A workshop organized jointly between the World Bank and the Ministry of Social Affairs, Solidarity, and Tunisians Abroad took place in Tunis on September 10, 2008. The workshop focused on the role played in ICT in promoting social integration among the Tunisian disabled.
A World Bank communiqué released recently reports that: “The workshop dubbed “Empowering People with disabilities for the information age”, was intended to highlight key results, good practises and lessons learned from the “Tunisian e-disabled”: social inclusion through ICT” project, as well as discussing experiences from other parts in the world.”
The communiqué also identifies the project’s achievements in Tunisia as follows:
– Already 3000 disabled students have regular access and usage of the computer labs and software out of a target population of 10,000.
– Computer labs in schools for disabled children have been provided with multilingual Arabic/French /Sign language software reinforcing school curriculum.
– In addition to the computer labs in the schools, 24 centres have been funded throughout Tunisia offering internet access to the disabled population at large, including access to government services.
– In 2007, the first group of these centres served over 500 disabled Tunisians in their internet research and interaction with government services.
By 2009, the full disabled school population will be covered, writes the communiqué.
