NEW DELHI: Article 27 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) “recognizes the right of persons with disabilities to work, on an equal basis with others; this includes the opportunity to gain a living by work freely chosen or accepted in a labour market and work environment that is open, inclusive and accessible to persons with disabilities.”

It is to bring awareness about this that NCPEDP joined hands with Mindtree in 2016, to give away the NCPEDP-Mindtree Helen Keller Awards.

Javed Abidi, Honorary Director of NCPEDP said, “Even for me it is difficult to believe that it has been 18 years since we started this journey. In its own way, the Helen Keller Award has contributed to the creation of an inclusive and non-discriminatory work environment in the private sector.”

Krishnakumar Natarajan, Executive Chairman, Mindtree added, “Mindtree’s inclusion framework not only promotes employment of people with disabilities but also fosters growth by providing accessible infrastructure. We are honoured to be partnering with NCPEDP for this important cause.”

Each year a total of 10 Awards under the following three categories are given away to individuals and organizations on December 2, the eve of World Disability Day.

Nominations are now open in the following categories:

Category A: Role Model Disabled Person: Disabled persons from within the disability sector and outside who have been active as ambassadors of the cause of employment for disabled people and are a positive role model for others.

Category B: Role Model Supporter of Increased Employment Opportunities for Disabled People: Individuals from within the disability sector or outside who have contributed substantially to the cause of promoting employment opportunities for disabled people over an extended period of time.

Category C: Role Model Companies/NGOs/Institutions: Organisations from the disability sector or outside who have shown their commitment towards promoting equal employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

Founded in 1996, the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) is the premier cross disability, not-for-profit organisation working as an interface between Government, Industry, International Agencies and the Voluntary Sector towards empowerment of persons with disabilities.

Its mandate is simple – to encourage employment of disabled people, increase public awareness on the issue of disability, empower disabled people with knowledge, information and opportunities and ensure easy and convenient access to all public places.

NCPEDP works on six core principles, also called the six pillars of the organization, namely: Education, Employment, Accessibility, Legislation/Policy, Awareness/Communication, and Youth. Mindtree delivers digital transformation and technology services from ideation to execution, enabling Global 2000 clients to outperform the competition. “Born digital,” Mindtree takes an agile, collaborative approach to creating customized solutions across the digital value chain.

Helen Keller Awards started was started in the 1999 as a result of the findings of a survey conducted of the Top 100 Companies of India by the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP). The results showed that the average percentage of employment of people with disabilities was as follows: