THE IMPORTANCE OF using IT in training and educating young people with special needs was underscored at a specialised workshop last week reports Reem Leila. The venue was sponsored by the telecentre.org programme in association with Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Microsoft, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), as well as the UNDP's Information and Communication Technology for Development in the Arab Region (ICTDAR). The programme is a $2 million global collaborative initiative of IDRC, Microsoft and the SDC to strengthen the ability of Egypt's disabled people since they are less likely to attend regular schools and universities. It works on helping and training disabled people learn, use and develop basic computer skills in a properly equipped environment which caters for their unique physical abilities and contributes to their development. Nayer Wanas, consultant to the telecentre.org programme, believes that having access to technology and using it to promote the education of disabled people means that they will have the opportunity to participate more fully in an information society. "This initiative is particularly important to the programme in that it is specifically directed to people with special needs who are either neglected or ignored," stated Wanas. "It provides opportunities for disabled people not to be regarded as passive beneficiaries, but become service providers through their valid contribution." Wanas noted that computer literacy among this group is low which, for example, makes the integration of visually impaired youth into the labour market a challenging job. This is due to many reasons, primarily the lack of appropriate tools and programmes. But even when these tools do exist, they are often out- dated and do not meet current market requirements. Blind students suffer from a lack of sufficient academic learning materials, as well as good training and support. Telecentre.org programme will provide specially designed computer software programmes, giving access to a specialised library which enables the visually impaired to become more active. Essam Rizk of Microsoft revealed that a growing number of universities have started providing "adaptive" or "assistive" technology to help their disabled students and staff. Some 450 trainers will tutor people with special needs on computers equipped with special software that functions through sound and touch. Said Abdel-Maqsoud, a senior trainer, explained that at the end of the three-month training period each trainee will go home with the special software. Experts suggested that these programmes should be administered at schools for special needs, in addition to establishing special centres to train disabled university students or individuals to improve their job opportunities. According to Abdel-Maqsoud, the programme is going to "ultimately lead to the development of better community services". He added that these centres will also provide the community with access to important knowledge resources, Internet services, new skills, the ability to tackle local social issues and face common challenges.
