| Venue:- Le Meridien Kochi, India |
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| Official Conference Manager |
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Conference Themes
Social Justice
Social Justice covers four major sub-themes as follows:
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Access to Justice: Life, Liberty & Livelihood |
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Scaling up Quality Education for All |
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Education & Employment of Persons with Disabilities |
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Assistive and Affordable Technologies |
Access to education is usually understood as an opportunity to get admission for various courses and programmes leading to certification. In non-formal situations it may mean creating awareness among the participants on a mass scale regarding livelihood, basic health, legal rights, including human rights and participation in all spheres of a democratic society which places emphasis on inclusive growth and development.However, often we find that educational access to the majority of people living in poor and developing countries does not go beyond formal admission or certification. Access in this sense does not lead them to success because of the shortcomings and failures of institutions and programmes which suffer from many weaknesses in terms of policy making, planning, execution, evaluation and governance. As a result, in many developing countries of the Commonwealth, the Certificates, Diplomas and Degrees do not provide justice to many who are otherwise academically qualified.
Low self-esteem, lack of job opportunities and poor standards are the negative indicators of the value and quality of educational programmes in developing countries. Where awareness programmes are aimed at mass audiences to improve their livelihood through day to day activities such as farming and skills-based economic activities, the common people are not sufficiently aware of the guarantees provided by the constitution and laws of their own country.
In order to provide them with their fundamental rights as citizens of an equal society, arrangements should be made to give them access to education, health and employment. ODL is ideally placed to make an impact on this dismal scenario through effective and imaginative use of different modes of education as well as appropriate and affordable technologies. |
