10. Empowering People with Disabilities
Policies empowering People with Disabilities (PwD) aim
to adapt ICT tools to improve their quality of life through:
easier access to information and knowledge, providing job
opportunities, and opening channels of communication
with society. ICT tools enable PwD to develop their skills,
enjoy their rights and hence, become active members
of the society. The Ministry of Communications and
Information Technology adopts a number of policies to
ensure the accessibility of the disabled:
a-Involving PwD in determining government policies
and strategies
Holding public meetings and dialogues with people
with disabilities, organizations representing them
and other relevant authorities, including NGOs and
stakeholders, to ensure the integrating of all phases
in policymaking
Issuing progress reports to allow policymakers to
assess the effectiveness of policies and programs
Collecting detailed information on ICT use by people
with disabilities
Promoting obstacles hindering PwD from enjoying
equality in rights
b-Empowering PwD through ICTs
Cooperation with relevant ministries and government
authorities to disseminate ICT tools that empower
people with disabilities
Availing school books and educational materials in
digital formats, including sound files, in accordance
with internationally acknowledged standards such
as the Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY)
c-Increasing access for people with disabilities through
ICTs
Enhancing accessibility to services provided over
the internet, including e-government services, in
accordance with internationally acknowledged
standards such as those developed by the web
accessibility initiative
Developing highly accessible websites for people
with disabilities
Promoting the development and production of
auxiliary technologies for people with disabilities
Supporting of technical innovations and services that
increase ICT access for people with disabilities
Supporting efforts to develop mobile devices
and software that serve the needs of users with
disabilities, such as through predictive text,
speech-to-text, text-to-speech, text-to-avatar, voice
recognition and video-calling features
Providing public phones that are easily accessible to
people with disabilities
Providing appropriate devices for people with
disabilities to make conversation over the phone,
such as voice headset or text device or videophone
or devices that include the three features
d-Integrating people with disabilities in society and
developing their skills through ICTs
Providing of computers and software for vision and
hearing impaired students at inclusive and special
education schools
Providing technology training for those working in
the training and education of people with disabilities
Availing telemedicine services for people with
disabilities, particularly in remote areas
Eradicating computer illiteracy among people with
disabilities
Promoting efforts to increase accessibility to
information and knowledge, including the provision
of electronic documents by government entities
Providing of computer training for people with
disabilities to increase their employability
Adapting the work environment to the needs of
people with disabilities
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