New Delhi: The stage of 13th NCPEDP-Mphasis Universal Design Awards was visibly empowered when 14 exemplary awardees from eight states pan-India came on a common stage, showcasing their incredible strive to make an inclusive world through their innovative designs which are accessible to all irrespective of their age, ability or situation!
The Universal Design Awards is an attempt to recognize the individuals and organisations that have been doing outstanding work towards the cause of accessibility and thus ensuring a life of equality and dignity for people with disabilities. The three categories of awards are:
Category A – It is given to persons with disability who have created an innovative universal design which is accessible to all.
Following are the awardees for Category A who have made seminal contributions in making life easy and better for the Persons with Disability (PwDs).
1. Vidhya Y from Bangalore, who is making STEM education accessible for blind students through her entrepreneurial ventures – Vision Empower and Vembi Technologies.
2. Lalit Kumar from Delhi has developed the first free Braille translator for Indian languages. This software is available on his website WeCapable.com, which is also among the world’s most prominent disability information websites.
3. Soundarya K Pradhan from Odisha, a genius blind chess champion, has developed a website that supports the popular chess applications and reads the screen for visually impaired chess players.
Category B - The award is given to working professionals who have supported the cause of accessibility and inclusivity.
This year, Category B was conferred upon three working professionals who are doing a yeoman job towards empowerment through inclusion. They are:
1. Teresa Anthony from Chennai is the Lead Inclusive Designer at Chetana Trust. Her work is focused on creating accessible children’s literature. She has created over 400 Accessible story books which include some internationally awarded inclusive story books.
2. Robin Tommy from Kerala has been working passionately with over 5000 neurodivergent citizens. For over 10 years he has been researching and creating technology for redefining rehabilitation, therapy, communication, and skill development, thereby advocating their inclusion at the workspace.
3. Nilesh Panchal from Ahmedabad works as a special teacher and coordinator at Navjeevan Training Centre, a special school which is relentlessly working for mainstreaming physically and mentally disabled children.
There were two Jury Awards for this category. The first Jury Award went to Joe John George from Kerala, who is a developmental professional and has been working in the field of disaster risk reduction management. He has championed the concept of Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction (DiDRR). Currently, George is working with UNICEF as a DRR Consultant in Kerala.
The Second Jury awardee for Category B was conferred upon Diana Joseph from Kerala. Her efforts in making education inclusive under the Fourth Wave Foundation project – Nanagu Shaale – are appreciable.
Category C – This award goes to organisations or companies that have created a niche in establishing an inclusive ecosystem for the disabled people within their organisation. Following are the winners in this category:
1. Kerala School of Blind, Kerala, for its contribution towards empowerment of visually impaired students!
2. Accenture Solutions Pvt Ltd, Bengaluru for their remarkable work over two decades in ensuring disability inclusion.
3. NeoMotion Assistive Solutions, Tamil Nadu, for their incredible product Neofly and NeoBolt which have helped in easy and independent movement of wheelchair bound people.
4. Department of Social Welfare, Chandigarh. It has been recognized for their efforts in making disabled people empowered by inclusion and accessibility.
One Jury special award was given to Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, Delhi. The 13th NCPEDP-Mphasis Javed Abidi Public Policy Award has been given to pioneer activist of autism in India - Merry Barua from Delhi.
The award ceremony held on September 28 was graced by Ms Leenika Khattar, Director, NASSCOM, Ms Mamta Kohli, Senior Social Development Officer, FCDO, Ms Deepa Menon, Senior VP, PVR, and Mr Pradeep Gupta, Trustee, NCPEDP along with other dignitaries.
An insightful panel discussion on ‘Reimagining Accessibility - Our Roles and Vision for Future’ set the tone for the need of an inclusive digital and tech platforms to strive for an equal opportunity for all.
The jury members who guided to finalise the awardees were Ms Shilpi Kapoor, CEO, Barrier Break, Mr Pradeep Gupta, Chairman, Cyber Media Group, Mr Subodh Sachan, Director, STPI-HQ and Chief Innovation Officer, STPINEXT, Dr Sapna Poti, Director Strategic Alliances in the Principal Scientific Advisor’s Office, GoI, Prof Mukta Kulkarni, IIM-Bangalore, and Ms Deepa Nagraj, Global Head, Communications and Sparkle Innovation Ecosystems at Mphasis.
With the culmination of 13th NCPEDP-Mphasis awards, we sincerely hope that this is just the beginning in creating an inclusive world for persons with disabilities, where barriers to accessibility cease to exist.
