Orange Jordan concluded the Persons with Disabilities Hackathon which was designed to encourage university students to come up with digital solutions to overcome inaccessibility in this arena. The competition was launched in November on the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3rd. The Hackathon included a 4-day boot camp, held at Orange Digital Village. It helped participants by training them on digital manufacturing to develop creative and tech-based ideas and solutions, to innovatively tackle challenges related to persons with disabilities.
Five finalists, who qualified for the last stage out of 50 students from all Jordanian universities who applied to participate in the Hackathon, showcased and pitched their ideas before the jurors who in turn evaluated the ideas to announce the three winners.
The final projects consisted of Empower Ability, which is an application aimed at making cars and vehicles accessible to overcome challenges in the transportation sector. The second project was Finn Technology which was designed to support persons with hearing impairments. LendMeSight was developed to support persons with visual disabilities enabling them to move safely and freely. RECO founders showcased their project’s idea aimed at providing limbs at competitive costs. The final project was SWIFT and aimed to ensure the safe participation of persons with disabilities in sports such as swimming and running.
The winning projects comprised RECO in first place, LendMeSight in second place, and SWIFT in third place.
The Chief Corporate Communication and Sustainability Officer, Eng. Rana Al Dababneh valued the ideas of the participants embodying Orange’s strive to put technology at the service of communities. She considered these projects as a first step toward laying the foundation for an inclusive society that embraces everyone.
During her speech, she also appreciated the extended partnership with various national organizations and institutions, which contributed to joint and systematic national efforts to enhance the leadership role of persons with disabilities.
She extended her gratitude to the jurors including, the Upper House Member, Her Excellency Asia Abdul Muttalib Abdullah Yaghi, Director of Accessibility and Universal Design Department in the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Eng. Raafat Al-Zitawi, CEO of accessible Jordan Hekam Qusous, and the Economic Cooperation and Private Sector Development Advisor – SME Growth at GIZ Halla AlKhayyat.
It is worth noting that Orange Jordan put into practice several initiatives and activities coinciding with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities themed “amplifying the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future”. These activities included besides the Hackathon, changing the name of the network to “Inclusion” to increase awareness among the customers in collaboration with the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The company also conducted a series of awareness and training sessions under the umbrella “Differently abled, definitely enabled”, which was launched in 2019 to enable persons with disabilities to lead positive change in their communities. The training targeted 40 participants and elevated their skills in soft, and technical skills, CV writing, and AI.