Bhubaneswar (10/12/2023): Open Learning Systems (OLS), the pioneering organisation in the field of disability in Odisha, has been working for the care, protection, education and comprehensive rehabilitation services for Children with Disabilities since 1987. To celebrate the International Day for Persons with Disabilities in 2023, OLS collaborated with Seva-in-Action (SiA) in organizing “Quizabled” – Special quiz competition exclusively for children and youth with disabilities supported by LTIMindtree.
Quizabled is a distinctive quiz conceptualized by Seva-in-Action, and powered by LTIMindtree under its CSR activity. It is designed to include 5 different categories of disabilities viz., intellectual disability (ID), Cerebral Palsy (CP), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Visual Impairment (VI), and Hearing Impairment (HI). The objective is to provide with a knowledge platform for this group to showcase their intellectual capabilities and develop their potentials. This, the 9th edition of Quizabled, was organized in 10 states, and for the 2nd time in Bhubaneswar, bringing together nearly 200 children from special and regular schools across Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Sonepur.
The preliminaries and the finals were conducted by the Quiz Master, Mr. Himadri Banerjee from 4 Edge Quizzing Solutions, in Odia, Hindi and English. He was ably supported by the volunteers of OLS, and Aarya, Alka Joshi, and Pramod Mohapatra. The event was inaugurated by Ashok Chandra Panda, Minister of Science &Technology, Social Security & Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Governmentof Odisha, in the presence of eminent guests: Kasturi Mohapatra, then Editor, Utkal Prasanga & Odisha Review, Pratyush Panda, Head ESG LTIMindtree, and Sanjeev Kumar, Centre Head, LTIMindtree, Bhubaneswar. The Minister appreciated the concept and gave away prizes to some of the winners.
Earlier in the day, Sannyashai Behera, Deputy Secretary, SSEPD Department, Government of Odisha declared the Quizabled open. Prakash K Rath, CEO, OLS, gave the welcome address, and Ruma Banerjee, Vice President, SiA, gave the keynote address. Pratyush Panda gave an assurance of continued support to the event and opined that efforts are on to get Quizabled registered as an organisation for its sustainability. The participation certificate with goodies were given to all the children who participated in the prelims besides cash prizes and goodies for winners and runners up.
The winners of various categories were: In Group – A (Children with Intellectual Disability) group), Aridita Chakraborty and Shubhangi Das of OLS won the first prize by beating others with handsome margin. They received a cash prize of Rs 10000. In Group-B (Children with Autism and Cerebral Palsy), the participants of OLS, Ramachandra Gagrai and Payal Rout won the Winners Prize of Rs 10000, and Siddharth Mohanty and Priyaranjan of OLS won the Runners Up prize, a cash award of Rs 6000. The winners from the HI and VI groups will be taking part in the National Competition to be conducted in Bengaluru in January next year. Apart from the Minister, the prizes and certificates were given away in various categories by Dr.Pratap Rath, eminent psychologist and human rights champion, Sibaji Panda of Helping Hands School, Sonepur, Mrs. Kasturi Mohapatra, Ruma Banerjee, Thulasi M. of SiA, and Prakash K Rath.
Eight of the winners went on to represent Odisha at the zonal-level Quizabled event held in 2024 at Hyderabad.
