Doha: Shafallah Center for Persons with Disabilities, a center under the umbrella of the Qatar Social Work Foundation, has announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Qatar Scientific Club (QSC) to implement joint programs at the center's premises. Executive Director of Al Shafallah Center for Persons with Disabilities, Maryam Saif Al Suwaidi, stated that the MoU aims to empower and include the center's functionaries in a variety of QSC-organized scientific activities.
According to Qatar News Agency, enhancing an inclusive culture to spread awareness of the scientific inclusion of persons with disabilities is essential. This creates an informed community of human diversity, offering a scientific environment that engages all, regardless of physical and sensory capabilities, Al Suwaidi emphasized. She highlighted that the MoU primarily aims to capitalize on QSC's services and expertise offered to the center's disabled functionaries, positioning QSC as an official partner in the center's scientific programs and projects.
Al Suwaidi asserted that the two parties strive to provide opportunities for societal care and establish a strategic partnership that serves these functionaries. The two parties are set to launch a Lego robotics competition for individuals with autism spectrum disorder, alongside QSC's support for the center through showcasing the functionaries' products at the club's premises. She stated that QSC's employees will be trained in the skills of dealing with persons with disabilities and providing them with the essential needs.
QSC will provide the center's affiliates with membership cards and organize a training workshop for them on a quarterly basis throughout the year at its premises, in proportion to their abilities and needs, without prejudice to the timelines of services the club offers to them. She affirmed that this will be done in coordination between the two sides, as the club is set to reinforce their capabilities and future projects with its available potential.
For his part, Deputy Executive Director of QSC, Eng. Abdulrahman Saleh Khamis, emphasized that the club plays a role in supporting persons with disabilities through a range of initiatives aimed at bolstering their inclusion in the community and providing proportional opportunities for them. The club seeks to educate them through training programs in pursuit of advancing their skills in technology and science, thereby enabling their effective engagement in society.
He indicated that QSC's initiatives are focused on developing technologies, such as smart devices and applications, that streamline the lives of persons with disabilities and help them achieve greater independence. The engagement of persons with disabilities in scientific activities will foster self-confidence, alongside their peers, making them accepted in the community, as these activities open occupational and scientific avenues for them and unearth their capabilities that qualify them for future careers and studies.
Eng. Khamis pointed out that their engagement in these activities profoundly contributes to stimulating their intellectual and physical aspects, as well as communication with others, thereby achieving a positive impact on improving behavior and mitigating tensions and social isolation. Established in 1987, QSC operates under the umbrella of the Ministry of Sports and Youth as a non-profit scientific and civil institution meant to encourage learning, innovation, and research in science and technology domains.