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Bridging barriers
through ICT
By Sindhu Nair
Mada, the region’s first
Assistive Technology
Centre, is aiming to use IT
as an equaliser and to up
accessibility, to aid those
with disabilities.
Qatar Today talks to the
developers, the users and
the principals to find out
more...
68 Qatar Today November 10
u
a blind Qatari student with Sabine Sandros, Training Specialist at Mada
pdating status messages on
Facebook is a simple task
for many of us. Not so for
Mohammed Shafeea, a
blind Qatari student from
Qatar University (QU), who can barely
see the screen.
If technology uplifts all members of so-
ciety how does it benefit those with dis-
abilities? ictQatar, with the help of prom-
inent business heads in the country, has
given this matter due diligence and Mada,
one of the few Assistive Technology Cen-
tres in the world has been launched in Qa-
tar as a result of this deliberation.
Mohammed Shafeea,
Shafeea is one of the many users of
Mada’s expertise. He can be classified as
an “expert of Assistive Technology” and
is in constant touch with the developers at
Mada to find “his perfect” solution.
He has been using this technology
for over four years but looks forward
to working with Mada to help the blind
community. He has already started work
and has recorded an audio guide for el-
ders on various assistive technologies, as
well as recording material for the Qatari
Society for Diabetes.
“Mada will assist us with technology
that will help us. The schools I attended
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“This is the research hub where people

first come to try and find solutions that
are ideal for them. Some have solutions
that come off the shelf while others have
to first go through a process of trial and
error to see which suits them best”
Anirban Lahiri,
Senior Assistive
Technology Specialist, Mada

were helpful for me at that stage of my

development, while this Centre equips
me to face the world,” he says. Technology at Mada
He is currently pursuing a degree in
Media Studies from QU but has already
started training with Al jazeera Chil-
dren’s Channel and aspires to be a TV
presenter. Ask him why and he says, “I
did that once for QTV and loved every
moment of it.”
With the tools of Assistive Technology
(AT), the world is his stage and both his
aspirations and the opportunities can be
limitless.
Qatar Today visits Mada and learns
about barriers in the field of ICT and how
they can be lifted to aid the challenged.

A world without barriers

Enter Mada and you are in a different
world, one that is without any physical
barriers, making it easily accessible to
those in wheelchairs. Accessibility, phys-
ical and virtual, is the focus for Mada.
Mada (which means horizon in Arabic)
is the region’s first AT Centre.
“People with disabilities have infinite
capabilities and should be active mem-
bers of the community,” believes Ahmed
Habib, Head of Communications, Aware-
ness and Outreach, Mada, who has fore-
seen most of the queries, and has answers
to all of them.
Being a journalist and differently-
abled makes him the best spokesperson,
someone who understands the difficulties
and helps the team in identifying barriers
he faces.
“ICT is a powerful tool, more so for the
differently-abled and hence we try and
Isbar, a computer software that reads
the screen for the blind, is available
at Mada. Printed books as well as
electronic files can be read through
this device. With a screenreader a
blind user is able to access the In-
ternet and read Arabic and English
websites.
Switch solutions, another AT, is
for those with limited physical move-
ment. With this technology, the com-
puter can be controlled with a single
movement.
“A switch solution can even be
used if the only movements you have
full control of are that of your tongue,
an eyeblink or by sipping and puff-
ing,” says Lahiri.
Habib is the best person to demon-
strate this equipment, says Lahiri.
With a puff Habib ‘clicks’ on a com-
mand and says, “Now you can see
why training is important. Giving
this technology to a person and say-
ing, ‘Good luck’ will not serve the
purpose as this needs to be properly
demonstrated and tried out to fully
understand its potential.
“The lack of accessibility in ICT
makes working on a complex desk-
top setting seem like a big jump.
Hence we have the Square, a sim-
plified operating system, which can
initially make someone who is new
to computers adapt to the change
well. Imagine the impact of all this
on someone who cannot even move
his arms and has had no access to
the outside world. He can now go on
the internet, chat with his friend...”

November 10 Qatar Today 69

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“We want people with disabilities not
only actively engage in day-to-day
activities but also go on to take
leadership roles”
Head of Communications,
Awareness and Outreach, Mada
make it simple for them. This will enable
them to get over their barriers. We want
people with disabilities not only actively
engage in day-to-day activities but also
go on to take leadership roles.
“Since opening its doors on June 1,
2010, Mada has worked with and on be-
half of people with disabilities to connect
them to technologies that will improve
their lives,” says Habib as he wheels ef-
fortlessly around the office explaining
more about the organisation.
Assistive Technology (AT) is defined
as any piece of technology, either bought
or modified, that makes people with dis-
abilities gain new abilities or maintain old
ones.
“People with disabilities along with
their families can now come to Mada and
make use of the latest technology provid-
ed and work with the experts here to find
the perfect solution to suit their needs.”
A professional assessment team at Mada
guides the visitors through the process of
training. “We have a comprehensive pro-
cess. We do not believe in half measures.
We give the training and then follow up
to see what loopholes have developed and
then observe if the technology suited to
their specific needs can be arranged.”
A partnership of assistance
Mada is born of key public and private
partnerships. ictQatar has partnered with
Vodafone, Qtel, QNB and Microsoft to
make Mada a reality.
“This helps us work on a wider scale,”
says Habib.
But other partnerships, like an agree-
ment with Bookshare.org has made it
possible for users to access over 16,000
books in accessible electronic format.
70 Qatar Today November 10
Ahmed Habib,
Mada has also connected with other dis-
abled people’s organisations to enhance
their ICT capacity. The IT infrastructure
“Arabic
content needed”
Faleh Al Naemi,
Director, Mada,
“One of the urgent needs that Mada
has to address is the lack of Arabic
content in assistive technology.
This has to be done with a lot of re-
search and we hope to address this
too,” says Faleh Al Naemi, Director,
Mada, who was initially with ictQa-
tar and then later moved to Social
Rehabilitation Centre before joining
Mada.
“There are very few centres like
Mada which addresses all areas of
disabilities while also taking care of
training and research. We intend to
be the best in the region...”
of Qatar Social and Cultural Centre for
the Blind has also been revamped with
the help of Mada.
Since its inception, the centre has
worked with several schools over sum-
mer. “We had a week-long activities at
one of the schools for the disabled. We
are also working with QU and will be out-
fitting them with assistive technology. We
will also be working with the Supreme
Council of Education to see which inde-
pendent schools we can contribute to,”
says Habib.
Organisations come together
As Qatar aspires to build a fully connected
society, one of the key issues identified is
digital access for people with disabilities
and organisations have come forward to
make the country a truly enabled one.
“It is part of our responsibility to con-
tribute by making communication more
accessible for everyone. This includes
handsets, tariffs and services that are spe-
cifically tailored to people with special
needs,” says Luisa Gentile, Head of Cor-
porate Responsibility at Vodafone Qatar,
one of the partners of Mada.
The fact that competitors like Qtel and
Vodafone have joined hands for an ini-
tiative like Mada, is by itself a matter of
pride for the country.
“When it comes to corporate responsi-
bility, there is no space for competition.
We believe in the power of sharing ideas,
expertise and projects, even with our
competitor,” says Gentile.
“Sharing with others is valuable. Mada
invited Qtel and Vodafone to come to-
gether for the benefit of the country. Both
are openly and actively cooperating on
this. We meet on weekly bases, sharing

