On Saturday, the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP), a major cross-disability non-profit organisation, announced a three-year fellowship for differently-abled adolescents interested in pursuing a career in development.
The NCPEDP has partnered with the Azim Premji Foundation for this effort, which will begin in September, according to a statement released by the NGO. The NCPEDP-Javed Abidi Fellowship on Disability was established in the silver jubilee year of NCPEDP in honour of late Javed Abidi, a pioneer of India's disability rights movement and the organization's former director.
The three-year fellowship will be available to differently-abled people aged 18 to 28 who have a strong interest in disability issues and want to pursue a career in development, specifically disability rights and inclusion, according to the announcement. "Disability-related statistics and research are crucial not just for educated and effective advocacy campaigns, but also for policymakers to make informed decisions about how to implement rights-based programmes and policies that will empower people with disabilities in India."
As a result of this fellowship, NCPEDP hopes to not only create a collection of data-driven and evidence-based research and policy papers on a variety of disability-related topics, but also to develop a second line of leadership for India's disability movement," stated NCPEDP Chairperson Som Mittal.
The fellows will receive a monthly stipend of up to Rs 25,000 to meet their basic needs during the fellowship programme, which aims to engineer social entrepreneurship and guide fellows in contributing to an evidence-based collection of advocacy efforts, experience, and effects in a pluralistic manner to the cause of disability. "From September 1, 2021, the fellowship programme will commence. The application period is already underway, with the deadline for submission set for August 11, 2021. Young disabled women are strongly urged to apply "According to the statement.
According to the NCPEDP, India has over 25 million young people with disabilities who want to participate equally in society and the development debate. "Because we're in the middle of a pandemic, persons with disabilities have been the hardest hit." Food, basic healthcare, education, and employment possibilities are all in short supply.