The Parliamentary Secretariat for the Rights of Persons with Disability and Active Ageing in collaboration with the ICT Faculty today organised a seminar on assistive technology where various stakeholders in the sector addressed those present.
The ICT Faculty Dean said that it is very satisfactory to see that Information Technology is being used from a younger generation to channel their ideas and effort in implementing solutions and tools that help elderly citizens and challenged people in our society. This is something evidenced through some of the Final Year Projects that are offered by our academics and selected by our students.
In her address, the Parliamentary Secretary for the Rights of Persons with Disability and Active Ageing, Justyne Caruana, spoke about the importance of this technology to help individuals live a better life. She said that the Government’s aim is that to help these individuals, so that more people have a more independent lifestyle.
Dr Caruana spoke about the Telecare Plus service, launched by this Government around a year and half ago and about the success that this service has today, considering it has more than 1000 subscribers. The scope of this seminar was to create a platform for discussion and action to promote the use of assistive technology in order that elderly citizens and persons with disability will have a qualitative life in their respective communities. She thanked all participants especially the foreign speakers who came specifically for this seminar and wished best for a closer collaboration from the private sector to have a more closer and easy-to-use technology for the people, and affordable for both individuals and for the Government.
Parliamentary Secretary José Herrera said that the Government is committed to fight the digital divide. It is wrong to think that this phenomenon affects only a particular sector of the society. Contrary to this, the problem is widespread and the Government, through its policy thinking to reach everyone in question.
He recalled that this week the Malta Communications Authority launched a program to help elderly people, in which it’s only one of various programs to reach different people that never had or don’t have the necessary skills to use the internet or the computer.
In this seminar there also was an exhibition on assistive technologies available in the market from various companies. The two Parliamentary Secretaries visited the exhibition and spoke with the various stakeholders. Amongst the organisations present, there were the ICTsa, the Department for the Disability studies of the University of Malta, Pilot Lite Ventures, audiologists from Mater Dei Hospital, Saint Vincent De Paul's department of Occupational Therapy, Sonia Tanti Independent Living Centre and Intellitronica.