Past Events

A panel discussion is planned in the canton of Lucerne to mark the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. We will be talking about accessibility of counseling services for people affected by gender-based violence.

Date: Wednesday, November 26, 2025

Time: 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., followed by light refreshments

Location: Treibhaus Luzern, Spelteriniweg 4, 6005 Lucerne

The following questions will be discussed:

• What experiences have the various counseling centers had with women with disabilities (and other vulnerable groups)?
• Are they particularly affected by gender-based violence? Do they find it easy to access existing counseling services?
• Is specific expertise required when counseling these groups of people?
• How can access to counseling services be improved for various particularly vulnerable groups?

Discussing the issues:

• Irene Müller (co-director of the women's shelter and domestic violence education center),
• Prof. Dr. Paula Krüger (professor at the HSLU Institute for Social Work and Law, expert on violence and violence prevention across the lifespan),
• Nina Mühlemann (self-advocate and board member of the Avanti network (network of and for FLINTA* living with a disability or chronic illness)),
• Saphir Ben Dakon (inclusion expert and board member of Agile Die Organisationen von Menschen mit Behinderungen (Organizations of People with Disabilities)),
• Luisella Wildisen (counselor at the Victim Counseling Center of the Canton of Lucerne),
• moderated by Lena Berger (deputy editor-in-chief and editor at Beobachter).

The exchange session strengthens the skills of professionals and decision-makers in dealing professionally with discrimination. The focus is not on racial discrimination, but on discrimination based on poverty, disability, age, gender and multidimensional discrimination and corresponding strategies for action.

The focus is on the questions:

• What does discrimination mean?
• What instruments and protection mechanisms are available?
• What resources are available to professionals to recognize discrimination and take effective countermeasures?

Anisha Imhalsy and Saphir Ben Dakon will give a workshop in the afternoon from 3.00-5.00 p.m. in which they will shed light on the conditions for successful institutional opening in the context of underrepresentation.

The 2nd edition of the InkluVision inclusion festival at the Debattierhaus Karl der Grosse invites you to once again send a strong signal for an inclusive society and help shape our common future.

The focus of this year's festival is Article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: "Independent living and inclusion in the community". Accordingly, the focus of the program is on the topics of self-determination and community.

A first highlight of the festival is the opening evening with a panel discussion and a reading on the subject of participation. Other items on the program include a conference on the world of work, a workshop for people with disabilities on the topic of self-determination, a children's disco and an inclusion conference focusing on participation at work.

In inclusive schools, children with very different backgrounds learn together - children with and without disabilities, from different social backgrounds. This model has also become part of everyday life in the canton of Bern. But how well does it work in practice? What does integration mean for the people directly affected? And how can inclusion be implemented into classrooms?

Political lunch with:

Elvis, former pupil of the integrative school

Sarah Rubin, City Councillor Bern

Prof. Dr. Caroline Sahli Lozano, PH Bern, Head of the Inclusive Education Priority Program

Moderation: Saphir Ben Dakon, communication and inclusion expert

The lunch starts at 12:15 and lasts one hour.

Saphir Ben Dakon, communications and inclusion expert, will moderate this panel discussion, which aims to highlight possible courses of action for more inclusive religious communities.

People with disabilities also face various barriers when practicing their faith. For example, they cannot enter many sacred spaces without assistance because the necessary facilities are lacking, or Deaf people cannot follow a sermon because there is no sign language interpretation. In order for these people to participate in the life and activities of a religious community, it is necessary for sacred spaces to be designed to be barrier-free.

At this event, people with different religious affiliations will explain obstacles they face in this context and what measures would improve access to such spaces and enable them to take advantage of what is on offer.

The workshop "Between the lines. How ableism influences our communication" is about drawing the attention of cultural professionals to forms of ableism in words and images. The aim is to empower people to create inclusive calls. This is done by raising awareness of structural/social barriers that reproduce and cement discrimination against people with disabilities. Building on this, the influence of discrimination in interpersonal communication is addressed. There will always be room for reflection. With the newly acquired knowledge, we will work as a group on general practical examples of ableism in words and images.

