Dr W. Aubrey Webson
H. E. Dr Walton Aubrey Webson is Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of Antigua, and Barbuda to the United Nations.
Dr Webson holds a Bachelor of Science degree, a Master of Science in Management of Non-Profit Organizations and A Post Graduate Diploma in Organizational Development from the New School for Social Research, New York, and a Doctorate in Management from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio United States of America. Read More
Topic: ICEVI Global perspectives
Speaker: Dr Frances Gentle, AO PhD DLitt
Dr Frances Gentle is President of the International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment. She is a member of the academic and research staff of the NextSense Institute and Lecturer in the Master of Disability Studies, Macquarie University (Australia). Dr Gentle was President of ICEVI Pacific from 2006 to 2010, and President of the South Pacific Educators in Vision Impairment (SPEVI) from 2022 to 2018.
Her research interests include policies, standards and frameworks for education of children and young people with disabilities; digital platforms for professional learning, including braille eLearning programs; and disability-inclusive education in low income countries.
Topic: Achieving Equity Through Education: NEP 2020 and SDGs in Action
Prof. Ami Upadhyay currently serves as the esteemed Vice Chancellor of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar State Open University, Gujarat since 2018. She holds an impressive academic background, with degrees in Bachelors, Masters, Masters in Philosophy, and a Doctorate in English Literature, as well as a Diploma in Naturopathy and Yogic Science. Prof. Upadhyay is a skilled Indian Classical Dancer and choreographer.
Topic: Programme Details
Until May 2024 Siân Tesni was CBM International’s Senior Advisor for Inclusive Education when she retired after over 4 decades of professional work in education. Born in Wales, UK, she is a qualified teacher of learners who are deaf or hard of hearing, where she worked in several roles for 11 years. During that time she developed post 16 services for young people and adults who are deaf or hard of hearing, including developing training courses for communicators in South Wales.
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Topic: The Power of Human Rights Laws in Promoting Equity in Education for Children with Vision Impairment:
Dr Bhushan Punani
Indian Human Rights Commission Vice President of ICEVI Global and General Secretary of the Blind People’s Association (India) joined the field of disability development after completing his Post Graduate Diploma in Management (equivalent to MBA) from world renowned, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. He also completed his Doctorate from Gujarat University with IIMA as the affiliated institute. Thanks to CBM, he completed a course in Vocational Rehabilitation from Haifa University, Israel. His passion of law, enabled him to complete his Degree in Law as well. He was member of the National Committee on Drafting of the National Legislation that resulted into enactment of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. He had the great honour of serving as a Member of the Central Advisory Board, highest monitoring body under the national legislation. He along with his team of dedicated professionals, developed BPA as one of India’s most leading disability development organization known for its transparency, accountability and professionalism.
Topic: Preparing for Inclusion
Nandini Rawal has worked for and with persons with visual impairment for the past 43 years. Her experience ranges from grass root program development to policy development and planning at the global level. She served the International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment as Secretary and Treasurer over the past nearly 30 years. She is Executive Director of Blind People’s Association (India) and has worked for the education, community-based rehabilitation, skill training and empowerment of persons with disabilities over the past 4 decades. She will speak on “ Preparing for Inclusion” in the Plenary Session and present practical insights based on experience and learnings gained from her interaction with different stake holders.
Topic: Inclusion, Humanism & DbI’s Global Education Campaign
Speaker: Mirko Baur
Mirko Baur is President of Deafblind International DbI. He studied special needs education, German and philosophy and has training as an NPO manager, coach and in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI). He is co-founder of the Swiss project deafblindinclusion.ch and of a consultancy network for DEI in personal and organisational life: fullrainbow.ch
Topic: How to promote equality and prevent discrimination, violence and bullying of women and girls with blindness, low vision, deafblindness and multiple disability in education.
Speaker: Ana Peláez Narváez
Ana Peláez Narváez Member of the Executive Board of ICEVI International on behalf of ONCE.
