Government

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman of Dubai Airports, stated the UAE government is committed to providing unrivaled chances for people with impairments, to empower them to contribute their best in a friendly and versatile social environment. Many initiatives are being taken by the federal government and economic sector leading the UAE quickly to understanding the vision 2020.
His remarks came ahead of AccessAbilities Expo 2016, the region's biggest expo for individuals with disabilities, occurring from February 9-11, 2016, at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Sheikh Ahmed confirmed that AccessAbilities Expo aims to motivate government agencies and the private sector to focus on combination of individuals with disabilities in society by helping them to conquer the challenges they deal with in their daily lives, and guaranteeing that the services are quickly accessible to this growing section of our society.

The 3-day exhibit and knowledge-sharing platform will witness more than 150 exhibitors from over 30 nations, government departments from throughout the UAE, special education centres and global experts coming together on a typical platform with the worthy objective of consisting of, incorporating and empowering the handicapped.

Sheikh Ahmed stated: "We are very proud to see the significant response that AccessAbilities Expo has produced in the first edition itself. The strong support from government bodies, exhibitors and instructional centres from all over the world will guarantee the success of this Expo, which is another milestone for the UAE and Dubai to obtaining the target of becoming disabled-friendly by 2020.".

"I am confident that AccessAbilities will benefit more than 50 million people with disabilities across the Middle East and by bringing the world's finest technology, solutions, tools, services and products on a single platform, it will provide a large range of chances to improve the lives of individuals with disabilities," he added.

Over 750 million people with disabilities worldwide, 50 million of whom remain in the Middle East, get the chance to take advantage of the world's most current, innovative and best wise innovation products, learn about facilities for the handicapped by government departments and share knowledge about burning problems concerning individuals with impairments at the AccessAbilities Expo.

Being held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, AccessAbilities Expo involves participation from over 30 nations consisting of Germany, Switzerland, Austria, India, China, Italy, Taiwan, Spain, Czech Republic, Jordan, Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Oman, Netherlands, Singapore, Pakistan and the UAE.

AccessAbilities Expo is being organised by Reed Exhibitions Middle East and Nadd AlShiba PR and Event Management.
Daniyal Qureshi, Group Exhibition Director, Reed Exhibitions, said: "The launch of AccessAbilities Expo will enhance awareness and welcome a brand-new age in the area for the addition and empowerment of persons with impairments. We are proud to have actually accomplished such impressive success with the strong support of our Strategic Partners, Dubai Government, regional impairment centres and over 150 exhibitors from worldwide.".

Showcasing wise assistive innovation at its best, AccessAbilities will feature never-seen-before innovations consisting of a Robotic Coffee Shop, driverless vehicle for the handicapped, a device to manage stuttering in about three hours, sign language to text converter, in addition to helps for leisure and sports for the handicapped such as running prostheses for leisure professional athletes, leg prosthesis systems that practically make duplication of physiological human gait possible to pre-hospital medical devices, folding electric movement scooters, specially developed vehicles allowing driving directly from the wheelchair, high-definition silicone, orthotic, mobility devices, power wheelchairs, innovative options for sound sensory stimulation, voice synthesizers, Braille readers, and wireless tracking devices and unique tools and software that improves language and learning through a simple reading method.

Spread over a location of 8000sqm, the Expo will offer an opportunity for the visitors to check out these innovations along with a B2B platform of exhibitors seeking to broaden their operations.

Ladislav Brazdil Jr., Sales & Marketing Manager, Elbee, an unique automobile for wheelchair users enabling them to drive directly from the wheelchair said that technology has actually made a significant effect on numerous lives. He said: "Many of our users, who were never ever able to leave their house earlier, got their freedom of movement back and became far more independent. At AccessAbilities Expo, we want to present Elbee in the Middle East for the very first time to let people know that this unique item is there for them.".
The exposition includes a 'Knowledge Centre', which has an outstanding lineup of speakers including unique teachers, decision-makers from federal government bodies, senior representatives from global associations for the disabled from UK, Switzerland, Germany, India, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE. Effective individuals with disabilities will also offer inspirational talks sharing their experiences throughout the Knowledge Centre.

Isphana Khatib, from Al Noor Training Centre for Persons with Disabilities, will provide a presentation on SMART class, a student-centric digital knowing solution for kids with unique requirements; Majid Abdulla Al Usaimi will discuss sports for the handicapped, Anna White, a special education expert, will speak about producing a friendly work environment for associates with disabilities; in addition to sessions on obesity among kids with unique needs, spine injuries, barrier-free living with accessible architecture, employment for the handicapped, inclusion, early diagnosis of Autism and empowering parents of children with knowing hold-ups.

A special Sign Language workshop will be performed by Sabine El-Deek of Kalimati Communication and Rehabilitation Centre in the UAE, while Anil Sharan and James Casaki from Mawaheb for Beautiful People will share their experiences of living successfully with impairments.

An exclusive 'Activity Area' in the Expo will offer a variety of sport and leisure programmes including table tennis, archery, basketball, boccia, yoga, dance, martial arts, art, and simple cooking, with a view to provide a vast array of choices and inform parents and households on engaging their family member having impairment in physical activities for ideal physical functioning and total well-being.

Leading centres for individuals with impairments including Rashid Pediatric Therapy Centre, Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services, Al Noor Training Centre for Persons with Disabilities, Dubai Autism Centre and Mawaheb from Beautiful People are among over 40 Event Partners in addition to local and international companies in technology, telecommunication, healthcare, air travel, hospitality, tourism, education, infrastructure and facilities management sectors who are showing their products and services at the Expo.

AccessAbilities has a strong assistance from Dubai Government departments, including Dubai Health Authority (DHA), Dubai Municipality, Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Department of Economic Development (DED), Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) in Dubai, Community Development Authority (CDA) and Dubai Customs.

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