The two day India Inclusion Summit 2013 (IIS) concluded on November 30, with much aplomb, at Ritz Carlton, Bangalore. The summit aimed to make people aware of disability and looked at creating an equal opportunity world.
The opening day of the summit featured a round-table discussion led by the IIS advisory board, which included Kiran Bedi, Arun Shourie, VR Ferose, Joy Bhattacharya, Siddharth Jayakumar and Ashok Giri; on increased awareness of physical and intellectual disabilities and society’s role in making true inclusion a reality.
Day one also saw a lively auction event that took place in the later half of the evening, which managed to raise `2.5 lakhs for EnAble India, which will set up an academy that will enable persons with disability all over the country to achieve economic independence and dignity. The auction was conducted by stand-up comedian Sundeep Rao, along with award-winning online talk show host, Lakshmi Rebecca. The auction featured items like a miniature bat signed by Sachin Tendulkar, a cricket bat signed by the entire Mumbai Indians team, the German national
soccer team jersey signed by the current team, a badminton racket signed by Saina Nehwal, a painting of Anil Kumble by Yusuf Arakkal, among others. The total amount raised during the course of the summit counted up to `30 lakhs.
The second day of the summit featured a keynote address by Arun Shourie, and special performances by Nirali Karthik, students and staff of Sampoorna Music Therapy School, as well as a comedy act by Sandeep Rao. There were also talks covering various aspects of inclusion that were delivered by Anita Nair, Thorkil Sonne, Devdutt Pattanaik and Malathi Holla, among others.
IIS and its future
City Express caught up with VR Ferose,
one of the IIS advisory board members and the man who ran the entire show. "At this event, there are no pretensions, there is no
symbolism. I think what comes across is absolute purity. The expectations were much higher obviously, this being the second edition of the summit, and I think we managed to pull it off," says Ferose. Speaking about future plans for the event, Ferose says, "The next step would be to franchise the event, as long as the core
principle is not diluted. The core principles are inclusivity at all levels, keeping this a free event and absolutely no corporate logos or egos. Good things like good wine, takes time to get better, I guess."