International Purple Fest 2024 Goa is India’s First-of-its-kind inclusive festival that celebrates person with disabilities. They organised a workshop Antarchakshu and Inclusive Education on 10th & 11th January 2024. Dr. Shami Pai, Ms. Sushrusha Naik Khandekar, and Ms. Yugandhara Joshi attended the workshop on 10th January Mr. Sanjay Velip and Mrs. Sweta P. Shet Verenkar attended the session on 11th January, and Dr. Lira Menzes Gama, Ms. Sneha Prabhdessai and Ms. Edrea Picardo attended on 12th January.
The workshop began with the brief introduction of the workshop by the Resource Person. The workshop is curated by Xavier’s Resource Centre for the Visually Challenged, St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai. The faculty members of VVM’s Shree Damodar College attended the workshop ‘Antarchakshu’ followed by a session on Inclusive Classroom. Antarchakshu was a session designed for the faculty members of various colleges to provide an immersive experience zone spanning a child’s entire educational journey, from Kindergarten to Postgraduate. This provided them with an opportunity to explore practical solutions to inclusive education challenges, crafted through diligent hard work and innovative thinking. The session included various activities where the faculty members were blindfolded to perform given tasks and creative activities to experience the life of visually challenged. This workshop was followed by a session on inclusive education which was delivered by the College counsellor of St. Xavier’s College. This session focused on making effort in using techniques for inclusive classroom for the students with disabilities and including them in the normal education system.
St. Xavier’s College also emphasized on the realities of how inclusive education can bring about a huge change in the society and there are numerous ways to follow with patience towards making the life of a disabled individual easier by providing the necessary help. An interactive discussion a visually challenged person was also arranged wherein the faculty members attending the workshop were provided with an opportunity to interact and share Mr. Ketan’s experience of topping Mumbai University despite being visually challenged. The workshop ended at 1.30 p.m.
