We Care Film Festival Is The
Chosen Partner of Unesco's
Unique International Conference
It is a matter of pride that UNESCO has chosen New Delhi,
India as the venue for the conference. The Government of
India has extended its cooperation for the Conference and
the Film Festival that is being held at the prestigious Vigyan
Bhavan in New Delhi between 24th and 26th November
2014.
In addition to the film festival, another major component of
the international conference is an exhibition of Information
and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and assistive
technologies for persons with disabilities.
From Exclusion to
Empowerment:
Role of Information and
Communication Technologies
for Persons with Disabilities
Objective
The International Conference and the Film Festival build on
the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and its unique rights-based
mandate on education, science, culture, communication
and information within the United Nations system.
The main objectives of the three-day event are to
Preface
Brotherhood, an NGO, founded the We Care Film
Festival in 2003. UNESCO and the UN Information
Centre for India and Bhutan came on board as
founding partners of this pioneering film festival
along with the Government of India's National
Trust. The We Care Film Festival encourages
universal participation and seeks entries from all
over the world.
Ÿ
Promote the human rights and fundamental freedoms
of persons with disabilities
Ÿ
Encourage all stakeholders including governments,
NGOs and media organisations to take concrete
measures for empowerment of persons with disabilities
through the use of ICTs and the audio-visual medium
Participants
Levelling the field
The Conference
The international conference From Exclusion to
Empowerment: Role of Information and
Communication Technologies for Persons with
Disabilities is an initiative of UNESCO
headquarters, Paris.
Approximately 1000 participants from around the world are
expected to attend the film festival.
Participants will include policy makers, decision-makers
and government representatives; domain experts in the
space of disability issues; filmmakers, film critics and
representatives of film festivals on disability issues; institutes
and civil society organizations that work on disability issues;
representatives of the ICT industry; information and media
professionals; teacher training institutes; and students from
institutes of journalism, mass communication and film
studies.
Introduction
Since its inception in 2003, the We Care Film Festival has become a leading
ambassador for raising awareness on the rights of persons with disability across the
globe and is a beacon for promoting a positive attitude towards disability. It also
acts as a vehicle in bringing disability issues to the fore amongst advocacy
bodies, government agencies, civil society and the youth, affecting both
institutional and grassroots level attitudinal and behavioural change.
Aim
This annual international travelling and educational film festival of short films and
documentaries on disability issues is showcased at universities, educational
institutions and schools and aims sensitizing and engaging youth in the disability
sector on the one hand, and instilling confidence in persons with disability on the other.
The We Care Film Festival aims at promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms of persons with
disabilities, and encourages all stakeholders to take concrete measures for the empowerment of persons
with disabilities through the medium of cinema. It promotes a new approach, which focuses on ensuring
that persons with disabilities have equal rights, opportunities and access. The films are related to the
following articles of the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disability:
Article 6: Women with Disabilities
Article 9: Accessibility
Article 21: Freedom of expression and opinion; Access to information
Article 24: Education
Article 30: Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport
Article 32: International cooperation
The We Care Film Festival endeavours not merely to create awareness about disability issues through the
cinematic medium but also to give a fillip to the rights-based approach where those with disability are
considered persons first.
Impact
The We Care Film Festival has demonstrated that short films and
documentaries are a powerful medium for educating the public
about disability issues. The films have challenged the myths and
misconceptions surrounding living with disability and have sensitized
viewers to the challenges and triumphs of the community. It has
proved that psychological acceptance is an essential precondition to
physical acceptance and is the first step to an inclusive society.
Outreach
The We Care Film Festival archive has a repository of more than 600
short films and documentaries out of which 90 are award winning.
These have been showcased to a large global audience.
Venues travelled to (India and abroad)
113
Average number of viewers per venue
600
Average films screened per venue
30
Total number of screenings
3,360
Total viewers reached out to
67,000
Sensitizing youth and
children on inclusiveness
Past experience indicates that screening films in schools has succeeded
in changing people's outlook. It helps management, teachers, nonteaching staff and most importantly children without disability to
understand the state, status and educational requirements of children
with special needs. It also aids in developing a barrier-free environment
that is inclusive, equitable and encouraging for children with disability. It is
a matter of pride for the festival that due to its impact, more and more
schools have now started admitting to children with special needs.