Commissioner for Solidarity and International Cooperation of the ONCE Social Group.
Chair of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. She joined this Committee in 2019, becoming the first person with a disability to serve on a human rights treaty body other than the CRPD.
From 2009 to 2016 she was a member of the United Nations CRPD Committee, where she served as Vice-Chair and Focal Point for the elaboration of its General Comment n. 3 on women and girls with disabilities.
For more than 20 years, she has been advising governments, civil society and other stakeholders on gender and disability issues.
Topic: The role of the CRPD Committee in progressing the human right to education for children with vision impairment
Chair, United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD)
President, International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI) Africa
Global Advocacy Manager (Social Inclusion), Sightsavers
Topic: Inclusion – First-Hand Experience – A Parent’s Voice
Susan LaVenture, President of North American and Caribbean Region of the International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI).
Susan LaVenture is an advocate for parents and their children who are blind, visually impaired, including those with multiple disabilities. She initially became involved when her youngest son Alex was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare form of infant eye cancer. Read More
Topic: Early Intervention- a Regional Perspective
Speaker: Mr. Akhil S Paul
Early diagnosis and screening of disabilities, specially deafblindness in children are crucial for ensuring timely intervention and support, which can significantly improve outcomes. Effective early diagnosis and screening in children require a comprehensive approach, involving a variety of tools and assessments tailored to the individual child’s needs and developmental stage. This approach helps in identifying any issues early and providing the necessary interventions to support the child’s development.
Topic: Reinventing Myself
Speaker: Shrutilata Singh
“Senior Specialist Network Support” in Sense International India
Shrutilata Singh leads Udaan- the national network of people with deafblindness, as a Specialist-Network Support in Sense India. She represents deafblind people in the Executive Committee of Commonwealth Children and Youth with Disability Network (CCYDN) and has raised her concerns at the UN World data forum in Bern, Switzerland. Shurti was chosen Ambassador for deafblind in the recent Goa International PurpleFest held in India. Her areas of interest are Safety with Accessibility, raising awareness about Deafblindness, Rights of girls and women with Deafblindness, Digital Accessibility and Technology support.
Topic: Visionary Learning through Technology and Artificial Intelligence
Speaker: Dipendra Manocha
Dipendra Manocha is on a mission to help persons with visual disabilities to lead life with dignity. Since 1993, he is facilitating their inclusion in education, livelihood and daily living activities through appropriate use of technology solutions. He is Director developing countries programme of the DAISY Consortium. He is member executive committee of libraries for Print Disabilities section of IFLA, CSO representative on the Working Group to implement the Incheon Strategy and Jakarta declaration (UNESCAP) and member of the World Braille Council. He is the designated focal person of DAISY Consortium to provide training and technical support in capacity building programs of the Accessible Books Consortium of WIPO. As part of his honorary contributions, He is founder Trustee of Saksham Trust, President of the DAISY Forum of India and Vice-president National Association for the Blind (Delhi). He has also worked as a consultant to Delhi University for establishing the resource centre for persons with disabilities.
Mr. Richard Orme
Chief Executive, DAISY Consortium
Richard met his first blind student when teaching in a college 35 years ago. Thus began his career using technology to empower people with disabilities. For more than twenty years Richard worked at RNIB, where he conducted more than 400 technology assessments for people with sight loss in education or employment. Having identified a critical lack of accessible curriculum materials, Richard led an initiative for a national database of accessible textbooks, now grown to become the UK Education Collection operating as RNIB Bookshare.
Richard has held roles in local, national and international organizations, working with people with visual, physical, dual sensory and cognitive disabilities. For the last decade Richard has been Chief Executive of the DAISY Consortium, the global organization whose mission is to develop standards and solutions for accessible publishing and reading. He serves on the board of the Accessible Books Consortium (an initiative of the UN agency WIPO) and is vice chair of the regional blind association in the county where he lives.
