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Svayam Founder featured on AXSChat

Dear Colleagues,

#AXSChat is an open online community of individuals on Twitter, dedicated to creating an inclusive world who believe that accessibility is for everyone. Every week, #AXSChat features a different guest who is contributing to making the world a more inclusive place through technology or innovating to enable wider participation in society for people with disabilities.

In this series, on 24 February 2018, our Founder-Chairperson Ms. Sminu Jindal was invited by AXSChat team for an online interview.  The live interview conducted by Mr. Neil Milliken (England), Mr. Antonio Santos (Ireland) and Ms. Debra Ruh (United States) focused on a number of issues around accessibility, sustainability, ICT, Smart Cities and Svayam’s contribution towards an inclusive world.

Ms. Jindal spoke at length on importance of raising awareness about accessibility and how it benefits everyone and not merely the persons with disabilities. She highlighted the grey areas in transport sector especially the aviation sector where long haul flights still did not consider accessible toilets as a necessity and why the stakeholders across the world continue to suffer in silence without making a hue and cry about it! She emphasized that on-board accessible toilet isn’t a luxury but a basic human right for persons with reduced mobility!

She also said that youth need to be sensitized as they can become change makers for a more sustainable and accessible world. Ms. Jindal emphasized on the importance of accessible toilet at every school in rural areas, so that the people still not exposed to the benefits of the accessibility are able to experience the benefits and be inspired to make their own toilets accessible. This would also enable the persons with reduced mobility such as older adults to contribute to national building.

Watch the full interview here and continue to support #Accessibility4All

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October 2017: BULMIM students complete their internship at Svayam

To raise awareness about Universal Design and Accessibility  in the young minds so that they become more receptive to the diversity and inclusion in their lives and career, Svayam provides internship opportunities for graduate and post graduate students of various streams.

In this series, final year students of PGDM program of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Usha & Lakshmi Mittal Institute of Management (BULMIM), New Delhi underwent their internship during 25 September 2017 to  14 October 2017.

Group Photo of students at Gargi Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, Green Park, New Delhi,
Site visit of students to Gargi Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, Green Park, New Delhi,

As part of the internship, a batch of 16 students attended sensitization and awareness workshops on disability equality, accessibility and universal design, and were exposed to the process of conducting access audits of built environment (Govt Schools & Pedestrian infrastructure) from the perspectives of its usability by persons with reduced mobility and making presentations of audit reports of the sites visited.

Ms. Sminu Jindal, Founder Svayam, handing over Internship Certificates to Interns
Ms. Sminu Jindal, Founder Svayam, handing over Internship Certificates to Interns

Upon completion of their three-week long internship, Ms. Sminu Jindal Founder and Chairperson, Svayam, handed over the Internship Certificates to them on 12 October 2017.

Sharing their experiences about how their attitude has changed, a student said that he never looked at the built environment from this perspective. Now he will go back to his city as a changed man and will sincerely attempt to make his town accessible and spread the message of inclusion, accessibility and universal design. Similar ethos echoed with every student.

Ms. Sminu Jindal motivated them to work for accessibility and said, “Accessibility helps everyone, and not just the disabled. An elderly person can independently step out and do their daily chores without depending on other people. Accessibility ensures that they live, and not just breathe.”

“Wherever you go, whatever you do in life, add your efforts to make your surroundings accessible, and change the attitude of those who come across you,” she exhorted the students, and wished them good luck in their future endeavours.

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Svayam conferred GAATES Award of Recognition 2015

We are proud to announce that Svayam has been conferred with the prestigious GAATES Award of Recognition for the year 2015 in an event held on the sidelines of the 95th Annual Meeting of Transport Research Board of National Academics, USA on January 13, 2016, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, in Washington, D.C.

The award was conferred on SVAYAM  & TRANSED in recognition of its commitment to Accessibility & Universal Design in Built Infrastructure, Mobility & Transportation for Elderly & Persons with Disabilities and UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Svayam hosted the 13th International Conference on Mobility & Transport for the Elderly & Persons with Disabilities (TRANSED 2012)  during October 2012 at New Delhi and now hosts the permanent secretariat for TRANSED Conferences.

Picture of Svayam being conferred the GAATES Award of Recognition 2015
Subhash Chandra Vashishth & Sonal Chaudhry from Svayam receiving the GAATES Award of Recognition – 2015 at the hands of Mr. Mukhtar AlShibani, President of GAATES.

We sincerely thank GAATES for this appreciation!

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Accessible India Campaign isn’t just for 2% of the population. Let’s all make it work.

