Filipino youth with disabilities made a breakthrough and impressive record for this 2017 Global IT Challenge (GITC) for Youth with Disabilities by bagging several medals in their respective event categories. The event was held at the Grand Plaza Hanoi Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam on September 18-21,2017 and participated in by sixteen (16) countries broken into twenty-five (25) teams.

The GITC is a project that challenges youth with disabilities to utilize ICTs to solve problems. The event is meant for four (4) categories of disabilities – visual, hearing, mobility and intellectual disabilities whose age ranges 13-19 years old and have general knowledge on Internet Explorer web browser, MS Office and Scratch Programs.

In addition to providing them with the ability to leverage information and social participation, it seeks to set ICT agenda for participating countries to boost international cooperation and exchange for accessibility.

The Philippine team is composed of Nathaniel Edward Quing Dimalanta, Mark Christian Dipatuan Evangelista, Janna Nadine Co Tan, and Adrion Peter Bautista Palacpac representing Philippine School for the Deaf, Philippine National School for the Blind. Miriam College Southeast Asian Institute for the Deaf and Gen. Pio del Pilar National High School respectively
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Janna Nadine Tan was awarded a gold medal, a Certificate of Achievement and a cash award in the e-Tool challenge, and a silver medal, a Certificate of Achievement and a cash award in the e-Life challenge under the hearing category while Adrion Peter Palacpac was awarded a gold medal, a Certificate of Achievement, and a cash award in the e-Life challenge and a silver medal, a Certificate of Achievement and a cash award in the e-Tool challenge, under the developmental/Learning disability category. Both winners are under the individual events. For the first time in the history of the IT Global Challenge event, Adrion Peter Palacpac representing the Philippines was conferred the IT Global Leader/MVP for the year 2017.

To win gold and silver medals in the international and prestigious competition like the GITC is quite a feat considering the better-trained competitors who receive greater support in terms of training and funding by their respective governments. Let this be the start of a dream, to aspire for more among the Youth with Disabilities a journey towards a digitally inclusive society that “No one is Left Behind’ is not an impossible dream.