Creating awareness on disability issues through film festivals is a relatively
new concept. Internationally as well, there are few such film festivals.
Many studies show that the audio-visual medium plays a vital role in
providing opportunities of social acceptance and social inclusion for
people with disabilities. Through films they can observe other people with
disability and understand how they undertake a wide variety of activities,
leading to independent and dignified lives and in the process emerging as
positive role models in society.
We Care Film Festival provides a unique platform to various organizations working in the field of disability to use films
as an advocacy tool to sensitize all sections of society, such as human resource professionals, towards disability
issues and impress upon them the need for formulating and implementing inclusive employment policies.
The festival is an advocacy tool that seeks to bring about attitudinal and behavioural change ridding people of
misconceptions, myths and prejudices surrounding disability issues.
From the desk of the Patron-in-Chief, We Care Film Festival
The We Care Film Fest on disability issues is the only festival in the world, which travels to
educational institutions including mass communication institutes and disability institutions in India
and abroad.
This is not a festival, but a mission… a movement to create greater awareness about disability
issues through the medium of cinema. An impaired person may be disabled, but society as a
whole is often handicapped because it failed to understand that the disabled do not seek pity but
compassion, understanding and dignity.
Govind Nihalani, Padma Shri awardee
Patron-in-Chief, WE CARE Film Festival
From the desk of Director, UN Information Centre for India and Bhutan
The We Care Film Fest's efforts underline the UN's commitment to inclusion – in both
development and human rights perspectives. The film festival has become a powerful advocacy
tool which demands that our attitudes and biases towards persons with disabilities are altered, and
that we see them through new eyes of equality, equity and full and unimpeded access and
participation.
The We Care Film Festival will be a powerful platform for the UN Information Centre as we
embrace the next International Decade for Persons with Disabilities proposed by the UN for the
period 2013-2022.
Through the We Care Film Fest we will continue to demonstrate that we really do care!
Ms. Kiran Mehra-Kerpelman
Director, UN Information Centre for India and Bhutan
From the Founder and Director,
Brotherhood and We Care Film Fest
We have spent 12 years taking our message of
attitudinal and behaviour change towards the
disabled to 113 venues in India and in different parts
of the world. The integration of the We Care Film
Festival with UNESCO's international conference is
due recognition of our work and an opportunity for
us to take our message to newer and wider
audiences.
- Satish Kapoor
We Care Film Fest and Panel Discussions
The screening of short films and documentaries is followed by panel
discussions and the sharing of success stories on the use of films as
channels for information, communication and advocacy. Domain
experts, filmmakers, film critics and representatives of film festivals on
disability issues from India and across the globe will participate in the We
Care Film Fest.
Partner Speak
About Partners
RAPISCAN Systems is committed to
upholding a culture of diversity and
inclusion. We value the unique
contributions of every person and we
hold firm to the ideals of fairness,
equal opportunity and mutual
respect. That is why, as part of our
CSR activities, we have joined hands
with the United Nations Information
Centre for India and Bhutan in
supporting the We Care Film Fest on
disability issues for the last three
years.
The National Trust sponsors
awards to filmmakers and
promotes the
film festival among registered
organizations.
– Mr. Ajay Mehra, President,
RAPISCAN
UNESCO works to promote
the film festival amongst its
195 member countries.
The UN Information Centre
for India and Bhutan
promotes the film festival in
India and abroad through the
entire UN network in
addition to developing
advocacy strategies.
United Nations Information Centre
Brotherhood and We Care Film Fest
55, Lodi Estate, New Delhi 110003
E.: [email protected]
W.: www.unic.org.in
UNICNewDelhi
@UNICDelhi
B-4/156, Safdarjung Enclave, New Delhi-110029
E-mail: [email protected],
[email protected],
www.wecarefilmfest.net
+91 9899472065, +91 9811012065
With additional support from: