Awareness Campaigns
International Week of Deaf People
On account of the International Week of Deaf people, the OLS organized a workshop titled “HandSpeak: Demystifying Deaf Culture and Sign Language” on September 25, 2021. Led by disability experts and sign language trainers from V-Shesh Co, the workshop aimed at demystifying common myths associated with deaf culture and sign language through interactive exercises. At the same time, it provided participants with hands-on training on basic elements of the sign language used in everyday interactions, and employed fun and engaging ways to express emotions and body gestures using the nuances of sign language.
Ashoka staff members, students, and faculty joined the workshop and actively participated to learn more about sign language, deafness and the associated Indian context. The workshop made use of trivia, audience participation and a Q&A session to debunk common misconceptions and inform people about deafness, all of which was well-received by the participants.
NeuroDiversity and Ableism Webinar
As a part of Orientation Week 2020, the OLS conducted a webinar to create awareness and sensitize students from the incoming batch about various types of diversities in terms of race, class, gender, social identities around us. In doing so, we also introduced the concept of “Neurodiversity”, which aimed at creating awareness about various forms of cognitive, physical, and language diversities around us.
As a part of this webinar, we also invited a very special guest, Mr George Abraham, CEO, Score Foundation, and the founding chairman of the World Blind Cricket Council. He narrated his inspiring life journey and talked about what it was like for him as a person with 100% blindness to navigate his undergraduate journey at St. Stephens College, University of Delhi. He also provided certain practical insights into what all of us can do at an individual level to embrace all forms of diversities around us.
World Sight Day
October 8th is observed as World Sight Day every year.
The OLS took this opportunity to further knowledge about visual disabilities and the need to break the barriers that students with visual disabilities face in accessing higher education in India. In doing so, it highlighted the need for the promotion of a conducive learning environment for persons with visual disabilities in higher education institutions.
International Dyslexia Awareness Month
The month of October is observed as Dyslexia Awareness Month every year. On account of this, the OLS presented a Student Speaker Series, where Ashoka students with Dyslexia came forward and provided profound insights into their own experiences while navigating their academic journeys at Ashoka.
International Deaf Awareness Week
The UN General Assembly has proclaimed 23rd September as the International Day of Sign Languages in order to raise awareness of the importance of sign language in the full realization of the human rights of people who are deaf. The theme for the 2020 International Day of Sign languages was “Sign Languages Are for Everyone!”
With the entire week (Sept 21 -25) being celebrated as the International Week of Deaf Awareness, the OLS organized an interactive session on demystifying deafness through understanding the deaf culture and sign language. P Rajasekharan, co-founder of V-shesh, along with his team members, taught simple signs used in everyday conversations, fun and engaging ways to tell a story using sign language, and much more. This introductory session on sign language was well received by the students and staff at Ashoka.
NeuroDiversity Initiative
As a liberal space that values each individual as a significant entity in enriching the educational experience on campus, inclusivity and diversity are significant values of the Ashokan ethos. The human brain is a fascinating entity and Ashoka is a space shared by people with diverse minds. It is now time to value each mind – for all minds matter.
During Summer 2020 and 2021, the Office of Learning Support, along with a team of interns, launched the “NeuroDiversity Initiative”. As a part of this initiative, a series of newsletters were prepared to create awareness about the diverse minds that encompass our Ashoka community.
Volume 2 | Summer 2021
Volume 1 | Summer 2020
