After our first initiative we are really enthusiastic for our future endeavors as we participated in a workshop based on “Theater for Differently Able” which is funded by British Council Bangladesh along with an expert from U.K, Jeany Sealy who herself is a deaf and also one of the organizers of London Paralympics. We are hopeful as the entire project is entitled “A different Shakespeare”, and all the actors and actresses are differently able, being deaf or physically immovable. It was neither a barrier nor limitation from being in performing arts in terms of being deaf and wheel chair users, losing any part of limbs but at the end being able to express in the way you are and this time the maximum participants were selected from BRIDGE foundation.
We finished a boot camp based on ‘From Sign Language to C++” based on Programming for Differently Able and especially for deaf and the targeted group was around 14-18 with the help of two young, enthusiastic undergrads who worked as trainer on voluntary basis. BRIDGE foundation itself is consisted with all the youth volunteers and state department alumnus who are spirited for the community betterment; community based services, youth and civic engagement as well as future leaders of Green Earth campaign.
In 2015 December we ,the BRIDGE Foundation initiated the project “ARTPreneur for Differently Able Young Deaf Artists” where they do have opportunities to work under the experts through monthly basis workshop and selling their art work through online as well. In this first initiative “Alliance Françoise” supported us along with their in house artists and also CounterFoto supported us along with their venue where famous artist “Najib Tareque” came as guest lecturer and we do believe that they are the “Differently Able” and this a terminology that brings the positive vibe and disability is at the end all about our mind set and exclusion free society is important through more engagement and employment.
We successfully ended our year along with participation in” Social Enterprise Day”,29 th December 2015 powered by British Council and facilitated by “ Better Stories” at their official venue.
The special cases of physically disable students who are less in number as we expected that we would also be able to accommodate the wheel chair users along with ramp but at the end they could not make it due to support from their parents and distance, where we found we would have special session along with the guardian and parents also. Female Participation is required to be increased through consultation and motivation to find out their feasibility and access in future.
Last but not least we do urge to every activist and volunteer to support us being actively engaged as a volunteer through BRIDGE Foundation and work for the excluded group through sharing, teaching and capacity building being a facilitator for each and every differently able to be touched through voice, through your eyes, your touchy fingers, extended and helping hands and valuable time at the end. Mainstream has been done, has been doing and will be doing but what about excluded, scheduled and out stream people? if we don’t listen to voice of silence, to make the immovable a movable one through IT, technology and information which can lessen the gap of “Digital Divide’ and can ensure “Differently Able in Development “with a positive notion instead of “Disable in Development” the Sustainable and inclusive development will be a myth only. At the end I do believe you are not disabled unless you believe that and I am hopeful that the government initiated the strategies of inclusion for the “Differently Able” even though that are in the limited era but this is the beginning. One day there will be no separate school in the name of special education, and both the parents and teachers would be cooperative to include them and mainstream institutions, organizations and corporations will come forward to engage them and believe in their potentiality. Our team and BRIDGE foundation is proud to be with those who are associated with our initiative being special in terms of endeavor from the mainstream a long and lonely journey to go before we reach towards the goal along with individual efforts.
http://worldmerit.org/merit360.aspx/ Agent of Change 2016
natasha kabir bangladeshi contributing worldwide
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr5JiMN48RU
Proceeding of ICTL 2016Final.pdf
September1, 2016 as Conference proceeding, Centre for Pedagogy, Independent University of Bangladesh,April22-23 2016, Publication title Socio-Cultural Economics Interlinked with the Differently Able in
South Asia: From the Case Study of Inclusive Model of Creating Deaf Creative Sector Based Workers through Skill Based Trainingin Bangladesh [Working Paper]
Questionnaire on “disability-inclusive policies” - Call for submissions
file_fid:17664 - Project Name: Empowering the Ability of Differently Able Partner Organizations: BPKS, World Hearing Concern, Dhaka Deaf High Sch
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