Unesco Chair on Assistive Technologies in Education

Happy Global Accessibility Awareness Day! Let's come together to celebrate inclusivity and equal access for all! 💙✨

Share your stories, uplift voices, and spread the word that every ability matters. Together, we can build a world where everyone feels welcome! 🙌💪

Raising awareness about hearing loss.

Hearing loss is the most common sensory disability worldwide. WHO estimates that in India there are approximately 63 million people, who are suffering from Significant Auditory Impairment.

Early identification and treatment of hearing loss and ear diseases are crucial for effective management and inclusion.

What can help?
• Hearing technologies: hearing aids, cochlear implants, and middle ear implants
• Communication approaches: sign language, speech reading, print-on-palm, Tadoma, and other sensory substitution methods
• Rehabilitation therapy to strengthen listening, communication, and language skills
• Assistive solutions: FM and loop systems, alerting devices, telecom tools, captioning, and sign language interpretation

Together, these measures can greatly improve access to communication, education, and everyday life for people with hearing loss.

Stay informed. Spread awareness.

📣 Applications are still open for UNESCO's .

The Prize recognises innovative projects using digital technologies and to foster creativity, critical thinking and meaningful learning experiences.

🗓️ Apply before 29 May 2026

🔗 https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-ict-education-prize-call-nominations-open-projects-supporting-learners-expand-creativity

At the UNESCO Chair Roundtable South Asia, Dr. Prema Nedungadi, UNESCO Chair on Assistive Technologies for Education at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, shared her vision.

In her speech, she emphasized a critical gap in the assistive technology ecosystem. Currently, assistive technologies are still too often designed and evaluated without meaningful involvement of persons with disabilities. She called for change to make them truly inclusive.

She also made a few recommendations on how this issue can be addressed. Dr. Nedungadi proposed establishing a South Asia Accessible Digital Learning and AI Inclusion Network, which will bring together expertise in accessibility, gender, culture, and sustainability across the region. She also announced the next steps the Chair will take to drive these changes:

1) A hackathon co-designed with deaf students so that the design of technical innovation will have the real-life input and needs of the deaf community at heart.
2) To advance research, a PhD programme in applied sign language linguistics is going to be established.
3) Collaboration with the University of Hamburg will tackle the evaluation of frameworks for accessibility and inclusion.

Your voice matters. What changes would you like to see in inclusive education technologies? Share your thoughts with us.

We are happy to welcome the Roundtable of UNESCO Chairs in South Asia at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri Campus, Inida (13–14 May 2026)

The event was opened by Mr. Tim Curtis, Director of UNESCO South Asia, who shared an inspiring message: South Asia now has 24 UNESCO Chairs working across education, science, culture, technology, sustainability, and inclusion — forming a strong regional knowledge network.

A key message from UNESCO Director-General Prof. Khaled Elanini: UNESCO Chairs are “one of UNESCO’s greatest strengths.” Guided by the vision “UNESCO for the People,” research must move beyond academia and help shape policies that improve lives.

Together, we celebrate collaboration, knowledge sharing, and collective action for a more inclusive and sustainable future


Unesco in New Delhi Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham Amrita School of Computing, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri Amrita Center for Wireless Networks and Applications AMMACHI Labs

The recent MoU was signed between the Indian Sign Language Research And Training Center, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham and the Rural Lifeline Trust. Dr. Sibaji Panda, Head of the Rural Lifeline Trust, represented the organisation.

Dr. Panda is a prominent Indian deaf leader, educator, and advocate for Indian Sign Language (ISL). He is recognised for his pioneering work in deaf education and community empowerment in rural Odisha and across the country. In 2001, he became the first teacher in India to teach ISL in a formally approved programme. Dr. Panda is a founder member of the Indian Sign Language Teachers Association and the Indian Sign Language Interpreters Association (ISLIA).

Dr. Panda established the Happy Hands School for the Deaf in rural Odisha, which serves deaf children through a sign-bilingual model where Indian Sign Language is the first language. The school is unique for being led entirely by deaf educators and for receiving UNESCO recognition for its inclusive, bilingual, and eco-centric education model.

The ecovillage campus on which the Happy Hands School is located was developed by Dr Panda, who is also an active advocate and practitioner for ecological living. His work received further recognition in January 2026 when he was invited to the Republic Day “At Home” reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan, highlighting his contribution to inclusive education.

We are extremely proud of having Dr. Panda on board as part of this collaboration and hope this work will help to combine AI, Education, and ISL Research to serve the needs of the deaf community.

Meet Our Team: Professor Ulrike Zeshan, OBE

We are proud to welcome Professor Ulrike Zeshan to the UNESCO Chair on Assistive Technologies in Education!

An Emeritus Professor of Sign Language Linguistics at the University of Lancashire (UK) and Adjunct Professor at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, she brings over 25 years of experience working with Indian Sign Language and Deaf communities in India and around the world.
Now based in rural Odisha, Professor Zeshan supports the Happy Hands School for the Deaf as Head of Academics, continuing her commitment to inclusive and innovative education.
Her work spans sign language research, Deaf education, gamified learning, and creative, interdisciplinary approaches to education. She is a member of the European Academy of Sciences.

We are honoured to have her expertise and vision as part of our team!

Innovation Meets Inclusion: New MoU Drives AI, Research, and Learning for Deaf Communities

We’re thrilled to announce that Indian Sign Language Research And Training Center, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, and Rural Lifeline Trust are joining hands to make Indian Sign Language more accessible and inclusive through technology, education, and research.

Highlights of this collaboration include:
✨ AI-driven avatars to translate text and speech into ISL in real time
✨ Better Video Relay Services for seamless communication
✨ Expanding ISL vocabulary and creating a dynamic SignLearn App
✨ Innovative tools for teaching English to Deaf learners
✨ Training programs for Deaf educators and capacity building
✨ Documenting regional sign variations for greater inclusivity
✨ Workshops, seminars, and community events on AI and accessibility

Together, we’re working to empower the Deaf community and ensure everyone can communicate, learn, and grow without barriers.

We are proud to present recent research on caregivers’ experiences with from pre-to post-diagnosis, conducted by Selina Shah (Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham), Dr. Shobhana Madhavan (Amrita School of Business Coimbatore ), Nick Bowden (University of Canterbury, New Zealand), and Dr. Prema Nedungadi (Unesco Chair on Assistive Technologies in Education/ Amrita School of Computing, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri). This international study examines the experiences of 13 caregivers across nine countries and five continents.

The highlights of the research are:

• Parents’ emotional responses upon receiving an autism diagnosis include
guilt, fear, and relief.

• The stigma surrounding autism often strains both immediate and extended
family relationships.

• Low- to middle-income countries have limited training, funding, and infrastructure,
resulting in unmet needs.

• Families in high-income countries report better access to education and community
support.

• Rural parents across the study face challenges in accessing diagnosis,
healthcare, and services.

The findings highlight how diagnostic delays, stigma, and uneven service provision affect parental and child well-being. Policies influence access to services and diagnosis, financial security, mental health, and education and employment opportunities. The findings underscore the importance of tailoring policies to regional socioeconomic contexts, the need for policy enforcement, context-specific professional training, and whole-family support.

To read more about this research, you can here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S3050656526000507

📢 Calling all champions of !

This is your chance to become a UNESCO International Prizes laureate! The deadline is 1st of June 2026. This year’s theme is ‘Literacy for people, prosperity and the planet’’.

UNESCO International Literacy Prizes