Dubai - MENA Herald: The Al Noor Training Centre in Dubai working under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansoor Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum will be organising Al Noor Assistive TechX 2017 later this year, a bi-annual event which highlights the importance of Assistive Technology (AT) and how integral it is to improve the functional capabilities of a person with disabilities.
The goal of ATechXHackathon, which takes place alongside the exhibition, is to raise awareness about how professionals in the field of technology can use their skills to develop assistive technology solutions, which would empower the lives of people with disabilities.
So how does it work? The organisers are putting a request out for people with special needs/parents who have children with special needs to get involved with the upcoming ATechXHackathon, by sharing that one challenge for which they are looking for an effective solution.
The organisers plan to pair teams of developers with people who are seeking solutions. Participants over the course of the hackathon will brainstorm, design, and create prototype solutions for the specific disability cases they choose to find solutions for.
Taking place at the Al Noor Training Centre in Al Barsha from 29 October to 3 November, the exhibition will be made up of four interactive areas available to all attendees. These will include workshops for parents/caregivers & conferences for professionals in the field of special needs to learn about the latest advancements in AT, with a line-up of top speakers in the field of AT; an exhibition area where suppliers can display their latest AT equipment and an AT Experience Zone, which will offer live interactive experiences to help people better understand the impact of AT on the lives of people with special needs.
With about 11 per cent of the UAE’s population having some form of disability, Ms. Isphana Al Khatib, Director of the Centre, believes “Events such as Assistive TechX & Hackathon are important to raise awareness- By incorporating unique elements, the objective is to include all stakeholders in the exercise & achieve a holistic community awareness about Assistive Technology and facilitate the inclusion of people with disabilities in mainstream activities.”
Assistive Technology is any item, piece of equipment or product system that is used to increase, maintain or improve the functional capabilities of a person with a disability.
For someone who works with special needs children daily, AT devices such as speech generating devices and eye-gaze technology can make a huge difference to the day-to-day learning of a child. To truly witness how much of a difference AT makes, you need to see it first hand, and that’s what this event will offer to the public.
The team at Al Noor looks forward to the involvement of the UAE’s government departments, corporates, media, volunteers and the community at large to get in touch to find out how you can support the exhibition.