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Oct 13, 2022

Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services SCHSshowcases Participates With Its Assistive assistive Technologies technologies Within Theat Sharjah Government Platform Pavilion At at Gitex GITEX Global 2022


Dubai, 12 October, 2022: Under the theme "‘Together, Integrating People and Technology’ Together for Human Integration with Technology", Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services (SCHS) is participating with its own pavilion within the Sharjah government Government platform Pavilion at GITEX 2022. SCHS aims at to introducing introduce the services and assistive technologies it provides to people with disabilitiesto people of determination, improving the quality of their lives, and enabling them to be independent and self-reliant. In addition to contributing with partners within the platform to introducing Sharjah's developments in the field of technology and the digital sector, raising awareness of these technologies, highlighting success stories, and emphasizing the role of innovative new technologies that highlight the potential available in Sharjah. SCHS wants to show the importance of the emirate as a destination for innovation.


Her Excellency Mona Abdul Karim Al Yafei, Director of Sharjah City for Humanitarian ServicesSCHS, has confirmed the importance of participating in GITEX. It would allow SCHS to learn about the latest technology and introduce various institutions and companies to SCHS’s experience and the services it provides to people with disabilities within its departments and branches.


She praised Sharjah's endeavors to advance in the technology field with the UAE's strategy and ambitions, especially the UAE Centennial Plan 2071, and the leadership's support for innovation efforts in the technological field within the emirate, which places it at the top of its priorities.


She said that the Government of Sharjah is a leading partner in technological progress in the United Arab Emirates and the region. It is working to accelerate digital transformation efforts, in the emirate, in cooperation with government and private agencies at the local and federal levels. Sharjah also seeks to create an integrated digital ecosystem with the aim of improving the quality of life for Sharjah citizens and residents. The Government of the Emirate of Sharjah has made remarkable progress in the field of digital innovation for services and transactions through cooperation with authorities and institutions in the Emirate of Sharjah. All the things achieved are only the beginning of a journey that the emirate will accelerate in achieving success and providing the best government services in the world.


Her Excellency Al Yafei highly valued the objectives of the Sharjah government Government platform at GITEX 2022. The most important of which is introducing Sharjah’s developments in the field of technology and the digital sector, raising awareness of it, highlighting success stories, and emphasizing the role of innovative new technologies that highlight the potentials available in Sharjah and the importance of the emirate as a destination for innovation. The Sharjah government Government motivates the public and private sectors to contribute to the advancement of the technical sector, and to support digitization and innovation in order to achieve higher efficiency and excellence in services.


She added, "This year, SCHS's pavilion presents the "My destination" project. It aims to use virtual reality apps in order to help people with disabilities to imagine places such as (shopping centers - parks - airports - hospitals and other places) before visiting them. The apps design these places with virtual reality technology. Persons with disabilities could watch and interact with it through virtual reality glasses, especially people with autism spectrum disorder, in order to prepare and train them before visiting these places. This helps to reduce the pressures that students may have because of the new visual and auditory stimuli that they are experiencing”.


She said, “Virtual reality is one of the latest technical apps concerned with designing a 3D-environment. Students receive training through a virtual environment that professionals use for the purpose of education. So that it suggests to the viewer that he/she is in a real interactive environment depending on the senses of hearing and sight. Many studies indicated that virtual reality programs are effective in educating children with autism spectrum disorder. Most children generalize the procedures and concepts they learned to the real world”.


Al Yafei talked about the importance of the project by providing an innovative and more attractive educational environment, the possibility of using the application in school and at home, providing interaction with the surroundings within a safe and controlled environment. In addition to creating simulations of diverse environments and countless situations for the benefit of students, and objectively monitoring and evaluating students' performance.


The Director of SCHS pointed out the benefits of virtual reality in educating people with disabilities. It includes the development of new skills for students, ease of understanding and visualizing difficult concepts, enhancing the learning experience in the classroom, and motivating learners to participate through combining knowledge and fun.


With regards to the future directions of the project, H.E. Ms. MonaMona Al Yafei has confirmed working on creating a simulation of other environments such as airports or hospitals. This would train students to accept such places, and making measurements through virtual reality technology of students’ responses to sensory stimuli within different environments. In addition to working on developing recommendations for treatment programs, with the implementation of studies on the effectiveness of using virtual reality technology in teaching students with disabilities.