In a final step, we look at an inclusive call and record in groups what we notice and discuss target-oriented ways to achieve an inclusive result. We also reflect on how our own thought process can be constantly questioned using a checklist and how inclusive language can be incorporated into our daily work.

The University of Applied Sciences of Eastern Switzerland is organizing a workshop on the topic of "Inclusive Diversity" with the aim of supporting companies on their way to becoming inclusive organizations. As part of this workshop, Saphir Ben Dakon will give an input on disabilities in the organizational environment.

What to expect in the workshop
In this workshop, you will learn the basics of inclusive diversity and how to recognize and reduce unconscious bias. Unconscious biases affect us all. They are deeply rooted in our thinking and often influence our actions unnoticed. However, this "pigeonholing" can lead to wrong decisions and make equal opportunities more difficult, for example in recruitment and promotion processes.

Through interactive exercises and methods, you will work out how inclusive diversity can be implemented in practice in your organization. In this way, you will create a working environment in which all employees can contribute and develop.

Orientation is important for all of us, on different levels and in different situations. Sometimes we have it. Sometimes we search for it. Not least in connection with cerebral palsy or other disabilities, orientation can be challenging. Do you also have (occasional) orientation difficulties?

That's why empowerment is important for people with disabilities, says Saphir Ben Dakon. She puts her words into action and provides input on the topic of spacial orientation at the symposium. She is a communication and inclusion expert from Zurich and is also active as a peer coach. In this role, she talks and reflects together with the participants what the term of "orientation" means exactly. Orientation requires self-empowerment and
the framework to get to know and communicate one's own concerns and requirements.

In a panel discussion, the participants will elaborate options for meeting heterogenous requirements regarding accessability. The subsequent reception will provide an opportunity for lively discussions and networking.

Accessibility can be challenging: In app and web projects, there are many demands that all need to be reconciled. We focus on these different perspectives and needs. The wishes and requirements of clients, the challenges of development and technology and the needs of users all have their place. Can all these aspects be brought together?

In addition to Saphir Ben Dakon, Arnold Goran from the Apple School, Roland Jaggi, Project Manager ETH Tours App, Esther Buchmueller, Head of the Competence Center for Accessibility and Inclusion at SBB, Stefan Reinhard, Bitforge and Pascal Hostettler, Bitfore will also be represented on the podium.

The event will be moderated by Helena Trachsel. She will shed light on how we deal with the tasks, implementations and expectations in digital accessibility.

As part of the Future Inclusion Action Days, we would also like to draw attention to the topic of intersectionality. To this end, the Parandalo Center is organizing various events on the topic of migration and disability.

Parandalo is the competence center for advice, support, information and mediation for people with a migration background.

This expertise will soon be available in writing in the form of a guide that makes Parandalo's experience and expertise available to other agencies.

Valdete Hoti, coordinator of the Parandalo Center, and Saphir Ben Dakon discuss self-determination and equal opportunities for people with disabilities and migrant backgrounds. They will be asking the following question:

• How can we ensure that people with a migration background and disabilities are aware of their rights and can exercise them and their duties?

Come and find out on Thursday, May 31, 2024, 18:30-20:30 at GZ Oerlikon, Gubelstrasse 10, 8050 Zurich.

Saphir Ben Dakon will give an input presentation on "Overcoming systemic obstacles - the influence of ableism on educational biographies and career choices" at the Integras conference on special needs education.

The aim of the presentation is to find answers to the following questions:

• How does the discourse surrounding the skills shortage affect children and young people with disabilities and their educational biographies?
• What systemic obstacles exist for people with disabilities in the education and labor market?
• How can networks support education professionals and how should such networks be structured?

There will also be a panel discussion on the topic of "Strengthening networks in times of skills shortages" with Saphir Ben Dakon as one of the guests.

Location: Eventfabrik Bern Service AG
Von Roll, Fabrikstrasse 12, 3012 Bern