Now on its fifth year, the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) and the Department of Information, Communication Technology (DICT) hold its National PWD IT Competition recently at the DICT Campus, Valenzuela City. This is in preparation for the upcoming 2019 Global IT Challenge (GITC) for Youth with Disabilities that will be held on November 25-29 this year in Busan, South Korea.
GITC is a capacity building project that helps youth with disabilities to overcome their limitations and challenge themselves for a better future by providing them with access to ICT and related experiences by improving their abilities to leverage information and social participation.
The competition will select national champions in four (4) type of disabilities namely: (1) communication (hearing), (2) learning/intellectual, (3) orthopedic/physical, and (4) visual disability on selected work categories such as eTool Challenge and eLife Map Challenge. In the eTool Challenge, contestants will utilize MS Office skill efficiently at work or school, while eTool tests contestant’s ability to respond to a specific situation through Web Searching.
The competition was participated in by 39 students from13 schools in NCR, Regions IV-A and V. These schools were Philippine School for the Deaf, Philippine National School for the Blind, Signal Village National High School, Quirino High School, Valenzuela National High School, Manila High School, Miriam College, Taguig Integrated School, APEC School, Athen’s Academy, Carmona National High School in Cavite, and Mayon Institute of Science and Technology in Ligao, Albay.
In a message delivered by Director Aida Yuvienco of DICT-Management Information System Service (MISS) she highlighted that ICT has become an integral part of everyday life for many people. “For persons with disabilities, it bridges the disability divide though the use of digital technologies,” she said.
She also mentioned some government initiatives that focus on ICT such as Tech4ED that establishes eCenters in rural areas for easy access by persons with disabilities, Rural Impact Sourcing that provides online freelancing jobs, and ICT training and workshops conducted by DICT will help our persons with disabilities find jobs and acquired skills to make them more productive in life.
The winners of this year were:
- Communication Disability Category – Karl Francis N. Du (Manila High School)
- Orthopedic/Physical Disability – Ace Benedict C. Dayto (Gen. Pio del Category Pilar National High School)
- Learning Disability Category – Keith Rafael T. Ignacio (Valenzuela National High School)
- For Visual Disability Category – Florence Jaime Fernandez (Valenzuela National High School)