10th National Conference on Disability hosted by Sarthak Educational Trust Kicks Off in Gurugram
Gurugram: The 10th National Conference on Disability commenced at Apparel House, Gurugram, was inaugurated by Chief Guest Mr. Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary, Department of Persons with Disabilities (DePWD), GOI today. Themed ‘Glocal Partnerships (GPS) – Paving the Way for Inclusive, Accessible, and Sustainable World,’ the two-day event is a collaborative effort between the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disability, Sarthak Educational Trust, and the National Ablympic Association of India. It serves as a significant platform for stakeholders, fostering dialogues, collaborations, and envisioning an inclusive future.
Chief Guest Mr. Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary, Department of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), GOI while addressing the Divyangjan present shared “Focus on potential & achievements for a dignified life. Pick up Education, Vocational Stream or Entrepreneurship and take it up. More jobs will be open in Pvt Sector in times to come due to reservation”.
While addressing the corporates he shared, “Take a leap of faith and give them a chance to prove. Mentorship is most important if a specially abled is looking at Entrepreneurship to thrive. All departments need to collaborate and be sensitive and create more accessible spaces. Sign Language, Universal designs, Wheel Chairs ramps across landscape in government buidlings, hospitals, schools, police stations for accessibility issue is the need of the hour. We need Made in India assistive technology products for PwDs which will be affordable. AIl can work for Cerebral Palsy & Parkinsons for Speech correction, this technology needs to be explored. We need all to collectively work towards a 10x multiplier effect for offering a fulfilled life to the divyanjan in our society”.
Dr. Jitender Aggarwal, Founder & CEO, Sarthak Educational Trust shared, “Our Vision 2027 includes Empowerment of 10 Million PwDs across India, Sustainable Employment & Entrepreneurship for 0.2 Million skilled Youth with Disabilities, Expanding the CSO partner network under IDEA with 1000 partners; Supporting organizations in 50 developing countries; State-of-the-Art Global Resource Center which is opening its doors in Gurugram, with the staunch support of the Haryana Government and our funding partners. This transformative space will emerge as a testament to the commitment of our nation towards building a more inclusive society”.
The morning session ‘Focusing on Skill, Financial Empowerment & Excellwnce’ saw several corporate throwing light on the job opportunities, job roles, skillset building and Self Advocacy.
Ms. Bani Khurana, DI & TM, Reliance Retail: “We currently have hired 1600 specially-abled in our workforce. With Sarthak we have identified 80+ job roles across organization and the count is increasing. To the PwD’s I would like to say keep the passion on”.
Ms. Madhu Sharma, Senior Manager, Amazon shared, “Self advocacy is the key, identify your mentor and move ahead take the first step ro bridge the gap and create opportunities and utilize your strengths”.
Sarthak Educational Trust has been working since 2008 and in the last 15 years has successfully reached out to 4% (0.8 million) of disabled populace in India and Trained – 68,000 and Placed – 38000 PwDs empowering them to excel in their fields and inspire many.
Sarthak Educational Trust has a presence through 25 centers across the country-New Delhi (4), Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Lucknow, Bhopal, Jaipur, Kolkata, Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, Guwahati, Vishakhapatnam, Chennai, Thane, Patna, Varanasi, Ahmedabad, and are actively engaged in creating productive citizens of India through a life cycle approach – Early Intervention, Inclusive Education, Skill Development, Employment Generation, and Advocacy programs. For more details about free programs please visit (www.sarthakindia.org).