The award was received on the 23^rd of February 2018 by Ms. Shilpi Kapoor, founder of BarrierBreak and Ms. Shai Venkatraman, editor of Newz Hook at the Zero Project Conference 2018.

The conference at the United Nations Offices in Vienna witnessed more than 500 innovators and leaders from around the world, policymakers, entrepreneurs, opinion leaders and other key influencers from all sectors of society.

Newz Hook was one of the 68 Innovative Practices that was selected among 73 countries and 317 nominations jointly by the Zero Project network of experts with and without disabilities from all over the world. (Factsheet)

Newz Hook which is currently funded by BarrierBreak, received the award for being fully accessible and ensuring easy access to news for people with disabilities. The news is written in simple English and discusses such various topics as current affairs, technology, business, entertainment, sports, and health.

The website and the application supports the use of screen readers, thus enabling the visually impaired to read the news. It also allows the user to have a high contrast view and to increase the size of the text, thus supporting senior citizens and people with low vision. Additionally, Newz Hook includes sign language videos in which a reporter interprets the news in Indian Sign language

“Our mission is to change attitudes towards disability, not only looking at people with disabilities but the society at large” said Shilpi Kapoor while talking at the Zero Project Conference.

About Zero Project: The Zero Project was initiated by the Essl Foundation in 2008 and focuses on the rights of persons with disabilities globally. It is a platform where the most innovative and effective solutions to problems that persons with disabilities face, are shared. Its mission is to support the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) and to work for a world without barriers.

About NewzHook: BarrierBreak’s Newz Hook is India’s first news channel that is inclusive and accessible to all with a special focus on disability related news. The news website and app is fully accessible to visually impaired screen reader users, promotes sign language news for deaf and uses simple English. Since 2016, more than 8,000 users have downloaded the app and more than 10,000 users read the news every day on the newzhook.com website

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