaces. Subsequently, she established a foundation of the same name and broadened her goals.
She is a member of the Generation Equality Adolescent Committee of U.N. Women and was selected to be part of the U.N. Women Leaders Network, established during the U.N. General Assembly's annual session in September; the group advocates for gender-equal participation in leadership and in decision-making processes.
Ms. Uribe Silva was interviewed by phone and email. The conversations were edited and condensed.
Can you tell me more about the discrimination you faced that led you to become an activist?
The school I attended when I was 12 was willing to make only limited changes to accommodate me. I needed a larger bathroom stall where my walker would fit, and have access to an elevator and ramps. I also needed more time to take tests because writing took a long time because of my motor skills.
I was excluded from physical education classes and team sports. I had no choice but to leave.
Through Institución Teresiana, I learned about and joined Tremendas, a foundation in Chile led by adolescents and women who promote gender equality. I met incredible change makers and realized how few women with disabilities were present in leadership roles. This led me to start taking action to help women like me and promote equality for everyone, regardless of their backgrounds or limitations.
How does your foundation, Encuentra Tu Lugar, work to promote inclusion?
Encuentra Tu Lugar was born in 2018 as a parking app but never launched because the pandemic hit.
I decided to take a different path. Realizing that inclusion needed to be more accessible in people's daily lives, I created a web platform that provides information about inclusive public spaces, such as schools, cafes, stores and the workplace. An inclusive space is a place where all people are welcomed and accommodated.
However, I knew it was also necessary to empower society through awareness. That led me to expand Encuentra Tu Lugar's mission to focus on inclusive education and accessible workplaces to promote employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
I developed the concept of Agentes Inclusivos, or Inclusive Agents, a volunteer network of 50 young people in Chile who strive to provide information, resources and advocacy opportunities that promote inclusion locally. We want to ensure that inclusion is not just a concept but a practical reality that translates into changes.
Can you tell me about your involvement in Pope Francis' University of Meaning?
A group of education experts worldwide, including me, collaborated with the pope in 2024 to open the University of Meaning, a public university in Vatican City that tries to help youth worldwide find meaning in their lives.
I was invited by the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean to the Vatican in May as part of this group to help develop the school's curriculum. I was there for three days and was asked to give a speech at the final event about my life experience.
Has your youth benefited or hindered your cause?
When I started speaking out, I was intimidated because I lacked experience. At the same time, I was eager to learn. I soon realized that my youth could be my greatest strength. I could inspire other young people to step into nontraditional spaces and challenge existing norms.
I have also encountered challenges: Sometimes, I wasn't taken seriously enough, overlooked for opportunities because of my age or only considered for minor roles that did not involve substantive change.
How has connecting with others on the Generation Equality Adolescent Committee of U.N. Women informed your cause? What have you learned from them?
Participating in the committee has helped me understand how activism about our causes can be transformed into concrete public policies and allowed me to see how bringing together women worldwide can achieve gender equality.
We have collectively launched incredible projects, such as the Youth Forum at the 66th session of the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women, where we emphasized the importance of climate justice when addressing climate change and the need to incorporate the perspectives of people with disabilities in mitigation policies.
We also contributed to creating the Global Adolescent Girl Leadership Town Hall, an initiative by U.N. Women to provide a safe space where girls worldwide can share their experiences and advocate for policies that reflect their realities. This town hall has helped connect young activists with global leaders and promote an intersectional approach to decision-making, addressing issues such as gender, education, sexual and reproductive rights, disabilities and climate change.