BHUBANESWAR: A national conference on Arts, Recreation and Rights of Persons with Disabilities organised by Aaina, a state based organisation promoting the Rights of persons with Disabilities, was held at Red Cross Bhawan here Tuesday.
Inaugurating the conference SS and EPD, W and CD Minister Prafulla Samal expressed his happiness and said that, the conference will have impact on enabling the people with disabilities to participate in art and grow as professionals. He further added that, the government is always giving priority to the issues of the people with disabilities in the state and committed to accept the recommendations of the conference for the betterment of the people with disabilities.
Secretary, Aaina, Sneha Mishra presented the key note of the conference saying, “Choosing arts as profession is the right of every person with disabilities as per the RPD Act 2016. Performing and creative arts has positive influence in peoples’ life and people with disabilities are no exceptions. Hence, making arts and recreation accessible to the people with disabilities should be the way out.”
Principal Secretary, Dept of SS and EPD and guest of Honour Niten Chandra, IAS, paid his gratitude by saying “Art, as creativity, is something humans’ posess in their very nature and is it is therefore beyond utility.
The day-long conference had three technical sessions – Session-I – Creative Arts (Fine Arts) chaired by eminent poet and VC of Ravenshaw University Devdas Chhotray; Session-II – Creative Arts (Music, Dance, Drama) chaired by eminent Theatre and Arts Personality Lalatendu Rath; Session-III- Sports and Recreation chaired by eminent educationist Chandra Bhanu Patnaik.