GIFEC, UG, others partner to train visually impaired persons in digital space
The Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), in partnership with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), is providing basic computer skills training for visually impaired persons to enable them to benefit from the digital economy as well.
Advertisement
To achieve this, they have organised a Training of Trainers (ToT) session to equip tutors with the skills they need to efficiently instruct and provide the best learning experience to visually impaired persons they would in turn be training.
Dubbed; “Introduction to Computer Basics for the Visually Impaired (ICBVI)”, it is facilitated through the University of Ghana (UG) Assistive Technology Unit which, among others, already offers instructions, workspace and access to specialised software, equipment and tools for individuals with a disability.
Training
The project spans from November 13-24, 2023 with the training of 20 trainers and aims to train 50 more by January 2024 after which the main training for persons with visual impairments across the country will be begin.
The trainers are persons with visual impairment assisted by a sighted person.
The training is designed to develop digital skills mainly at the basic and intermediate levels and feature courses such as Introduction to Cybersecurity, Cybersecurity Essentials, Introduction to IoT, Python, C++ and Entrepreneurship, known as DTC Training Suite.
The project forms part of the Digital Transformation Centre’s (DTC) initiative launched in September 2019 by ITU in partnership with Cisco, a global technology company, with the objective of supporting countries to strengthen digital capacities of citizens.
It is implemented through funding from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) with support from stFoundation and counterpart-funding from GIFEC, focused on requisite supervision of the programme.
Other Trending Stories
Empowering PWDs
The Administrator of GIFEC, Prince Ofosu Sefah, said his outfit believed that building the capacities of persons with special needs was at the core of empowering them to become independent and contribute their quota to national development.
????
We have to ensure that people with special needs are not left behind because sometimes when people forget when it comes to digitalisation and think in terms geography, people in rural areas but it’s not just location but also groups who face hurdles that we need to remove,” he stressed.????
Mr Sefah stated that in its mission to facilitate the provision of access to all persons through the use of affordable Information and Communications Technology for socio-economic development, GIFEC would leverage the initiative and expand it to reach more groups and societies to ensure everyone benefited.
Ultimate goal
A Senior Project Manager of ITU, Robyn Fysh, said the ultimate goal of the initiative was to reach marginalised and underserved communities with basic digital skills to boost their participation in the digital economy.
“Today is a first step to bringing the expertise and training courses to provide you as instructors, the skills and knowledge that you need to be able to provide this training in your communities and to be able to further train those who participate in the training so that they can engage and connect meaningfully in the digital space, she stressed.
The Assistive Technology Manager of the university, Alexander Bankole Williams, said the initiative aligned with the university's commitment to create an inclusive learning environment that celebrated diversity and accessibility to empower individuals with disabilities and set a precedent for other academic and non-academic institutions to follow.
He added that since 2006, UG had championed the cause of digital accessibility through the unit under the Computing Systems (UGCS) which had been instrumental in breaking down barriers and ensuring that academic resources were accessible to all, regardless of physical ability.