Topic: Encouraging Early Communication Development in Children with MDVI
Sampada Shevde oversees Perkins India’s programs. A 1999 graduate of Perkins International’s rigorous Educational Leadership Program, Shevde now drives Perkins India’s locally facing operations, working on developing future partnerships and programs to grow impact. She has successfully initiated collaborations with government organizations and routinely delivers trainings and works with teachers and families in the community. She has previously worked for Sense International, India and Helen Keller Institute for Deaf & Deafblind. Her roles over the years have included training manager, principal, coordinator, and special educator, and she has consulted and conducted trainings and workshops throughout India and Southeast Asia.
Topic: International Declarations and Commitments within the Contours of Sustainable Goal 4: “Promoting inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all.”
Dr Praveena Sukhraj-Ely is a totally blind motivated woman who holds four degrees, including: Bachelor of Social Science; Bachelor of Law, Master of Arts in Political Science (Cum Laude) and a PhD in Public Policy. She is an admitted advocate of the High Court of South Africa and is currently the Chief Director: Governance and Regulations at the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities in the Presidency.
Praveena is a disability activist and serves on numerous boards of national and international organisations that promote disability inclusion in the area of human rights, research, access and equal participation. Praveena has over the passed 12 years been a principal officer, the first vice president and the treasurer of ICEVI. She represents ICEVI on the board of the Accessible Books Consortium (ABC) and has also been selected by ICEVI to represent our partner the World Blind Union on the International Disability Alliance (IDA) Inclusive Education Task Team.
Topic: The Human Right to Education: International Perspectives – A World of Empowerment
Diane Bergeron currently works for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) and is the President of CNIB Guide Dogs and Treasurer for the World Blind Union (WBU). Diane Bergeron is also a life-long learner. She is an alumnus of both the Management Studies and the Rehabilitation Practitioner programs at MacEwan University. She is also a graduate of MacEwan’s Bachelor of Applied Human Services Administration program. In 2011, Diane graduated with distinction from the Master of Arts in Leadership program at Royal Roads University, where she was also the graduate student representative on the University Academic Council. Read More
Topic: Universal Accessibility in the Era of Digital Transformation.
María Soledad Cisternas Reyes, Degree in Law and Master in Political Science. Lawyer, Law Professor and Researcher.
Member of the Advisory Council of the National Human Rights Institute, Chile. Expert from the Dignitem Foundation, Former Special Envoy of UNSG on Disability and Accessibility (2017 – 2023). Former Chairperson of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of the United Nations (2013 – 2016). Former Member of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2009-2016). National Human Rights Prize, Chile, 2014. International Human Rights Award, the American Bar Association of the United States (ABA), 2022. Expert in Dignitem Foundation
Topic: Benetech Accessibility Training to Promote Education Equity
Dr. Lisa Wados Verne, Vice-President, BENETECH, USA
Dr. Lisa Wadors Verne, Vice President Programs provides overall senior management and intellectual guidance for the Bookshare and Benetech programs globally. She has an extensive network of relationships created over 20 years in education research and policy, and over 10 years of experience in leadership roles in Benetech’s OSEP-funded Centers. Dr. Wadors Verne has a doctorate in Special Education and Policy from the University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco State University.
Topic: Reaching the Unreached Through the Global Education Campaign
Mr. Frank Kat, Past -President, Deafblind International
Frank Kat has over 20 years of experience in the field of deafblindness, working with a very wide range of people and organizations, mainly in education, research, and care. Frank has worked internationally, as a member of Deafblind International and has been active in different positions. He has directed the Centre of Excellence on Deafblindness of Royal Dutch Kentalis in the Netherlands. He started at Kentalis as the headmaster of Kentalis Mariella (MDVI) and later at the School for Deafblind Children, Kentalis Rafael, in the Netherlands. Over the last few years, his focus has been on children’s rights and inclusion. Frank has a special interest in the development of children, communication, technology, and a great passion for inclusive education and care.
