In honour of late Prof. (Dr.) Shamnad Basheer (Founder, IDIA Charitable Trust (IDIA) and SpicyIP), the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS) joined hands with IDIA to inaugurate the Prof. (Dr.) Shamnad Basheer Accessibility Lab at NUJS to foster greater inclusion of students with disabilities.
This initiative was announced in September 2019, and was inaugurated on 10th February 2020 by Prof. NK Chakrabarti, Vice Chancellor, NUJS. He was joined by Mr. M.M. Basheer, father of Prof. (Dr.) Shamnad Basheer, in the ribbon cutting ceremony.
The lab aims to promote greater accessibility in law schools by creating a more enabling environment for students with disabilities.
The lab will be equipped with the latest technological devices such as the Index Basic-D V5 Braille Embosser, Braille Paper Tractor Feed, and the Duxbury Braille Translator. Many of these devices have been funded by IDIA.
This lab is a fitting tribute to Prof. (Dr.) Shamnad Basheer who started IDIA with the aim to promote greater diversity, inclusion and accessibility in law schools and beyond. He was a strong advocate of promoting accessibility and had played an important role in advocating for an exception in copyright laws to make materials accessible to those with visual impairment. He started the IDIA Disability Access Program (IDAP).
IDAP, a national vertical of IDIA, advocates for systemic changes in law schools and the wider legal ecosystem to make our spaces more accessible for persons with disabilities. To that end, IDIA has collaborated with Sony Pictures Networks Distribution India Pvt (SPND) to organize two workshops relating to accessibility, one in Bangalore and one in Mumbai. Prof. (Dr.) Shamnad Basheer had also taught in NUJS. It is heart warming to see both the organisations join hands for this wonderful initiative. We hope to see many more law schools follow suit!
You can watch the videos from the inauguration ceremony here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjv34cNdyUeXgQrBJCEMy_pZ3fkRhfg4W.
