Thursday, Jul 11, 2013
Abu Dhabi: A number of stories have been printed in braille and given to children with visual impairment so they can display their knowledge and social skills in a competition unveiled by the Zayed Higher Organisation for Humanitarian Care and Special Needs (ZHO).
Organised under the patronage of Shaikh Hazza Bin Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the seventh annual Braille Reading Competition has been launched globally to enable children to gain knowledge and to encourage a culture of reading among the blind.
Since the competition was established in 2006 awareness about the ZHO began to spread, which led to other humanitarian collaborations with organisations across the region.
Under the slogan ‘Everyone can read’, the ZHO has introduced this competition to raise awareness among the public about visually impaired people and their potential socially or in the workplace.
“The Zayed Higher Organisation has always been committed to provide support and care for special needs people, especially for visually impaired children, with the aim of integrating them with other segments of society and carrying out their lives in a normal way,” said Mohammad Fadil Al Hameli, deputy chairman and secretary-general of ZHO.
“The Blind Printing Press has directly contributed to step over the obstacles that can face visually impaired individuals in schools and universities through receiving adequate educational opportunities regardless of their physical or mental disability.”
The competition this year is divided into five categories, including university students.
“Each participant has to read specific stories and books, which have been assigned to suit the participant’s age, and they will then be asked about them in front of a judging committee,” said Na’ema Al Mansouri, manager of the Blind Printing Press.
Stories in the competition are both in Arabic and English. So far nearly 30 books have been printed in English in different genres, including national identity, Islamic and Arabic civilisations and preservation of the environment, with contributions from award-winning writers.
Al Mansouri said that forms have been distributed to all embassies to invite blind people from all over the world to participate in the competition.
Applications will be sorted by a judging committee and participants will be evaluated in September. The awards ceremony will be held in February next year and gifts and certificates will be awarded to participants.
By Sara Sabry Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2013. All rights reserved.
