Disability, more often than not, is associated with incapacity, inadequacy, negative imagery and stereotypes. With such social attitudes, differently abled people find it difficult to break the vicious circle of lack of education, skills, low confidence, low employability and poor economic status. Panasonic believes strongly in its proposition of changing photography where there is something to suit all types of photographers . With this campaign, the brand chose to leverage photography to successfully reshape perceptions of society surrounding differently abled individuals by partnering with KnowDisability.org. This was done in an attempt to differentiate the brand from the other campaigns in lieu of World Photography Day, while ensuring a paradigm shift regarding creative expression.

Differently abled individuals are not provided the same opportunities as their counterparts in society and are often passed over for jobs in most avenues. There is a huge pool of untapped potential talent that can help India to grow through innovation and creativity. By including differently abled people in the workforce, they can contribute to the economy through positive social progress.To facilitate this, we wanted to present a ‘learn and earn’ initiative powered by photography. As part of the learn aspect, Panasonic conducted workshops providing the equipment as well as the expertise in the form of a mentor to teach the differently abled individuals the basics of photography. The 'earn' part of the initiative included showcasing work at exhibitions and then setting up a branded E-commerce platform where the work showcased could be purchased.

We used the power of photography to prove that being differently abled doesnot mean a lack of ability. A camera does not discriminate between abled and differently abled. Believing that photography is a great form of self expression, we created Beyond Frames - a unique ‘learn and earn’ ecommerce initiative for the differently abled that was powered by Panasonic. The main aim of this initiative was to help create an inclusive society by breaking stereotypes surrounding the differently abled and also help them build a voice and a source of income.

Panasonic Lumix helped train 25 differently abled people in the art of photography, resulting in sales of over INR 140k of their pictures through the ecommerce site in just one week of its launch.

500,000 people attended the Photofair 2018 out of which 60% visited the Panaonic Lumix stall

The campaign had a total of 148 Million organic Impressions.

Panasonic was able to reach more than 1.2 million unique users throughout the campaign with total views of 10 Million views and 3000 comments on Youtube from the photography fraternity (which is extremely rare). Photography Mentors from Cannon complimented Panasonic on the campaign and appreciated the entire initiative.

Disability, more often than not, is associated with incapacity, inadequacy, negative imagery and stereotypes. Differently abled people in India are subject to multiple deprivations and limited opportunities in several dimensions of their lives. Some of these include, not being enrolled to schools, lower employment rates, limited awareness of entitlements and services available and lack of social welfare support. With such social attitudes, they find it difficult to break this vicious circle of lack of education, skills, low confidence, low employability and poor economic status. Persons with disabilities account for less than 0.6 per cent of the workforce in India (Business Standard). The global rate is closer to 15 per cent, according to the World Health Organization. If those who are differently abled are given opportunities to learn and earn then this can help create an inclusive society and showcase positive social progress.