New Delhi, 10 April 2024:
Amity Institute of Rehabilitation Sciences organised an international conference on ‘Inclusion through sports, in collaboration with Special Olympics Bharat and the Rehabilitation Council of India, New Delhi, on 8&9 April 2024. The two-day conference witnessed participation of Students, Educators, Scholars & Rehab Professionals. The primary objective of this conference was to provide a platform for Special Educators and practitioners to exchange knowledge and insights, fostering the promotion of Inclusion through sports. It was also an earnest endeavour to reshape community perceptions regarding persons with disabilities by emphasizing on their abilities and reducing the focus on their disabilities. Moreover, the aim was to examine the role of NEP2020 in facilitating sports-integrated learning, fostering physical and psychological well-being, promoting life skills, and enhancing cognitive abilities among students.
The conference was launched by Dr SK Srivastava, Sr Director, Vice President & Advisor at FPO, Prof Balvinder Shukla Vice Chancellor and Dr Jayanti Pujari, Dean, Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences Amity University, who were joined by Dr. Sharanjeet Kaur, Chairperson, Rehabilitation Council of India , Ms A Srija, Economic Advisor, SSL, Education Department, Govt of India and Mr Dipak Natali , President and Managing Director, Special Olympics – Asia Pacific Region who relayed the significance of Inclusion in education, with sports as a tool of unification and personality development.
The conference held two panel discussions that combined key stakeholders from diverse fields within education, addressing the subject of ‘Developing Effective Partnerships for Social Inclusion’ and ‘Celebrating the success of Promoting Inclusion through the Unified Champion School Programming’, led by Ms Mukta Narain Thind and Ms Raman Rekhi from SO Bharat, respectively. The panels congregated accomplished visionaries including Ms Neha Rastogi, Founder Wordswork, Dr Kalpana Sharma, NIS Patiala, Deepak John Nayak, Sports consultant, Ms Ambreen Khan, WWF and Mr Akshay Tyagi, Hotel The Lalit on day one. The next day witnessed the presence of Dr Vandana Sharma, MBCN, Ms Aksi Naqvi, Kothari International School, Ms Neeraj Singh, Jaypee Public School, Greater NOIDA, Dr Amitav Mishra, IGNOU (Indira Gandhi Open University, Delhi) and Ms Pam Rolink, from the SOAP Regional office.
Distinguished contributors from Special Olympics included Ms Rebecca Ralston, co-leading the session with Ms Chitra Shah, Vice Chair, SO Bharat Board, on Promoting Inclusion through early intervention programs, titled Young Athletes at Special Olympics. Prof. Juan Bornman, addressed the subject of partnering with parents to bring change.
Dr Karthikeyan Ramchandran, Associate Professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, SRM University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, shared his experience and expertise in addressing Inclusive health systems and its impact on sports. Both the days of the conference concluded with a hybrid of theory and practise of role of educators in implementing developmental and unified sports for catalysing Inclusion led by Dr Ajit Kumar, Associate Professor, Amity School of Physical Education and Ms Sulekha Rana and Mr Suresh from SO Bharat
The valedictory function was presided by Mr Vikas Trivedi, Member Secretary, Rehabilitation Council of India and had the keynote address delivered by Mr Himanshu Gupta, Secretary CBSE. Mr Gupta is instrumental in facilitating the MoU signed between SO Bharat Delhi Chapter and the Directorate of Education, Govt of Delhi NCT in July 2023. In his address he emphasised on a holistic approach towards promoting Inclusion, making the role of all the stakeholders equally important. He acknowledged the significant role of families in designing a functional curriculum that harmoniously infuses sports activities into the general curriculum.
