Archeological Survey of India
Svayam’s association with Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) began in 2006 with the Qutub Minar Project which became accessible to visitors with reduced mobility as result of joint collaboration of the two organizations. This success lead to both organizations entering in to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) engaging Svayam as ASI’s Access Consultant to ensure that all heritage sites, monuments & protected properties under the ASI are gradually made accessible in a phased manner beginning with the World Heritage Sites & Ticketed Monuments in the order of priority. The joint efforts of both organizations were acknowledged by Ministry of Tourism by conferring “National Tourism Award of Excellence” jointly on Svayam & ASI in the year 2009 for Qutb Minar and subsequently in the year 2012 for Fatehpur Sikri Group of Monuments. With the access audit reports & guidelines shared by Svayam, most of the Circles of ASI have started the Access Improvement Initiatives. Svayam has so far undertaken access audits of monuments from different Circles. Some prominent monuments include World Heritage Sites of Delhi, Agra, Aurangabad Circles and important ticketed monuments of Chandigarh, Jaipur & Guwahati Circles to name a few.
Ashoka University, India
Svayam and Ashoka University have joined hands to make Ashoka University as the first fully accessible centre of higher education. To this end, both organisation has entered into an MoU to integrate accessibility in every component of the Campus.
Delhi University (Equal Opportunity Cell)
Equal Opportunity Cell of Delhi University has joined hands with Svayam to sensitize students, faculty and staff on disability equality. Svayam has also assisted Delhi University by suggesting a Signage Plan for the North Campus.
Department of Forest (Eco-Tourism), Uttarakhand
Svayam conducted a Workshop on Accessible Tourism at Dehradun in the year 2008 which set the Department of Forest (Eco-Tourism) in action as major tourist sites in Uttarakhand are in and around the Forest and under the control of Department of Forest. At the invitation of Chief Conservator of Forests(Eco-Tourism) Svayam then conducted another training in 2009 at Dehradun, which followed a detailed access audit of Jim Corbett National Park (Corbett Tiger Reserve) by Svayam and a sensitization workshop for the Forestry officials, local hospitality players & self-help group working on eco-tourism in the region. Svayam is working on developing strategies for Jim Corbett Park and other properties in long run to improve their visitability for people with diversity.
Delhi Government
Govt. of Delhi has always been supportive of accessibility in public infrastructure and has taken a stand that all infrastructure will have to be barrier free and mandatorily meet the access standards. Government of Delhi partnered with Svayam to co-host the TRANSED 2012 in India. Visit www.transed2012.in for details.
Delhi Transport Corporation
Svayam audited the new bus Q shelter of Delhi Transport Corporation and found that though it was claimed to be an accessible one with an International logo of Accessibility placed on each Bus Q shelter however, there was no access provided to it from the immediate road or service lane rendering it to be a mere island of accessibility. Svayam suggested a design that was accepted by DTC and is now an integral part of their Bus Q shelter design for new tenders.
Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, GOI
Svayam has closely working with DEPWD as an empanelled Access Audit Agency. It conducted access audits of government buildings in 8 major cities across the country under the Accessible India Campaign and it continues to support the campaign. For more details click here.
ITC WelcomGroup & Hyatt Hotel, Delhi
Svayam joined hands with these hospitality giants and audited their premier hotels on invitation from them.
Svayam, in its audit reports gave suggestions to improve accessibility in these hotels to make them more welcoming to guests with reduced mobility which are being implemented by the hotels.
India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC)
Svayam had developed accessible Public Toilet Units with ITDC for the Ticket Complex outside Qutb Minar and also audited the Ashok Hotel, Delhi to promote accessibility for persons with disabilities. Encouraged by the experience, ITDC engaged Svayam as their Access Consultants for promoting Accessibility at Heritage site of Jalianwala Bagh, Amritsar and also entered into an Memorandum of Understanding for promoting accessibility in all Ashok Hotels under the project “The Ashok Access”. Svayam undertook audit of most Ashok properties at Delhi, Mathura, Agra, Bharatpur, Patna, Bhubaneshwar, Mysore to name a few.
Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India
Spearheading the Slogan “Incredible India- Accessible India” Svayam has been promoting the concept that Incredible India cannot be incredible unless it is Accessible to Elderly, Children, Women & those experiencing Disabilities. Ministry of Tourism has found the concept appealing and it sought Svayam’s expertise in raising the awareness of & training its officers, engineers and stakeholders on how to ensure accessibility at tourist destinations. To this effect, Svayam conducted a one day workshop hosted by Ministry of Tourism on “Making Tourist Destinations Accessible to All” in October 2008. Workshop was attended by not only senior officers of the Ministry from Delhi but also from various State Tourism Departments, tourism Development Corporation, Engineers, Site developers & Officials from ASI that set the tone for standardizing accessibility requirements in tourist destinations and hospitality sector. Svayam also represents on Core Committee constituted by the Ministry to promote Inclusive Tourism in India. It is also on its “Technical Advisory Committee” and has actively assisted the Research Team of the Ministry that recently concluded its first ever research on “Problems & Prospects of Accessible Tourism in India”. MoT has been partnering with Svayam in Conferences & Workshop since then to promote Inclusive Tourism. MoT was a co-host for the 13th International Conference on Mobility & Transport for Elderly and Disabled Persons (TRANSED 2012) held in New Delhi, India. Visit www.transed2012.in for details.
Ministry of Urban Development, GOI
Svayam has closely worked with Ministry of Urban Development Govt. of India on two major projects: (a) Harmonization of Multiple Guidelines on Barrier Free Environment prevailing in India: Svayam was a part of Core Committee constituted by the MuD that worked to harmonize multiple guidelines and compile a standard guideline for India that are wholesome and encompass international best practices in barrier free environment. This standard document has been notified & titled as “Harmonized Guidelines & Space Standards for Barrier Free Built Environment for Persons with Disabilities & Elderly Persons”. (b) Svayam undertook access audit of 64 Union of India buildings situated in different cities of India such as Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Kolkata etc and also two buildings each in the approved satellite towns to ensure Accessibility in these Govt. Buildings.
New Delhi Municipal Council, India
Svayam undertook an access audit of the NDMC’s Office Building in 2006 which resulted in many access improvements like designated parking, tactile pathway, lower counters, handrails along stairs, ramps on major approaches and signages. Also Svayam carried out detailed audit of 240 Public Conveniences in the NDMC area with an objective of suggesting changes to make them accessible to all. Svayam also suggested a model Public Toilet Design with Unisex toilet which forms the basis of all future tenders for PTUs under NDMC.