MAPUSA
Peter Borges, Assistant Professor of Social Work at Goa University, has said the social work programme is committed to creating opportunities where students engage with real-world inclusion practices.
He was speaking at a day-long programme in Candolim as the University’s D. D. Kosambi School of Social Sciences & Behavioural Studies observed the International Week of Deaf People 2025 and the International Day of Sign Languages.
The event, organised in collaboration with the Goa Association of the Deaf (GAD), Ali Yavar Jung National Institute of Speech & Hearing Disabilities (Divyangjan), Directorate of Unnat Bharat Abhiyaan, and the UGC Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion & Inclusive Policy, was hosted by Novotel Hotels & Resorts Goa, Candolim.
Around 50 deaf children and young people attended the programme, which included an Indian Sign Language (ISL) awareness session for hotel staff conducted by GAD/DTISL, ISL-led games, creative workshops, and confidence-building activities for the children.
In the afternoon, Novotel chefs engaged participants in a hands-on bakery session, followed by a guided tour of hotel departments to provide exposure to professional hospitality spaces.
ISL interpretation was provided by Muskan Shaikh and Josefina Fernandes throughout the sessions.
Speaking at the event, Prasad Joshi, Secretary of GAD, said the programme was a recognition of “Deaf identity, culture, and our right to inclusion.”
while Udhayan Damodharan, Director of Talent & Culture at Novotel Goa, noted that learning ISL and interacting with the Deaf community had been “eye-opening” for his team.
The programme was coordinated by Peter Borges with support from faculty and MSW students.
