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Doha, Qatar: Promoting and safeguarding the rights of persons with disabilities (PWDs) are among top priorities for Qatar. The role of technology and digital innovation in supporting persons with disabilities is vital.
Mada Center (Qatar Assistive Technology Center) released recently the annual Impact Report for the year 2022 entitled ‘Towards an Inclusive Smart Future’. It highlights the impact of the center’s projects and achievements in 2022, in addition to statistics on digital accessibility programmes and services, training and capacity building, innovation, and research.
Maha Al Mansouri, CEO of Mada Center, stated in the publication, “Under the slogan, ‘Towards an inclusive smart future’ and out of our belief in the latent capabilities of persons with disabilities, their effective role in achieving the goals of sustainable development, and as they are an integral part of this society, we work with passion, hand in hand with them, to find out all their needs and requirements, and support them fully to enable them unlock their potentials and capabilities, ensure their independence, and fully integrate them into all aspects of life.
“Based on this noble goal, the Assistive Technology Center - Qatar (Mada) was keen to launch its 2022-2024 strategy, through which we seek to establish a number of smart partnerships locally, regionally and internationally, in the sectors of education, community, and employment. through which we aim to support and enable our strategic partners in the field of digital accessibility.”
She added, “We are also working to support and improve digital access policies in government institutions, to ensure the right of PWDs to access digital content. We offer a number of consultations in the field of digital accessibility, technological solutions and assistive technology, and we specialise in applying digital accessibility standards and adopting digital platforms according to international standards. “We also offer training programs for PWDs to improve their technological skills, and accredited, high-quality training programs for experts and specialists. In addition to packages of assistive technology services for the purpose of assessing the needs of PWDs and providing them with assistive technology solutions.”
Speaking about Mada Innovation Club, Al Mansouri said, “We empower innovators with disabilities with the necessary skills and knowledge to transform their ideas into solutions and products through Mada Innovation Club. In the framework of activating Mada’s 2022-2024 strategy, we are pleased to launch ‘Mada Edge’, through which we work to develop research in Arabic, and resources on ICT accessibility, related products and solutions, the latest trends, international best practices, and related programs and policies.”
Mada Lab was also launched to be an innovation forum for innovators, entrepreneurs, and those interested in the technology of the 4th industrial revolution, such as artificial intelligence, the internet of things, and robots to serve PWDs, she added.
In order to promote the concept of inclusive digital education to support students with disabilities and enable teachers, Mada Center launched a number of initiatives in 2022. The statistics of digital accessibility services consulting sessions show that access to information and digital services for persons with disabilities was improved by 88.9 percent, which contributed significantly to ensuring their effective participation in the community through the provision of 21 consulting sessions in the field of ICT accessibility for 42.5 hours.
