UNDP AND HEYDAR ALIYEV FOUNDATION SIGN NEW PROJECT
Global experience shows that broad usage of ICT is playing a catalytic role in reducing poverty, accelerating local economies, developing education and health sectors. For persons with disabilities, access to the Internet-enabled resources removes obstacles to their mobility and enhances opportunities for their sharing knowledge, information and ideas. Urgent and concerted actions at the national, regional, and international levels are needed for bridging the digital divide for this disadvantaged group of population.
The project is in line with the commitment of the heads of State and Government under the United Nations Millennium Declaration to ensure that the benefits of new technologies, especially ICTs, are available to all as well as is in conformity with national ICT strategy of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
There are about 320,000 disabled people in Azerbaijan, out of whom 40,000 people are blind, or visually impaired. The Heydar Aliyev Foundation believes in using ICT by marginalized groups of population as a vital tool to empower them, expand their employment opportunities, and furnish additional capacity to their having access to information.
The project will be implemented jointly with UNDP and pursue three-fold objectives. The first initiative aims to identify ICT needs of the blind and visually impaired to develop national strategy for bridging digital divide of this disadvantaged group of people. To this end, the planned activities include researching, holding discussions, sharing experience, and identifying technical specification of the equipment to be procured.
The project intends to establish a model ICT classroom at the Boarding School for the Blind and Visually Impaired Children, which envisages procurement and installation of specialised computer equipment, localisation of specific software, providing the Internet links, and development of curricula and teaching materials.
Setting up a library and a training centre at the Boarding School for the Blind and Visually Impaired Children will help create an audio library and a recording studio to convert all publications to the audio format and restore the present publications with the Braille and audio books at the print-house; provide the Internet links and IT-based training courses; render different IT services such as finding and obtaining information from the Internet, train-the-trainer courses, etc. through a computer centre.
The project is budgeted at 418,000 USD and is expected to complete in 8 months. Ms. Mehriban Aliyeva, President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, and Mr. Marco Borsotti, UNDP Resident Representative, signed the Project Cooperation Agreement.
