Challenges in occupational justice and social inclusion: Selected experiences within Valdivia’s civil society

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis paper presents a summary and discussion—from the viewpoint of occupational science—of the panel titled Challenges and Experiences of Social Organizations of Valdivia County, conducted during the First Occupational Justice and Social Inclusion Seminar held in Valdivia, Chile, in 2016. Based on the narratives of stakeholders from five social organizations, a theoretical discussion about four issues is introduced, namely; human rights, disability as an exclusion paradigm in Chile, citizen participation of disabled people, and diversity as a form of social inclusion. The theoretical discussion is aimed at identifying and further theorizing occupational (in)justice and social inclusion experiences following a sequence of actions towards achieving full rights. To improve our understanding, and although the themes respond to a universal language, context is provided on these organizations’ original areas as well as on the historical, political and social context of social organizations in Chile. The findings reveal the meaning of discourses and actions for the transformation of social processes aiming at social inclusion and occupational justice to reveal differences and everyone’s right to engage in meaningful occupations, both individually and collectively.