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Rosângela Berman Bieler (Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro - October 31st in 1957) is  a  journalist,  editor and Brazilian activist on the rights of people with disabilities. She is the current Global  Senior   Advisor   on   Children   and Disability at United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Rosangela was one  of  the  founders  of  the  Movement  for Rights of Persons with   Disabilities   and   the   Independent Life Movement   in Brazil (MVI). Also, she was a representative of Brazil to the Disabled People's International (DPI), vice-president    of     Latin     America     of     the     Rehabilitation International (RI) and a regular consultant to the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB). Rosângela is the Head and  founder  of  the  Inter-American  Institute  on Disability  and  Inclusive  Development  (iiDi),  an  ONG created   to   promote   the   rights   and   empowerment  of  people  with  disabilities  in  the Latin  American  region,  as  well  as  in  Portuguese-speaking countries.

Childhood and education
Bieler was born in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Her mother was Argentinian of Turkish ascendancy and her father was Brazilian of Russian ascendancy. She is the oldest between her two brothers. At childhood,  she  frequented  a  Judaic  school,  was  a  volleyball  player, and appreciated guitar, music and art. At 1970 decade, she studied Communication and Journalism at Pontifical Catholic University  of  Rio  de  Janeiro (PUC-Rio). Besides her studies in a journalist, Rosângela got a master’s degree in Social Inclusion of People with Disabilities at the University of Salamanca, Spain.

Youth and the beginning of activism
At the age of nineteen, she suffered a car accident that left her paraplegic. The  medical   treatment   she   received   at   Brazilian   Beneficent   Association   for   Rehabilitation (ABBR) was  fundamental  to  her  rehabilitation  process,  making  her  re-adaptation  to  the  new situation  possible. During the treatment,  she  met  people  who  became her  friends  and  activist partners,  like  Lilia  Pinto  Martins,  Flávio  Wolf,  Sheila  Bastos  Salgado,  José  Carlos  Morais, Celso  Lima, Izabel Maria Loureiro Maior,  Maria  Paula  Teperino,  Carmen  Galassi,  Paulo  Roberto  Guimarães Moreira, Maruf, Elaine Aride and others. It was also during her rehabilitation process in 1977, that she started  to  work  as a public  relations  person at the  Club  of  the  People  with  Disabilities Friends (CLAM/ABBR). In the same year, she joined the  Association   of   the   Physically   Handicapped   in   the   State   of   Rio   de Janeiro (ADEFERJ). In 1983, she was one of the founders and the first national coordinator and editor of the Organização Nacional de Deficientes Físicos (ONEDEF).

Foundation of the Center of Independent Living of Rio de Janeiro
In 1988,  after  traveling  to  the  United  States  where  she  found out about the  Independent Living Movement, she founded with Lilia Pinto Martins and Sheila Salgado, in Rio de Janeiro, the Center of  Independent  Living  of  Rio  de  Janeiro  (CVI)  the  first  in Brazil. This was the beginning of a movement for social inclusion and autonomy led by people with disabilities themselves, which did not accept to living segregated from society, at the mercy of institutions, specialists and relatives that decided for them.

Involvement in the Movement for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Brazil and in Latin America
In 1984, there was a total renewal of ideas within the Movement for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Brazil. The end  of  the  National  Coalition  which  reunited  all  the  disability  conditions, brought the biggening of national federations by each disability condition: National Organization of Disabled  People  Entities  (ONEDEF),  National  Movement  of  Reintegration  of  the  People  Hit  by Hansen’s Disease (MORHAN), National Federation of Education and Integration of the Deaf (FENEIS) , Brazilian  Society  of  Ostomized(SBO)  and  the  Association  of  Cerebral  Paralysis  of Brazil (APCB). Therefore, from  1984  onwards,  what  happened  in  Brazil  was  a  very diverse movement,  organized by type of disability, articulated as a Brazilian Council of People with Disabilities.
 * In the international arena, our organizations joined Disabled Peoples International (DPI), the global organization that reunites all disability groups. The blind joined the World Blind Union and the Latin American Blind Union; the deaf joined the World Federation of the Deaf. From there, we started to articulate ourselves internationally, strengthening the movement, carrying Brazil to a wider and more participative scenery, and beginning to act in th Latin American region (BIELER, 2010, apud LANNA JÚNIOR, 2010).

The official foundation  of  the  National  Organization  of  Disabled  People  Entities  (ONEDEF) happened during the first National Meeting of the Physically Disabled, in Brasilia, from April 13 to 16,  1984,  when  the  general  assembly  of  the  organizations  of  physically  disabled  approved the statutes and defined the scope of its fight for disability rights. Rio de Janeiro was chosen to hold the National Coordination of the (ONEDEF), whose coordinator was Bieler. As president of the Center of Independent Living of Rio de Janeiro (CVI-Rio), in 1993, Rosângela prepared the document “National and International History of the Movement of People with Disabilities” which recap the chronology of the movement.

