Innovation by Youth with Disability (I-YwD) – Kerala Development Innovation Strategic Council
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Empowering Youth with Disabilities
Problem
- Youth with Disabilities were unable to become innovators and entrepreneurs due to a lack of resources.
- Lack of awareness among the general population about disability, and equitable opportunities they are capable of.
- The evident feeling of ‘being left out’ due to various socio-cultural factors
- Challenges regarding communication and mobility.
- Difficulty in putting together the apt curriculum and the way to implement it.
Solution
- Designed a training programme to impart experience in innovation and entrepreneurship.
- Collaborated with engineering colleges to impart sensitization regarding disabilities.
- Provided numerous opportunities for I-YwD participants to engage in conversations with officials and the general population.
- Designed curriculum and resource materials which provide the flexibility and pace to be chosen by the participant.
- Individualized and group training sessions aid in both person-specific and collaborative learning.
Challenges
- The resource intensiveness to implement such a complex programme.
- Priorities of YwDs were different as most of them belonged to poor socio-economic backgrounds.
- Difficulty in finding domain experts to mentor YwDs in their entrepreneurial journey.
- The knowledge gap among the participants was too varied and wide.
- Difficulty in making the officials look beyond the sympathy of their disability and see their true potential.
Outcomes
- Increased awareness among the YwD community about innovation and entrepreneurship
- Facilitated the mainstreaming of YwDs for inclusion and creating a disability-friendly ecosystem for other states in India.
- A team of 2 YwDs’ project from the pilot batch has been incubated into DISQ (Digital Impact Square)
- Experiential Sensitization Workshop was conducted for faculty from 12 Engineering colleges on various disabilities.
- All participants show manifold improvement in their confidence, openness and efficiency.
SKOCH Award Nominee
Category: State Department
Sub-Category: State Department
Project: Innovation by Youth with Disability (I-YwD)
Start Date: 2019-01-07
Organisation: Kerala Development Innovation Strategic Council
Respondent: Dr Unnikrishnan Potheri Vasudevan, Member Secretary
https://kdisc.kerala.gov.in/
Level: Premium
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Case Study
Empowering Youth with Disabilities
Introduction
Young with disabilities represent one of the most marginalized and economically disadvantaged segments who often encounter pronounced social, economic, and civic inequalities.
Problems
Many youths with disabilities grapple with regular experiences of exclusion, isolation, and mistreatment, coupled with limited access to educational and economic prospects.
Solutions
A high-quality training programme is designed to impart hands-on experience in innovation and entrepreneurship. Collaborations were made with engineering colleges to impart sensitization about various aspects of disabilities. Numerous opportunities are provided for them to engage in conversations and discussions with officials and laypersons of the general population.
Outcomes
As a result, a team of 2 YwDs’ projects from the pilot batch has been incubated into Digital Impact Square by TCS. All participants, through their I-YwD journey, show manifold improvement in their confidence, openness and efficiency.
Challenges
Innovation & entrepreneurship in themselves are alien concepts to YwDs and a large majority of YwDs belong to poor socio-economic backgrounds, so their priorities in life are quite different to find the mind to engage in such programmes. The department faced difficulty in finding domain experts to mentor YwDs in their entrepreneurial journey and there was a wide knowledge gap among the participants.
Innovation
It is a first-of-its-kind set of curriculum where videos have been designed in the most accessible way so that persons with different disabilities can learn seamlessly. Preparatory Sessions are for those who have severe knowledge gaps. A glossary is prepared in Indian Sign Language (ISL), mock interviews were arranged and catalysts were assigned with the task of understanding challenges.
Opportunities
The goal is to increase the number of YwD-led entrepreneurships, and explore the possibility of training at a much younger age.
Summary
The project is regarding a shift from using a ‘single platform for all’ to an eclectic way of ‘different platforms to choose from’ which makes the programme more accessible and inclusive for persons with various disabilities.
For more information, please contact:
Dr Unnikrishnan Potheri Vasudevan, Member Secretary at ms.kdisc@kdisc.kerala.gov.in
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