“Partnerships needed”
Banes has worked for more than ten
years as a specialist in ICT and ac-
cess. He is currently working with
developers to promote a wider range
of AT solutions for Arabic speakers.
He says that Mada is still in its early
days but will go on to play an impor-
tant role in society.
“AT is not something that can
be resolved within Qatar. We need
to work with other organisations to
bring the best research and develop-
ment into the country and for this we
are also conducting a seminar in No-
vember that will help us benchmark
where Qatar is in terms of AT. By
creating a need for AT, we can get
vendors interested in this market
which will bring more of them into
the business.”
Technology exists in English,
he points out, “but people are not
aware of it and we should aim for
awareness to make technology ac-
cessible.” Speaking of expenses –
that rage from the free to the exorbi-
tant, he says “Some of the solutions
are free to download and would cost
you a few riyals. While other solu-
tions like the Tobil requires hundred
thousands of riyals. We help people
find low cost equipment that meet
their need. That’s why assessment
is so important,” he says.
Equipment is also given to the cli-
ents on a ‘need basis’. “We loan out
the equipment. This is mostly to ad-
ideas and issues. It is also an enriching
experience to learn different ways of do-
ing business.”
Technology at hand
Anirban Lahiri, Senior Assistive Tech-
nology Specialist is one of the earliest
members of Mada and is also “one of
the driving forces behind the creation of
the centre”. He along with Sabine San-
dros, Training Specialist, presents the
Resource Centre that features the interac-
tive AT equipments. The Centre presents
AT in four distinct areas – for the visu-
David Banes,
Deputy Director of Mada
dress the need of the person. There
has been a long history of equip-
ments being bought and left with-
out being used when you find out
that they do not serve your purpose.
Through constant assessment you
can find the best piece of equipment
and then buy it out. So initially the
equipment is loaned to be tried out
and then bought if found satisfac-
tory.” He stresses: “What we are do-
ing is unlocking potential. Lahiri and
Habib are examples of what technol-
ogy does to liberate someone with
disabilities.”
ally impaired, hearing impaired, learn-
ing disabled and people with physical
disabilities.
“This is the research hub where peo-
ple first come to try and find solutions
that are ideal for them. Some have solu-
tions that come off the shelf while others
have to first go through a process of trial
and error to see which suits them best,”
says Lahiri.
“Windows 7 has many features built
into the system, some which many of us
are not even aware of, like the voice rec-
ognition, magnifiers, screen readers etc.”
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“For others who need more than this,
there are specific software that can be
installed. For the hearing impaired, the
usual communication tool is to change
voice into text. There is a whole range of
software that makes this possible.”
One of the software that is available,
Ibsar enables blind users to read print-
ed books and documents in electronic
files, by saving and printing these texts
in Braille. Ibsar is an example of soft-
ware that speaks the text on a computer
in both Arabic and English.
“Voice Recognition is available
through a software called Dragon Natu-
rally Speaking, by which a user can en-
ter text and control the whole computer
through voice. After 40 minutes of train-
ing, the software shows around 98% ac-
curacy. It can be used to send e-mails,
write letters, take notes, browse through
the web and even play games.”
The solutions are very specific and
sometimes tailored to meet definite
needs, says Sandros.
How expensive are the solutions?
Lahiri says that most of the devices are
expensive. So what is the solution for
those who cannot afford the expense?
“The solutions are sometimes even
provided on a loan basis to those who
will need it and then through constant
review we customise the software,”
says Lahiri.
There are very few vendors in the
market who sell these products, says
Lahiri and that according to him is
the “real challenge”.Lahiri sources
his products from various vendors
and hence there is no pressure on the
users to buy any product. The solu-
tions, stresses Lahiri, is the best in the
world.
“The funding is now from ictQatar.
But we are working with our other
partners, Qtel, Vodafone, QNB, to
make sure that assistive technology
becomes less of a burden than it is
now.” Probe Lahiri about his per-
sonal battle in overcoming disabili-
ties and he says, “It is not easy. It is
always a challenge but then you learn
to overcome some. And so I relate to
this Centre and its needs well.” n
November 10 Qatar Today 71