Gender perspective
In the  report  “National  and  International  History  of  the Movement  of  People  with  Disabilities”,  Bieler  review the   role of women   with   some disability  in  the  context  of  the  global disability movement. In 1984, Disabled People's International (DPI) made a World Congress in Canada, when, for the first time, women with disabilities expressed themselves as group and demanded to have voice in the disability movement. Even in that context, there was a feeling of exclusion as the main leaders were unanimously male. As consequence of this, the organization Disabled Women’s International, a dissent in the DPI, was created. In addition, the DPI members choose a women's committee as part of the organizational structure, starting to ensure, at least formally, the  participation of women with disabilities. In April, 1992, Brazil sent to Canada a delegation of eleven women in order to participate in the World Conference of Women with Disabilities organized by the World Coalition of Women with Disabilities. The event was result of the United Nations Convention on Women and Disability, in which Rosângela participated as a guest specialist. It was the first time that women with disabilities were considered as a particular group in an international summit of vulnerable women, which generated specific recommendations.

HIV and Disability
Between 2008 and 2013, some Bieler’s work focused on the interface between disability and HIV, which contributed to the visibility of very important topics such as the sexual and reproductive rights of people with disabilities, and the need to make HIV and Sex information and education accessible in adequate formats as well as provide adequate treatment to women and men with disabilities who had HIV around the world.

==== Contributions to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) ==== Rosângela had a constant and strategic role during the process of articulation, development and approval of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The production of the Convention’s text involved the participation of the disability movement as well as specialists and representatives of several UN member states. At the 8th meeting, the Committee President emphasized the presence of 800 civil society activists from all parts of the world. Indeed, disable people organizations had an active role in preparing this unique human rights treaty. Civil society leaders from all over the world gathered at the International Disability Caucus (IDC), a system composed of more than 70 international, regional and national organizations of people with disabilities, and active ONGs in the area.

Inter-American Institute on Disability and Inclusive Development (iiDi) creation
The Inter-American Institute on Disability and Inclusive Development (iiDi), was created in 2005, as a meeting point for activists and professionals with and without disabilities. From the beginning iiDi worked with support from various UN agencies such as the World Bank and Organization of American States (OAS) to advocate for disability rights and influence international cooperation to advance inclusive public policies in the Region. Nowadays, iDii continues promoting inclusive development in Latin America with a focus on preparing a new generation of young activists through the META network.

Focus on children (UNICEF)
In 2013, Bieler led the preparation of the first UNICEF thematic study on children with disabilities. The State of the World's Children 2013: Children with Disabilities the report marked a turning point in the information produced on this topic and the way that several agencies approached disability issues, emphasizing a rights-based approach and the principles of equity and diversity. The report seeks to send the following message to governments and societies worldwide: "See the child, not the disability". After presenting this global vision, Rosângela's work was directed towards mainstreaming the theme of disability in all areas and programmers of UNICEF with the aim of ensuring global impact on the global development agenda. A UNICEF policy and global strategy on inclusion prepared by her and her team was approved and is being implemented. Her work also brought a gender approach and promoted the use of assistive technologies to contribute to inclusive education for children and adolescents with disabilities worldwide.

Personal life
Bieler got married with Michael Christian Bieler, who died in 2011, after 25 years together. Her daughter, Mel, was born in 1986.

Leadership and affiliation

 * 2011-2022: United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Global Senior Advisor in Childhood and Disability
 * 2011-2022: United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Chief of Disability Area.
 * 2004-2010: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB), Advisor.
 * 1989- currently: Ashoka Social Entrepreneurs, Social Entrepreneurs.
 * From 1980 decade until 1990 decade: Disabled People's International (DPI), Representative of Brazil.
 * From 1980 decade until 1990 decade: Rehabilitation International (RI), Vice-president of Latin America.
 * 2001: Inter-American Institute on Disability and Inclusive Development (iiDi), Founder and Director.
 * 1988: Independent Living Center of Rio de Janeiro (CVI-Rio), Founder and President.

Awards and recognition

 * 2007: Award International Service Human Rights in the category: “Defense of the Human Rights of the People with Disabilities”
 * 2009: Award Human Rights in the category Guaranty of the Rights of the People with Disabilities. This is the main grant of the Brazilian Government on the Human Rights area, created by Presidential Decree in 1995.

Other publications and interviews

 * Voices on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
 * Being a Disabled Mother: Parenting and Family
 * Brazilian activist awarded the International Service Human Rights Award
 * Podcast episode ‘Leaving no one behind’, Rosângela Berman-Bieler
 * Global Disability Summit: Leaving no one behind, Episode 8
 * CVI of Rio: much history to tell


 * “If the movement is not ruled by the human rights, it does not generate what it has to generate”


 * “The strength of a militant”