Under the mentorship of Mr. Manish Seksaria – Head of Department (Computer Science) and Round Square Representative – delegates (Radhika Swaroop, Pranjali Tripathi, Sanya Bhatia, Aarush Roy, Diksha Trivedi and Aditya Tandon) participated in a virtual Round Square conference hosted by SAI International School, for the observation of International day of Persons with Disabilities. The event saw the participation of over 400 students from prestigious schools and many different countries.

The aim of drawing attention to how society benefits by including persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life was the central theme of this congregation. The conference commenced with the Keynote Speaker, Dr. Sruti Mohapatra, an Inclusion Expert, TEDx Speaker & Disability Rights Activist, who shared some ways in which we, as abled people, can be more sensitive and inclusive towards the differently abled and disabled in our everyday actions. She also spoke about how her organization “Swabhiman“- Disability Information and Resource Centre, is helping people with disabilities, by offering them training and job placements. A volunteer from her organization, Mr. Chinmay, presented some facts and interpretations of disability.

Next, the Principal, Mr. Nilakantha Panigrahi, spoke about how their school helps the differently abled and disabled in various ways by promoting inclusion in their local community and implementing numerous sustainable projects over the years with several special need’s institutions and organizations in Bhubaneswar.

Followed by this, the students enjoyed an interactive session where they had to draw a tree without using their hands, just to experience on a very miniscule scale, what’s it like to do a very basic task as a disabled person.

The students were also shown some basics of the Indian Sign Language (ISL), demonstrated by a student volunteer from SAI International School. The session concluded with a Christmas surprise and left all the students mesmerized. The students learnt the importance of inclusion of the disabled in our society and how they are an asset to us.