AccessAbilities Expo closes tomorrow

Free training to enhance employability, opportunity to earn regular income, assistive technology for rentals, free air travel, latest technology for easy communication were among few of the initiatives announced by the strategic partners of AccessAbilities Expo on the second day of the event, with the aim of facilitating inclusion and enhancing lives of people of determination.

AccessAbilities Expo, the Middle East’s largest expo for people with disabilities, which will continue till tomorrow (November 9) at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC), is being used a launch pad by exhibitors and a platform to reach out to people of determination across the Middle East.

Emirates is the official airline for the event.

Dr Ahmed bin Ali, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communication, Etisalat Group, Strategic Telecommunications Partner of the Expo, said: “We are proud to be associated with AccessAbilities as it showcases technologies and services that will impact the lives of specially abled people across the country focusing on spreading happiness in all segments of society. With Etisalat’s long-term focus and strategy on ‘Driving the Digital Future’ we aim to get the best in technologies and services from across the world for all our subscribers that will improve their lives, integrate them in the society and enable them to overcome their daily challenges.  This event is in line with Etisalat’s overall efforts to contribute to the happiness index in the country prioritizing citizen’s happiness and satisfaction levels.”

Flydubai, the Gold Sponsors for AccessAbilities, is supporting the expo by providing three free tickets for people of determination, to visit the show.

More than 150 exhibitors from 40 countries including USA, Canada, South Korea, UK, Australia, Cyprus, India, China, Italy, Czech Republic, Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), are showcasing the world’s latest assistive technology products and solutions, at the ongoing AccessAbilities Expo, which will continue till November 9, in Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Dubai Centre for People of Determination, Strategic Sports Partner, is providing an opportunity of participation in unified sports during the expo. The centre provides sports training for people of determination.

Majid Abdullah Al Usaimi, Executive Director at the Dubai Club for People of Determination, said sports play an integral role in the overall well-being of people of determination and the UAE and Dubai are taking active initiatives to encouraging special sports.

Arabian Millennium Medical Trading (AMMT), Foundation Partner of AccessAbilities Expo, has brought a range of the latest assistive technology devices including “miracle gadget” named ‘Speecheasy’, to control stuttering and speak fluently after training within about three hours.

Muwafaq Matari, Managing Partner, AMMT, said: “AccessAbilities Expo is a platform for us to achieve our goal of transforming the lives of maximum number of people of determination by making the world’s latest assistive technology easily available to them. We have received a tremendous response from the visitors, including people of determination, training centres and organisations.”

Alpha Destinations Management, which is supporting AccessAbilities Expo as the Strategic Tourism Partner, stated that its support to the expo comes in line with its commitment to contributing to the vision of making the UAE disabled friendly for people of determination who live and also the tourists who visit.

Canon Middle East is offering free training workshops during AccessAbilities Expo to people of determination with a view to enhancing their employability. The company also gave away easy to handle light weight cameras as gifts to some of the participants in the workshops.

‘Aegis’, a joint initiative by Silver Gate General Trading L.L.C   and Vaikuntha Consultancy, launched an inclusive initiative to provide a steady income to people of determination.

Premila Chandrasekaran, Managing Director of Vaikuntha Consultancy, said: “Through Aegis, we aim to strengthen the culture of happiness and positivity as a life style, in line with the United Arab Emirates Declaration of Happiness and positivity, ultimately impacting an inclusive and cohesive society.”

Arabian Ethicals announced the launch of a facility to get assistive technology on rentals for people of determination at the Expo. Among the products available include wheelchairs, lifters, oxygen concentrators and other rehabilitation products.

Viktoria Polyanskaya, Strategy & Business Development Manager, said: “Our goal is to spread assistive technology for the benefit of people with disabilities. Whether they are residents or even tourists, with this facility people with disabilities also get the chance to try certain products and analyse if the products fit their requirements before they actually purchase them. In many instances, such as in rehabilitation, the users will not even need to spend money toward buying the product as they can use it for a minimum rental and return once they no longer need it.”