Web Authoring Workshop for the special sector

March 30, 2001

In today's world Technical Education is as important for special people as for other groups in society and goes beyond gaining information to provide a useful social role. It should be seen as a means to an end in itself as well as an opportunity to change a person's life. Discrimination of disabled people sadly exists in all areas of life and greater educational qualifications can be a useful tool in overcoming it. Technology is useful also to disabled people as an empowering tool that can make life easier and more interesting.

Subsequent to the initiative taken in October 2000, Sustainable Development Networking Programme (SDNP), organized a further training session on March 30th & 31st, 2001 for the 'Special Learning Needs Sector' of Pakistan. The topic of the workshop was 'Basic Web Authoring' and participants (primarily the teaching staff of special institutes) were given orientation and instructions on developing websites. The two-day instruction session was organized in collaboration with the Deaf Education & Welfare Association (DEWA) and hosted at the DEWA College of Information Technology (DCIT) Computer Lab.

A total of twenty individuals from thirteen different institutes participated in the workshop. These included Deaf Education & Welfare Association Trust (DEWA), ABSA School for hearing impaired, Shaheed-e-Millat Special Education Centre, Al-Shifa Day Home, Association of Physically Handicapped Adults, Bait-ul-Shafqat, Association for Special Children, Pakistan Association for the Deaf, Special Education Sequence-Karachi University and Directorate of Social Welfare. Other participating NGOs from the development sector included Health Oriented Preventive Education, Pak Crescent Youth Organization and Pak Aids Prevention Society.

The importance of existence on the web was highlighted and participants were provided hands-on training on web publishing techniques. The event was covered in Friday's (March 30) Dawn. Media coverage was provided on PTV World and STN on Saturday, March 31.

Further details can be viewed at the following url: www.workshop.sdnpk.org