Tag Archives: #ManiqueGunaratne

INTERNATIONAL TRAINING IN ACCESS AUDITS AT WADDUWA HOLIDAY RESORT

June 6, 2021 Manique

Watch the video at:
https://youtu.be/HE8EJTtRSgc

Manique Gunaratne
Manager – Specialised Training & Disability Resource Centre
The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon

Specialised Training, Women with Disabilities

BEST BUDDIES FOR WOMEN WITH DISABILITY DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

June 5, 2021 Manique

Mobility International USA (MIUSA) and the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC) Specialised Training & Disability Resource Centre organized a programme on Mobilizing Women Leaders with #Disabilities for Inclusive Responses to Gender-Based Violence During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Sabaragamuwa Province in January 2021. The programme was held at Sri Ramya Reception Hall in Ratnapura. The provincial-level programmes were structured to have consultations with stakeholders and resource persons, Promoting “Be-Safe” App (This app will help women with disabilities to be safe and get information and peer support in Covid period and emergency), Production of GBV video, Communication materials: leaflets, social-media posts & videos, radio programs, capacity building of TOT in Sexual and Reproductive Health to minimize the Gender-Base Violence and building a network support system.

35 women with a physical disability, 22 hearing impaired women, 2 women with a learning disability, 17 vision impaired women and 2 women with psychosocial disability benefitted through physical and virtual training from the grassroots level. 43 women with non-disability and 15 men with non-disability were also sensitized on the prevention of gender-based violence during the Covid-19 pandemic. Organizations working for Persons with Disabilities, Civil Organizations, Government Departments, Ministries, Women Ministry, Human Rights Organizations, Women Networks, Women’s Organizations, Universities, Research Institutes, Police Department, Embassies, Legal Organizations, Mental Health Organizations, Media, Sexual & Reproductive Health Organizations, USA Organizations, UN Organizations, Rural Development Organizations andSchools supported this initiative to support women with a disability during Covid-19 pandemic.

**Hearing-impaired Participants with a Sign Language Interpreter**

**Sexually Transmitted Diseases During the Covid-19 Session in Progress**

**Resource Person and Sign Language Interpreter**

**What is Gender-based Violence Session in Progress**

**Cause of Gender-based Violence Session in Progress**

Manique Gunaratne
Viber: 0094779571918

Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Specialised Training

ACCESS FOR ALL: THE INTERNET IN SERVICE OF SOCIETY

June 3, 2021 Manique

The Federation of Information Technology Industry Sri Lanka (FITIS), organized the Sri Lanka Internet Day 2021. The conference was conducted virtually under the theme ” Digital Inclusion”. Ms #Manique Gunaratne was a speaker at this conference to speak on “Digital Inclusion for Persons with #Disability” in April 2021. Societies all over the world are increasingly reliant on technology for their home, work and social lives. This has increased in the last year, given the need for social distancing.

Internet-enabled digital technologies have the potential to democratize access and allow market innovators to disrupt and find better ways to serve more people. While the gains of technology are manifold, this increasing reliance on technology has a dark side – the fault lines are drawn around access. The biggest beneficiaries of technology are therefore those who already have prior levels of access. Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), women, the elderly, and those from backward social communities tend to be excluded from digital economies and their gains.

In this context, this panel discussed the various dimensions of access challenges, the goals of policymaking, and the opportunities for market innovators and design solutions, and also thought about how Sri Lanka and India can collaborate more fruitfully.
The following areas were discussed at the panel;

The known challenges around access.
How the innovators and civil society be more attentive to these issues of access.
The challenges innovators face.
Opportunities and challenges to make programmes be better designed to be inclusive.
How to contemplate policymaking.
The scope of formal and informal governance mechanisms.
What should be left to the markets?
Embedding access approaches from the beginning have worked out, the pitfalls and the challenges.
How to work together to ensure we learn from each other’s successes and prevent failure.

The Panelists were:

Manique Gunaratne, Manager, Specialised Training and Disability Resource Centre, The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon
Natasha Joshi, Associate Director, Nilekani Philanthropies
Gayani Hurulle, Research Manager, Lirne Asia
Prashanth Premakumar, Chief Executive Officer, Agrithmics
Dr Sarayu Natarajan, Founder Aapti Institute, Moderator

Watch the video at:
https://youtu.be/Zf7U49W4PkA