Sarthak Educational Trust, established in 2008 by Dr. Jitendra Aggarwal, works to empower persons with disabilities through education, skill development, and employment. The annual National Conference on Disability, organised by Sarthak Educational Trust, serves as a platform for policymakers, activists, academicians, corporates, and persons with disabilities to engage in critical dialogues about the inclusion and empowerment of persons with disabilities. The 11th National Conference on Disability, held on 6th and 7th December, 2024, aimed to address key challenges, and propose innovative solutions to ensure sustainable disability inclusion.
The first panel, titled “Corporate Social Responsibility: Bridging Business and Belonging,” focused on the role of CSR in promoting disability inclusion and empowerment. Moderated by Sandeep Bhargava, Advisory Board Member of Sarthak Educational Trust, the panel featured distinguished speakers: Anuradha Chimalapati (Senior Manager of CSR, Pernod Ricard), Prof. Randhir Singh Rathore (Skill Professor of Policy Planning, Shri Vishwakarma Skill University, Haryana), Geetanjali Tripathi (Assistant General Manager, Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited), and Madhu Bala Sharma (Senior Program Manager of Inclusive Experiences and Technologies, Amazon). The discussion explored innovative CSR strategies to foster inclusivity and empower persons with disabilities across sectors.
The second panel of Day 1 focused on “Pathways to Employment: Inclusion, Access, and Opportunity,” exploring the corporate sector’s role in building an inclusive employment ecosystem. Moderated by Suresh K. Gupta, Advisory Board Member of Sarthak Educational Trust, the panel featured insights from industry leaders: Vinay Jaiswal (Vice President of HR Operations, Marriott International), Sangeeta Robinson (Founding Director, ANTS SBC Pvt Ltd), Debanjan Ray (Chief Human Resources Officer, VMart), Akshay Tyagi (Diversity and Inclusion Leader, The Lalit Hotel), and Ashish Chaudhary (Manager – Corporate Matters and Projects, Skill Council for Persons with Disabilities). Together, they discussed strategies to enhance access, inclusion, and opportunities for persons with disabilities in the workplace.
The third panel, titled Global Resource Center: Building a Universal Support System focused on talent pool development, and resource creation for PWDs on a global scale. The panel was moderated by Sameer Nigam, CEO and Founder of Stratbeans Learning Solutions. Esteemed speakers included Vijay Mathur (Director General, Apparel Training & Design Center), Guneet Sethi (Director and CSR Head, Gilard Electronics Pvt Ltd), Suraj Singh Senjam (Professor in Community Ophthalmology, AIIMS), Thilakam Rajendran (Director, NEDAR Foundation), and Madhu Bala Sharma. The session emphasized collaborative efforts to create universal systems of support for empowering persons with disabilities worldwide.
Overall, the conference underscored the critical need for collaboration, innovation, and commitment in fostering an inclusive society for persons with disabilities. Through insightful discussions across panels, experts from corporate, academic, and non-profit sectors shared actionable strategies to bridge the gaps in accessibility, employment, and global resource development. These conversations are powerful as a catalyst for policy reforms, corporate initiatives, and community-driven efforts aimed at empowering persons with disabilities.