I am Lorena Julio, I was born and raised in Hilario Ascasubi, a small town in the south of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. I consider myself a Human Rights advocate. I have been working on promotion and protection of Human Rights in Latin America and the United States for the last 14 years. I hold a Master in Compared Public Policies and a degree in Social Communication. During my university studies I worked and supported different NGOs which work with vulnerable groups. I worked for 5 years at the Government of Argentina as Head of Press in the Human Rights Ministry of the Province of Buenos Aires as well as in the Coordination Team of the Vulnerable Groups Assistance Program. After that I worked in the international arena in the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington DC as Program Officer of the Young Forum of the Americas in the framework of the Presidents Summit. Later I took functions as Communications Officer at the Young Americas Business Trust, leading the youth networks from Latin America. In 2015 I founded Fundación Comparlante in Argentina with the aim of shortening the gap to access education and information for visually impaired persons. Currently, Fundación Comparlante is a non-profit organization that promotes the development and inclusion of persons with disabilities in Latin America. From technological tools, products and services, we promote accessibility, entrepreneurship and equity. Our goal is to ensure that this vulnerable sector of society has full enjoyment of their rights.
In 2018 I took a 7 months leadership course for social change makers at Kanthari in India where I had the opportunity to meet Rajagopal P.V. talking about Jai Jagat 2020. Immediately I wanted to join the march. Injustice is happening everywhere. I firmly believe to change that the commitment of all is needed. The discrimination that persons with disabilities suffer in Latin America is violence, the multinational companies taking the indigenous people’s land is violence, the fire in Amazonas is violence, refugees and migration current situation is violence, and we cannot look to the other way. I believe that other reality is possible through empathy and solidarity. We must unite and work together. My compromise is to join the march and communicate the day by day to Latin America, to create awareness and invite more people to get involved in this global action.