On the occasion of International Day of Persons with Disabilities (3^rd December, 2018) IGNOU’s National Centre for Disabilities Studies organized various programmes from 29^th November to 6^th December, 2018 starting with a thematic painting competition for children of different age groups having “Inclusive Education for Children with Disabilities” as the topic.

On 6th December, 2018 a sensitization lecture on ‘Challenges and Opportunities for Deaf Community in India’ was organized culminating the week long activities.  The lecture was delivered by Sh. Zorin Singha, Former President National Association for the Deaf. Dr. Hemlata, Director, NCDS welcoming the chief guest said that it is an honour for us to have Sh. Zorin Singha who has been an activist helping people with disability. She also remembered the association IGNOU has had with Sh. Singha while ISLRTC (Indian Sign Language Research and Training Center) was set up at the university. She also outlined the activities and programmes being run by the university. 

Sh. Zorin Singha in his address through sign-language which was interpreted by his son, emphasized on the need of having a standard sign language across India as there are many versions in different parts of the country. He also pitched for the Sign-Language to be accorded the status of a national language. Being a deaf himself, he talked about the difficulties being faced by the deaf people in India. He said that there needs to be better awareness of the issues faced by the Persons with Disabilities and interpreters should be available for deaf people.

Earlier setting the tone, Dr. S.K. Mishra, Deputy Director, NCDS said that out of the total population of persons with disabilities in India, more than one fourth is that of persons with hearing impairment and speech disability as per Census 2011. He stressed on the need for more to be done by governments, NGOs and society for inclusion of the differently-abled people. 

On 3^rd December, 2018 a teleconference session was conducted by the faculty of National Centre for Disability Studies (NCDS) Dr. Hemlata, Director (NCDS) and Dr. S. K. Mishra, Dy. Director (NCDS) from 3.30 pm to 4.00 pm on the topic “International Day of Persons with Disabilities”.

An Interactive Radio Counseling (IRC) session was also conducted by Dr. Hemlata, Director (NCDS) and Mr. Dipender Manocha, Founder Trustee, SAKSHAM and President, DAISY Forum on “Reading Options for Persons with Visual Impairment” from 12.00 noon to 1.00 pm on 4^th December, 2018 as part of the week long programmes.

A workshop was also held titled “Visual Made Verbal” on the topic of Audio Description of Movies for Visually Impaired to achieve the goal of “Content Equity” for the PwDs on 5th December, 2018. The workshop was conducted by Saksham Trust, an NGO involved in empowering Persons with Visual Impairment. The movie clips with audio descriptions were showcased to discuss the nuances of dubbing the movie for the visually impaired with audio descriptive commentary that captures the essence of the storyline without changing or diluting it.

Prizes were also distributed to the winners of the painting competition after the lecture. Vote of thanks was proposed by Dr. S.K. Mishra, Dy. Director, NCDS.