Bhubaneswar: 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, OLS collaborated with Seva-in-Action (SiA) in organising “Quizabled” – a Special quiz competition exclusively for children and youth with disabilities supported by LTIMindtree.
Quizabled is a distinctive quiz conceptualised by Seva-in-Action and powered by LTIMindtree under its CSR activity. The objective is to provide a knowledge platform for this group to showcase their intellectual capabilities and develop their potential.
This is the 9th edition of Quizabled was organised in 10 states this year and for the 2nd time in Bhubaneswar. This edition of the Quizabled 2023-24 event was held for nearly 200 children from special and regular schools across Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, and Sonepur, Odisha. It is designed to include five different categories of disabilities viz., intellectual disability (ID), Cerebral Palsy (CP), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Visual Impairment (VI), and Hearing Impairment (HI).
The preliminaries and the finals were conducted by the Quiz Master, Himadri Banerjee from 4 Edge Quizzing Solutions. The medium of the quiz was Odia, Hindi, and English. He was ably supported by the volunteers of OLS and Aarya, Alaka, and Pramod Mohapatra.
Quizabled in Bhubaneswar was inaugurated by Ashok Chandra Panda, Minister of Science &Technology, Social Security & Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Government of Odisha, in the presence of eminent guests, Kasturi Mohapatra, 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, OAS, 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 was 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 by a handsome margin. They received a cash prize of Rs 10,000.
In Group-B (Children with Autism and Cerebral Palsy), the participants of OLS, Ramachandra Gagrai, and Payal Rout won the Winners Prize of Rs 10,000, and Siddharth Mohanty and Priyaranjan of OLS won the Runners-Up prize, a cash award of Rs 6,000.
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, Kasturi Mohapatra, Ruma Banerjee, Thulasi M. of SiA and Prakash K Rath.
The Quizabled was a grand success thoroughly involved and enjoyed by the participants, the teachers, the parents, the volunteers, and all those who witnessed the event.