By Ms. Sminu Jindal, Founder Svayam & MD, Jindal SAW Ltd. 05 Feb 2016

Often one fails to realise how “disability” is related to one’s environment. Isn’t it amazing that with enabling infrastructure, disability vanishes? Even those who are “able-bodied” may not be so continuously, which makes it all the more surprising that we give accessibility such little importance. If you’ve ever accompanied an elderly person to a public building without a ramp, or given a hand to a pregnant lady who may need to hop off a bus, you’ll know what I am talking about. This is something I’ve been all too familiar with since the time I became a wheelchair user at age 11. My father got a ramp built in my school so that I could attend my school like anybody else.

Today, while inclusive education is a legal mandate, lack of enforcement still keeps schools and colleges inaccessible to students and teachers with reduced mobility. Can we not see the opportunities lost to a nation when we keep back people from realising their full potential? How many Stephen Hawkings and Helen Kellers might we be setting back?

Isn’t it amazing that with enabling infrastructure, disability vanishes?

Even those of you who have not faced disability may have experienced the barriers of an inaccessible environment at some point in your lives. A fracture, sickness, age or just being in the family way can make anyone realise the significance of barrier-free infrastructure. Civilisation is all about making life safe, easier and dignified for everyone. This is why accessibility is a matter of grave concern for the public at large, and not just for the purported 2% of the population who are “disabled”.

Despite India having won its freedom in 1947, many Indians, sadly, continue to be denied the dignity and freedom of mobility. In America, it took a Vietnam War for the entire country to be made disabled friendly. Our brave soldiers who fought several wars and terror attacks and lost their limbs in the process are still waiting to be mainstreamed due to lack of accessible infrastructure.

It is vital that anyone with limited mobility — temporary or permanent — be assured a normal life. In India the human spirit of adjustment has been stretched to absurd limits, so much so that the family of a disabled person is ready to adjust rather than verbalise the need for access. Also, the lack of sensitivity towards people with mobility challenges stems from a deep-rooted fatalistic belief-system in which a handicap is viewed as a result of bad karma in past births!

A fracture, sickness, age or just being in the family way can make anyone realise the significance of barrier-free infrastructure.

In this light, the announcement of the Accessible India Campaign has been a breakthrough for all of us. This campaign seeks to make a significant number of public buildings, transportation systems, ICT, accessible to persons with disabilities. I applaud this initiative, as besides setting defined timelines and requisite funds, it demonstrates the government’s will for the first time.

However, there are challenges ahead. Given the huge number of buildings to be access audited, there is a dearth of trained auditors. To move in a systematic fashion, the government must ensure that a good number of access auditors are trained by a pre-qualified team of master trainers. Along with this, the government must direct changes in the curricula of architecture and engineering courses to integrate universal design and accessibility. Similarly, accessibility should be a non-negotiable parameter for permitting any new building plan.

I also feel the most important aspect for making this campaign a success is raising awareness in the larger community that accessibility just doesn’t enable the elderly or disabled but raises the quality of life for everyone.

Currently, we are working in the islands of accessibility. The Metro is accessible yet last mile connectivity from people’s home is missing. Lack of information on accessible routes, inaccessible hospitals, inaccessible public toilet units, one disabled-friendly bogey a train, flouting norms of disability access even in five star hotels makes us feel there is a stronger need for stricter enforcement. Therefore, the campaign must also look at creating mechanisms for strict enforcement and introduce heavier penalties in cases of non-compliance and misuse.

We hope that this campaign doesn’t remain confined to Smart Cities or only urban areas, but that it reaches rural India too.

I believe in the goodness and sensitivity of our citizens and I hope that there’ll soon come a time when accessible pedestrian pathways will not be encroached on or misused for driving bikes. That the citizens will appreciate kerb cuts, right gradient ramps, tactile paving, pedestrian crossings and will also report broken or non-working facilities to the concerned authority — for rights come with duties!

We hope that this campaign doesn’t remain confined to Smart Cities or only urban areas, but that it reaches rural India too. For the Accessible India Campaign to be a success, it must become a movement first. And each of us must embrace it because, at some point in our lives, we all stand to benefit from it. Let’s leave hope in our wake for our future world.

Source: Huffingtonpost 

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PM directs formation of Committee of Secretaries to monitor AIC

Committee of secys to monitor Accessible India campaign

Press Trust of India | New Delhi
January 18, 2016

The Govt. of India has constituted a committee of secretaries on  the directions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to monitor  the implementations of the ‘Accessible India Campaign’,  which aims at making public spaces accessible to people  with disabilities.

