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| (Image Source: Orange Magazine TV/Smart Communications Inc.) |
PLDT Inc. (PLDT) and Smart Communications Inc. (Smart) are creating opportunities for persons with disabilities with the help of digital technology. Under the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Advocacy Through Technology or IDEATe program, PLDT Group has partnered with ATRIEV, offering free trainings on assistive technology, entrepreneurship, and disability sensitivity. “PLDT and Smart highlight the use of technology for good to empower and build bridges of collaborations across communities. Our IDEATe programs give access to persons in unique circumstances to be part of our country’s economic activities by developing essential skills with the help of digital innovations,” said PLDT and Smart Assistant Vice President (AVP) and Head of Stakeholder Management Stephanie V. Orlino.
PLDT and Smart partnered with ATRIEV, the prime ICT (Information and Communications Technology) specialist non-profit organization that empowers persons with visual impairment and those with other disabilities through technology-based education, to hold trainings on Android Accessibility for persons with visual impairment, Digital Business Basics, and Disability Sensitivity. Half a year into the partnership, IDEATe has benefited more than a hundred individuals from the combined trainings on assistive technology, digital platforms for business, as well as disability sensitivity and awareness. The Android Accessibility training helps persons with visual impairment maximize smartphone use with the help of a TalkBack screen reader. The application provides text-to-speech feedback that allows visually impaired persons to use smartphones independently. The module also trains students how to navigate their devices using angle gestures or two-part swipes. The module was attended by more than 40 participants across Luzon and Visayas.
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| (Image Source: Orange Magazine TV/Smart Communications Inc.) |
PLDT and Smart, together with ATRIEV, also expanded livelihood opportunities for Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) through the Digital Business Basics module. The course helped at least 50 participants learn how to start their business with topics such as fund sourcing, identifying target market, branding, pricing and costing. It also expanded reach for existing enterprises through social media marketing and digital payment solutions like Maya. PLDT and Smart also expanded the teaching strategy of SPED (Special Education) teachers. Facilitated by ATRIEV, some 27 SPED teachers in Las Piñas attended an IDEATe session on Disability Sensitivity and Mobile Accessibility. Consistent with PLDT and Smart’s inclusive culture, the Stakeholder Management Team, in partnership with the companies’ People Group, also invited ATRIEV to host workshops on disability sensitivity and neurodiversity with PLDT and Smart employees.
“Our partnership with PLDT and Smart has allowed us to reach more persons with disabilities, especially those who have visual impairment. Together with PLDT and Smart, we believe that technology can be a great equalizer that ensures no blind person or PWD is left behind,” said ATRIEV Executive Director Antonio D. Llanes Jr. The IDEATe activities are aligned with PLDT and Smart’s commitment to help the country achieve United Nations Sustainability Development Goal (UNSDG) No. 10 on reducing inequality by empowering and promoting the social, economic and political inclusion of all, including persons with disabilities. They also underscore the PLDT Group’s commitment to innovation and digital inclusion, and to assist in the government’s key digitalization efforts. The PLDT Group is a founding member of the Digital Infrastructure pillar of the presidential Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC).
