Bono East: GIFEC trains 450 visually impaired persons in ICT

The Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), an agency under the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation has climaxed a national training session for 450 visually impaired persons on the fundamentals of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Techiman in the Bono East Region.

The project dubbed “Introduction to Computer Basics for the Visually Impaired (ICBVI)” saw the selection of visually impaired beneficiaries from thirteen regions across Ghana.

They were equipped with the requisite technological skills and knowledge as well as how to utilise certain special features in their computers and phones to their advantage.

The administrator of GIFEC, Prince Ofosu Sefah disclosed that the GIFEC also intends to train more individuals with special needs in order to afford them the needed skills to benefit from the Government’s digitalisation agenda.

“ICT is very important but it often starts with getting access. If you don’t have access, you are excluded from the information age. We will all need to get access, tools, and then the knowledge before we can benefit from what we at GIFEC call, meaningful connectivity to technology,” he said.

He disclosed that the ICBVI program which forms part of the Digital Transformation Project (DTP) has since its introduction three years ago, trained 22 master trainers, 157 trainers as well as 17,000 beneficiaries with 30 coding classes set up across the country.

Prince Ofosu Sefah underscored the significance of digital skills saying “It is now a necessity in all facets of our daily lives be it trading, education or medicine”.

Earlier during his speech, the Bono East Regional Minister, Kwasi Adu-Gyan, said, the government greatly prioritises ICT which is why it is earnestly expanding digital access to more unserved and underserved areas.

He noted that the government has since been making specific efforts to come out with policies and special initiatives to ensure and enhance the equal distribution of technological skills to everyone.

“The government acknowledges that Ghana’s entry into digitalisation requires a rapid extension of access to ICT to all sections of the communities to reach out to and benefit as many people as possible including our dear brothers and sisters who are either physically or visually challenged,” he said.

The project is being supported by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

Reporting by Dauda Zul-Kiful in Bono East Region

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