Journalists’ workshop on ‘Disability and Digital Inclusion’ held

Staff Reporter :
A training program for the journalists has been held on Monday under the banner of ‘Disability and Digital Inclusion’. Rights organization ‘Friendship’ in collaboration with ‘Aspire to Innovate (a2i)’ organized the day-long program at the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU). A total of 25 prominent journalists of different national media houses participated in the program.
Ayesha Tahsin Khan, Senior Director of the Friendship, was present as the chief guest in the program, while Morsalin Nomani, President of Dhaka Reporter’s Unity, attended as the special guest.
The sessions were conducted by Vashkar Bhattacharjee, National Consultant of the a2i, Betteke de Gaay Fortman, Director of Friendship in Nederland, Nusrat Zerin, AGM of Friendship, and others. The sessions were interpreted in sign language by Arafat Sultana Lata. Ahmed Toufiqur Rahman, Assistant Directoer of Friendship, and others were also present in the program.
During the workshop Ayesha Tahsin Khan discussed about the disability project activities in northern Gaibandha and Kurigram districts in Bangladesh including the global practices and prevalence in the session. She said, “Persons with disabilities living in the northern areas in the country are hard to reach and the peoples of the climate impacted chars of Bangladesh regularly face multiple challenges, including stigma, discrimination and lack of access to basic need based services. Due to cultural and social norms, persons with disabilities are often ostracized and seen as a burden on their families and communities.
As a result, persons with disabilities in the northern chars of Bangladesh find it challenging to maintain dignified livelihoods, access education, and participate in community activities. To address these challenges, inclusive development initiatives are essential.”