Topic: The Change that You Seek Begins with
Self
Ms. Kinnari Desai, Senior Manager, Advocacy, India
Am Kinnari Desai working as Senior Manager (Advocacy) at Blind People’s Association for last 24 years. I am a Ford Fellow, received Ford International Fellowship to pursue Masters in Disability Studies and International Laws from Syracuse University, USA. I am looking after Employment & Placement, Assistive Devices distribution, Empowering people with disabilities through Leadership trainings and Advocacy. I am promoting accessibility of public spaces in general; especially work places, by conducting access audit. I am also promoting accessible elections across the country. My focus areas include inclusion, empowerment, leadership, accessibility and technology.
Topic: Rights And Roles of Persons with Visual Impairment
Mr. Santosh Rungta, Chair, World Blind Union, Asia, India.
Mr. Santosh Runta, a senior counsel of High Court of Delhi is a practicing lawyer of the High Courts as well as the Supreme Court. He is also Secretary General of the National Federation of the Blind and President of Asian Blind Union. He has many landmark judgments of the High Court, number of Tribunal and the Supreme Court. He also played a significant role in drafting of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and other legislations pertaining to disability sector. A prolific and bold speaker, Mr Rungta reads his material from Braille while arguing his case. He has played a significant role in truly protection rights of persons with visual impairment, ensuring effective implementation of job reservation and reservation in promotion for them. He uses intervention of respective courts and tribunals as tool of his advocacy, especially in the field of employment and promotion of people with visual impairment.
Topic: Reaching Beyond and Making a Difference in Africa through Visionary Learning.
Mr. Martin Kieti, Kenya
Martin Kieti has twenty-five years of experience working to improve the education and inclusion of people with disabilities in Africa. He is currently the Africa Program Manager for Benetech and the Africa Regional Capacity Development Consultant for the DAISY Consortium. He is also an Inclusive Development Advisor with Inclusion Resources for Africa, Secretary General of the International Council for the Education of People with Visual Impairments – Africa and Member of the Council of the Kenya Society for the Blind. He previously served as the Coordinator of the Institutional Development Program of Perkins School for the Blind, CEO of the Kenya Union of the Blind, Chair of the Board of the Kenya Institute for the Blind, Member of the Board of the Kilimanjaro Blind Trust Africa and the African Union of the Blind. He has also served in numerous other
Boards and Committees at the national and international levels. He has travelled widely in Africa and around the world where he has supported the efforts of governments, development agencies and organisations of persons with disabilities to improve access to quality education and other social services for people with disabilities.
Topic: Collaborating to Uphold Communication Rights
Beth Moulam
Jacob Matthew
Sachin Rizal
Topic: My Life, My Transformation
Mike Daryl Ocol is regional director of the Philippine Student Alliance Lay Movement, Inc. (PSALM) Mindanao B Region. He studied Bachelor of Science in Social Work at the Western Mindanao State University, Zamboanga City, Philippines, and completed the course cum laude. He is finishing Master of Science in Social Work (Major in Social Administration) at Western Mindanao State University, Zamboanga City, Philippines, and Master of Ministry (Major in Campus and Youth Leadership) at Great Commission Missionary Training Center, Inc., Antipolo City, Philippines. He is cofounder of TARA Kabataan Organization (TKO), a community-based organization that aims at empowering the youth through capacity building. He is also cofounder of Youth as Advocates, Philippines (YAP), a movement of young Filipinos with visual impairment that advocates inclusion of youth with visual impairment in the areas of education, employment, family and community, and technology and accessibility.
As regional director of PSALM, Mike Daryl manages the activities of the organization in the region and supervises all operations in the campuses within the region where the organization operates. He leads the implementation of all leadership training programs of the organization for students from universities and colleges in the region and promotes the organization to more potential partners in the campuses, churches, and communities for expansion purposes.
As blind advocate, Mike Daryl is handling a mentoring group of students with visual impairment and helps them increase their employability through soft skills training.