A committee of secretaries under the chairmanship of  Cabinet Secretary has been formed to review the progress of  ‘Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan’ which was launched on December 3,
the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

The campaign was launched with a view to ensuring ease of  access for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) in government  buildings, public transportation and the information
technology field.

The first meeting of the committee was held on 18 January 2016 with the  secretaries from Department of Empowerment of Persons with  Disabilities under the Social Justice and Empowerment  Ministry, Civil Aviation, Road Transport and Highways,  Information and Broadcasting etc.

“The Prime Minister had written to Cabinet Secretary  following which a Committee of Secretaries has been  constituted to monitor the implementation of the campaign.

“The idea is to involve other ministries to effectively  deal with hurdles that may arise in the implementation of  the campaign,” a senior official in the Disability Division  in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment said.

The Committee will draw a plan of action. Also, they will hold regular meetings to see that the targets are met in a  planned and focused way, the official said.

As part of the campaign, 50 government buildings in 20  tier-1 cities and 25 in 20 tier-2 cities will be made  accessible for disabled people by July this year.

This covers building disabled-friendly steps, ramps,  corridors, entry ways, emergency, exists, parking as well as indoor and outdoor facilities, including lighting, signage, alarm systems and toilets.

Also, all the 18 international airports will be made  disabled-friendly by July, while the remaining 78 domestic  airports will be completed by March 2018.

Five major railway stations with the most footfall will be  made disabled-friendly by July, while 50 per cent of all railway stations will be made accessible by the community
by March 2018.
“Ideally, a disabled person should be able to commute between home, work place and other destinations with  independence, convenience and safety. The more persons with disabilities are able to access physical facilities, the  more they will be part of the social mainstream,” the  official added.

Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities is  collaborating with Ministry of Home, Ministry of Health and  Family Welfare and Ministry of Tourism for creating
‘Accessible police stations’, ‘Accessible hospitals’ and  ‘Accessible tourism’ respectively across the country.

The Department is also coordinating with the Ministry of  Information & Broadcasting for enhancing accessibility of  Television programmes by incorporating features like
captioning, text to speech and audio description.

Source: Business Standard

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Empanelment of Access Auditors for Accessible India Campaign

Dear Friends,

As you know, the Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) was recently launched on December 3, the International Day of Persons of Disabilities.

One of the targets under the objective of enhancing the proportion of accessible government buildings is to conduct access audits of the most important buildings in 50 cities of the country, and then retrofitting them to become fully accessible.

In order to achieve this, the Department envisions to build a pool of auditors across the country. An expression of interest from experienced individuals /organizations /registered societies for conducting access audits as part of the Accessible India Campaign is invited. Please follow the link to apply for empanelment with the Department as an auditor, and also encourage organizations/individuals having relevant expertise and experience to apply for the same.

Link – http://www.disabilityaffairs.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/EOI%20Access%20Audit.pdf

For any queries, please feel free to write to the Campaign Secretariat at email accessibleindiacampaign@gmail.com

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Launch of Accessible India Campaign

AIC_Eng 2.jpg

ACCESSIBLE INDIA CAMPAIGN | SUGAMYA BHARAT ABHIYAN

Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India

According to Census 2011, there are 2.68 crore persons with disabilities in India, who constitute 2.21% of the total population. However, estimates vary across sources and in reality this figure could be much higher.

Accessibility is the key to inclusion and equal access for people with disabilities. An accessible barrier-free environment is the first step towards fulfilling the right of people with disabilities to participate in all areas of community life.

Accessibility for people with disabilities was recognized as a right in India with the passage of The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act in 1995, which mandated barrier-free access in all public places and transportation systems. India is also a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). Article 9 of UNCRPD casts an obligation on all the signatory governments to take appropriate measures to ensure to persons with disabilities access, on an equal basis with others, to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and communications, including information and communications technologies and systems, and to other facilities and services open or provided to the public, both in urban and in rural areas.

The Government of India envisions to have an inclusive society in which equal opportunities and access is provided for the growth and development of persons with disabilities to lead productive, safe and dignified lives.  In furtherance of this vision, the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment has launched the Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan), as a nationwide flagship campaign for achieving universal accessibility for Persons with Disabilities and to create an enabling and barrier free environment, with a focus on three verticals: Built Environment; Public Transportation and Information & Communication Technologies.

