When blind people themselves are off the roads and away from parks then these researchers did the rest... http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/Blind-walk-helps-see-ground-reality/articleshow/48210099.cms GURGAON: Do people really care if a blind person is in danger? Does it matter to anyone whether a person who cannot see gets to cross the road safely or to be seated in public transport or in a park? Bothered by such questions, some management students in the city decided to conduct an experiment, both to educate themselves and the society around them.
Ten MBA students of the School of Inspired Leadership (SOIL) on Friday walked with their eyes closed in Leisure Valley Park, Sector 29. The aim was to raise awareness about the importance of making public spaces accessible to everyone and create awareness about the challenges faced by blind people in day-to-day life. One of the students, Cavery, was disheartened after her first blind walk at the park. "I adjusted to the darkness within 5-10 minutes. What bothered me was not the fear of tripping down, but the insensitivity of people around me. Not many people help blind people to cross a traffic signal and vacate seats for them in public places," said the 25-year-old. While five students closed their eyes and took a round of the park with a stick, the other five accompanied them as helpers and observed how people around reacted to the presence of visually impaired. The group had conducted a similar experiment at Galleria Market last week. The walks were carried out as a social experiment by the SOIL management students. Recounting the advantages of a blind walk to sensitize people towards blind people, Vignesh Warg, 25, a student who also works with an NGO, Esha-people for blind, said, "The experiment provided an opportunity to experience what blindness is and how they overcome obstacles at every step. Through the blind walks, we are trying to create empathy towards blind people." A N Bhattacharya, who mentored the students, said "The students carried out very simple activities like crossing the road and climbing stairs. The students came to the conclusion that not many people are sensitive towards blind people." -- Avinash Shahi Doctoral student at Centre for Law and Governance JNU Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
