From her lived experience of disability to her work at the University of Padua’s Human Rights Centre, Manuela Viezzoli is helping turn inclusion into a practical reality. One example is a Regional Civil Service project that involved young university graduates, including Alessandro (a pseudonym).

“Human rights must be defended every day; otherwise, they risk remaining only words,” says Manuela. “When it comes to disability, many people struggle to understand their rights and even to recognise themselves as rights holders.”

Born in Rome forty years ago, Manuela has lived with spastic tetraparesis caused by premature birth. Throughout her life, she has sought to build her own path through meaningful relationships and a strong commitment to the humanities. “For me, the person always comes first.” Over the years, this belief has become the foundation of her professional work.

After earning a degree in Education and gaining professional experience at the University of Rome, Manuela joined the University of Padua, where she now works at the “Antonio Papisca” Human Rights Centre.

Her work focuses on inclusion, education, and the rights of persons with disabilities, with particular attention to the practical implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), adopted in 2006 and brought into force in Italy on 3 March 2009 through the ratification of Law No. 18.

In her daily work, Manuela explains, relatively simple "reasonable accommodations" are often enough to make education and employment genuinely accessible: personal assistance, organisational support, and appropriate tools and resources.

This need inspired a project developed jointly by the Oggi e Domani Foundation and the University of Padua through the Regional Civil Service programme.

The idea was straightforward: to pair Manuela with young participants who would receive training in human rights while providing practical support for her professional activities.

During the first six months, Alessandro, a 22-year-old graduate in International Relations and Human Rights, joined the project.

Working together, Manuela and Alessandro also explored the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in depth. “Manuela explained the Convention’s fundamental principles, its articles, and the rights it protects,” Alessandro recalls. “From there, we examined aspects of international law and later the Italian framework legislation for implementing the Convention.”

Speaking about rights means speaking about the real possibility for every person to live a full life: to study, work, participate in society, and shape their own future without barriers. Human rights are not merely abstract principles; they are the practical conditions that determine people’s inclusion, autonomy, and opportunities in everyday life.

The Civil Service project concluded on 31 March this year, and a new edition in 2027 will depend on the availability of funding. The relationship built through the project, however, continues. Alessandro still works alongside Manuela one day a week while preparing to begin a Master’s degree in International Relations and Diplomacy.

For both Manuela and Alessandro, inclusion is built not only through laws and projects, but above all through everyday relationships, shared experiences, and mutual listening.

“Without human relationships, there are no rights that can truly be protected. It is through people that rights become a genuine instrument of inclusion.”