The Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat has witnessed the signing of a cooperation protocol between the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and Etisalat Foundation for community development and welfare, to provide specialized training and awareness programs to empower and build capacities of Persons With Disabilities (PwDs).
 
The signing ceremony was attended by Etisalat Foundation Chairman Gamal El Sadat, and a number of MCIT and Etisalat Foundation officials.
 
The protocol provides for cooperation in social awareness, given its importance in disease prevention. Around 60% of hearing loss cases in children can be avoided through raising awareness of the children’s families of the causes and consequences of hearing impairment, as well as how to deal with deaf and hearing-impaired people.
 
The protocol also provides for rendering training courses to develop the skills of more than 5,000 PwDs in different areas, in addition to producing 50 videos in sign language, covering health and all aspects of life.
 
The ICT Minister stated that the protocol reflects MCIT keenness to empower and support the inclusion of PwDs using IT, within the framework of building the Egyptian citizen, which is a main pillar in MCIT strategy for building digital Egypt.
 
Talaat also referred to the major role of social responsibility initiatives of ICT companies, representing a positive impact on citizens and reinforcing the significance of establishing partnerships between the public and the private sectors, to overcome social challenges. MCIT is keen on supporting such initiatives, given their key role in developing the society and supporting its priorities, Talaat added.
 
For his part, El Sadat expressed his pleasure at the protocol signing, and praised MCIT efforts and role in social responsibility and serving PwDs. He stated that Etisalat Foundation, through the protocol, seeks to provide a new value added to empower and build capacities of PwDs. El Sadat also expressed confidence that the team work, from both sides, will represent a successful example of cooperation between the public and the private sectors.
 
The protocol comes within the framework of the current and future cooperation with Etisalat Foundation, through leveraging its potentials and technical resources to serve the society, on top of which is providing training programs for empowering and building capacities of PwDs. This is in addition to launching campaigns to raise awareness of PwDs families of the causes and consequences of hearing impairment, as well as how to deal with deaf and hearing-impaired people.
 
The Advisor to the ICT Minister for Social Responsibility and Services Abeer Shakweer said that this partnership comes as part of MCIT strategy for giving private ICT companies the opportunity to play their role in community participation and development, out of their social responsibilities, especially in empowering PwDs and supporting their inclusion in the society, to become effective members of the society.
 
Shakweer added that she looks forward to a fruitful cooperation between MCIT and Etisalat Foundation to carry out more development projects that help achieve a value added for maximizing PwDs capabilities in the society.
 
For his part, Etisalat Foundation Vice Chairman Hazem Metwally said that Etisalat is proud to lay a new cornerstone in its history, supporting its sustainability strategy and reinforcing its belief that the development of any sector is achieved only when the government, the private sector and civil society organizations join efforts.
 
Etisalat Foundation is keen on leveraging the extended and exceptional technology expertise of Etisalat Misr, to support and develop the quality and efficiency of health care services as a main pillar of community development, added Metwally.
 
Etisalat Misr was the first to launch integrated services to support communication among deaf and hearing-impaired people in Egypt, through launching “Roya” plan for conducting mobile video calls, and dedicating an entire technical support team to serve “Roya” users, using the sign language.
 
Moreover, Etisalat harnessed its potentials to serve a number of technology and health issues, including, inter alia, “Water for Life” initiative and another one supporting autistic people. It was also keen on contributing to Virus C and “100 Million Healthy Lives” campaigns, organizing specialized medical convoys and promoting school health and safety.
 
Shakweer and Metwally signed the protocol.