A museum visit for visually challenged students has conducted in joint collaboration with India Heritage Walks and Centre for Youth & Social Welfare at Pruvasha Folk and Tribal Art Museum, Barkul. 30 students visually challenged students were invited from Khallikote Autonomous College to experience the special museum visit.
Centre for Youth & Social Welfare has been working towards a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 10). Visually challenged students perceive their world through ” Touch” and get knowledge about tangible cultural heritage but most of the museum has failed to provide equal accessibility for special need students. To fulfill the agenda of SGD 2030, CYSW has been working how a museum and cultural centre could be accessible by special need students. Theme for the IDPWD 2019 is Future is accessible and this museum visit has organised to create a positive social impact in the society.
“We have already done 4 heritage & museum visits for visual challenged students in different district of Odisha, if we could get financial assistance from Govt. and other private agencies then it could be possible to move other 30 districts of Odisha”, Nituranjan Dash, General Secretary of CYSW Odisha has expressed his feelings.
Rakesh Kumar Parida, a visually challenged students express his gratitude to the India Heritage Walks, Sahapedia & CYSW Odisha for organising a museum visit for the first time in Ganjam district. “We never got any chance to visit such a place along with my friends. It will be a memorable day for me“.
Disability persons are treated as caged animal even more than that. They hardly get opportunity to move out side world. If we talk museum accessibility in India, we will find museum monuments either in glass box or with the tag line Do Not Touch. “Touch” is the only medium through which a visually challenged could imagine and get direct experience about their world. it needs a continious work to achieve the “Future is Accessible” goal. Civil societies and Govt. should come forward to reduce inequality.