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ICT and Persons with Disabilities Conference |
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GCE Bangladesh Program in partnership with Young Power in Social Action (YPSA) and Blind Education and Rehabilitation Development Organization (BERDO), National Forum of Organizations working with Disabled (NFOWD), Bangladesh NGO Network for Radio Communications (BNNRC) organized a one day conference titled "ICT and Persons with Disabilities: The Context of Bangladesh" on 14 August 2007 at 10:00am at BRAC Inn, Mohakhali, Dhaka in Bangladesh. The conference is organized as a part of the Global Connections and Exchange Project- Bangladesh .
According to the UNESCO, over 10% of the world's populations experience a variety of disabilities. However, information and communication technologies (ICTs) have the potential for bringing significant improvements in the lives and livelihoods of these persons. ICTs have brought new opportunities for individuals to acquire "the ability to compensate for physical or functional limitations, thus allowing them to enhance their social and economic integration in communities by enlarging the scope of activities available to them." The conference was an opportunity to explore potentials of ICTs to benefit persons with disabilities and to promote the idea of an inclusive Information Society.
The broader goals of the conference were to create awareness among development practitioners, policy makers and the mass people in Bangladesh about the potential of ICT empowering persons with disabilities and to showcase some best practices of the use of ICTs in enhancing life-skills and employability of persons with disabilities in Bangladesh and USA. A special reference to GCE Bangladesh's efforts to utilize Internet Learning Center to benefit visually impaired youth in the country was a focus point in discussion.
The conference was attended by a number of civil society organizations, experts, practitioners, GCE school representatives, press and electronic media, academicians, corporate sectors, students and researchers.
Participant List
Conference Schedule
Picture Gallery
Media coverage of the event
The Daily Star, You Tube video clip
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