Seminar held on ICT for differently abled

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Minister for Industries and IT, P K Kunhalikutty, inaugurated a one-day seminar on ‘Possibilities of Information & Communication Technology (ICT) for the Differently Abled’ at the Kerala Federation of the Blind (KFB) headquarters here on Thursday. The seminar was jointly organised by Kerala Federation of the Blind, Trivandrum district and Insight. Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that the government will take necessary measures to implement the policy of three-per cent job reservation for the differently abled in the public sector in the State. He promised that the Government will support the activities of Insight. During the occasion, Kunhalikutty also launched ‘Swaram’, an application that will convert Malayalam digital text to speech, developed by Insight. K Muraleedharan MLA said that a nation flourishes only when its marginalised citizens are brought to the mainstream of the society. He said that the district administration will soon make provisions to construct a hostel for the visually challenged in the city.  Samuel N Mathew, Director, National Institute of Speech and Hearing, delivered a talk on ‘Role of Assistive Technology in Integrating Individuals with Disabilities in Society’. He cited the examples of many persons who have utilised technology and customised it to lead an independent and productive life. K J Jagan, of ‘Third eye’, held a session on ‘Mobile technologies for the visually challenged’. Sarala Ramkamal, of DAISY forum India, explained the various advantages of DAISY, a format which enables navigation through a sound file just as in a text document.  More than 150 visually challenged persons from across Kerala took part in the seminar. Mary Pushpam, ward councillor, Kunnukuzhi, C K Aboobecker, president, KFB and Sasidharan Pillai, general secretary, KFB, were also present on the occasion.