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bridging barriers Through iCT By Sindhu Nair
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Mohammed Shafeea, a blind Qatari student with Sabine Sandros, Training Specialist at Mada
Mada, the region’s first Assistive Technology Centre, is aiming to use IT as an equaliser and to up accessibility, to aid those with disabilities. Qatar Today talks to the developers, the users and the principals to find out more...
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pdating status messages on Facebook is a simple task for many of us. Not so for Mohammed Shafeea, a blind Qatari student from Qatar University (QU), who can barely see the screen. If technology uplifts all members of society how does it benefit those with disabilities? ictQatar, with the help of prominent business heads in the country, has given this matter due diligence and Mada, one of the few Assistive Technology Centres in the world has been launched in Qatar as a result of this deliberation.
Shafeea is one of the many users of Mada’s expertise. He can be classified as an “expert of Assistive Technology” and is in constant touch with the developers at Mada to find “his perfect” solution. He has been using this technology for over four years but looks forward to working with Mada to help the blind community. He has already started work and has recorded an audio guide for elders on various assistive technologies, as well as recording material for the Qatari Society for Diabetes. “Mada will assist us with technology that will help us. The schools I attended
Qatar Today November 10
11/1/10 7:35:47 PM