By Joseph Varghese/Staff Reporter
Mada (Qatar Assistive Technology Centre) will host Techshare Middle East in Doha on November 4-5. This is the first time the Techshare conference is being held in the Middle East.
Announcing the schedule of the conference yesterday, David Banes, chief executive officer, Mada, said that the conference offers a great opportunity for people with special needs to know more about various technologies available in the field in Arabic.
“The conference supports the strategy of Mada to create an inclusive society. It also will be an occasion to know more about the challenges faced by the people with special needs in the region. The conference brings together leading experts from within the region and globally to explore crucial topics that seek to bridge the digital divide experienced by people with a disability. More than 300 delegates have already registered for the event,” he said.
According to the CEO, topics covered include how technology can help people with a disability succeed in education, employment and daily life, communication, the use of robotics and online and accessing digital content. The event will include special sessions of interest to families of people with autism and those with little or no vision.
The event will feature keynote speakers Peter Fay, IBM; Kevin Carey, Royal National Institute of Blind People; Stephen King of Daisy Consortium; and additional speakers from Vodafone and Microsoft. Other speakers include researchers and practitioners from within Qatar, including Qatar University, Carnegie Mellon University and Hamad Medical Corporation, and the GCC.
Techshare Middle East represents a major development of the series of Techshare conferences, building upon past events in Europe, India and Africa. Techshare Middle East brings that experience and insight to the Arab region for the first time.
A special feature will be “Mada on the Move”, a showcase of the very best in assistive technology for Arabic speakers, demonstrating technologies developed and supported from here in Qatar.
Mada will continue training for special needs people: CEO
Mada has trained more than 1,000 people with special needs since its establishment, chief executive officer David Banes has said.
Mada (Qatar Assistive Technology Centre) was established in 2010 under the Ministry of Information and Communications as a public-private partnership with the co-operation of Ooredoo, Vodafone Qatar, Qatar National Bank, and Microsoft.
Banes said more than 1,200 people with special needs have visited Mada for assessment and advice. “Well more than 1,000 people have been trained at the centre so far. We will also continue to provide assessment and training, as well as provision of much needed technologies in the hands of autistic people nationwide.”
Banes added that Mada has been able to help these people in handling gadgets. “We have launched about 25 localised products to support them. We have published database of resources in the Arabic language to enable the locals to have better access to products.”
“The products are not patented by us but we have helped the companies to develop them. We have supported them to adapt products and programmes in Arabic.”
The Mada CEO said that the centre has become a prominent player in the assistive technology in the region.