In view of the above, the following objectives and targets have been envisioned under the campaign:

BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Objective 1 – Enhancing the proportion of accessible government buildings

Target 1.1: Conducting accessibility audit of at least 50 most important government buildings and converting them into fully accessible buildings by July 2016 in the following cities:

  • Bengaluru
  • Chennai
  • Delhi
  • Hyderabad
  • Kolkata
  • Mumbai
  • Ahmedabad
  • Pune
  • Bhopal
  • Kanpur
  • Coimbatore
  • Indore
  • Jaipur
  • Vadodara
  • Surat
  • Nagpur
  • Lucknow
  • Patna
  • Vishakhapatnam
  • Raipur
  • Gurgaon
  • Srinagar
  • Thiruvananthapuram
  • Bhubaneswar
  • Chandigarh
  • Guwahati

Conducting accessibility audit of at least 25  most important government buildings and converting them into fully accessible buildings by July 2016 in the following cities:

  • Port Blair
  • Itanagar
  • Daman
  • Panaji
  • Shimla
  • Ranchi
  • Jhansi
  • Agra
  • Nashik
  • Gandhinagar
  • Kavaratti
  • Imphal
  • Shillong
  • Aizawl
  • Kohima
  • Pondicherry
  • Gangtok
  • Agartala
  • Dehradun
  • Silvassa
  • Ludhiana
  • Faridabad
  • Varanasi
  • Noida

Target 1.2 : Converting 50% of all the government buildings of National Capital and all the State capitals into fully accessible buildings(July 2018).

Target 1.3 : Conducting audit of 50% of government buildings and converting them into fully accessible buildings in 10 most important cities / towns of all the States (other than those, which are already covered in Target 1.1 and 1.2 above) (July 2019).

 

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

Objective 2 – Enhancing proportion of accessible airports

 Target 2.1: Conducting accessibility audit of all the international airports and converting them into fully accessible international airports (July 2016).

Target 2.2: Conducting accessibility audit of all the domestic airports and converting them into fully accessible airports (March 2018).

 Objective 3: Enhancing the proportion of accessible railway stations

Target 3.1: Ensuring that A1, A & B categories of railway stations in the country are converted into fully accessible railway stations (July 2016).

Target 3.2: Ensuring that 50% of railway stations in the country are converted into fully accessible railway stations (March 2018).

 Objective 4: Enhancing the proportion of accessible Public Transport

Target 4.1: Ensuring that 10% of Government owned public transport carriers in the country are converted into fully accessible carriers (March 2018).

 Objective 5: Enhancing proportion of accessible and usable public documents and websites that meet internationally recognized accessibility standards

Target 5.1: Conducting accessibility audit of 50% of all government (both Central and State Governments) websites and converting them into fully accessible websites (March 2017).

Target 5.2 : Ensuring that at least 50% of all public documents issued by the Central Government and the State Governments meet accessibility standards(March 2018).

Objective 6:  Enhancing the pool of sign language interpreters

Target 6.1: Training and developing 200 additional sign language interpreters (March 2018).

Objective 7: Enhancing the proportion of daily captioning and sign-language interpretation of public television news programmes

Target 7.1: Developing and adoption of national standards on captioning and sign-language interpretation in consultation with National media authorities (July 2016)

Target 7.2: Ensuring that 25% of all public television programmes aired by government channels meet these standards. (March 2018)

Apart from the targets specific to the three verticals, the Campaign is also in the process of developing a web portal along with a mobile application for creating a crowdsourcing platform to comprehensively obtain information about inaccessible places, processing information for approving proposals and channelizing CSR resources for creating of accessible spaces. An Accessibility Index is also underway to which is envisioned to serve as a tool to assess the extent to which the processes and systems of an organization are aligned to ensure independent, dignified and positive dealing with employees and clients with disabilities.

The campaign was officially launched on December 3, 2015 at Vigyan Bhawan by the Govt. of India.

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Survey on transportation to school for children with disabilities

Access Exchange International (AEI), a like minded organisation headed by Mr. Thomas (Tom) Rickert is doing an English-language survey on transportation to school for children with disabilities.  This survey is one of several activities which will include AEI’s preparation of a guide to promote such transportation.

Svayam request the assistance of colleagues who head schools in India or colleagues in the world of education for children with disabilities in filling out the survey available at the below link:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/schooltransportsurvey

This survey should be completed only if you are the head of a school.

For details  you may contact our colleague, Mr. Tom Rickert, Executive Director, Access Exchange International 112 San Pablo Avenue San Francisco, CA 94127, USA, 1-415-661-6355, email: tom@globalride-sf.org
Web: www.globalride-sf.org