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The Malta Independent | Thursday 29 October 2015
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The Malta Independent | Thursday 29 October 2015
ICT Accessibility for a better Quality of Life
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A person with an impairment is not broken
nesses, researchers and innovators “A person with an impairment is not broken. Our built environment, our technologies are broken and disabling. We the people need not accept our limitations or those imposed on us by society, but can transcend disability through technological innovation.” Amongst the guest speakers was Mr. George Bell who is Managing Director of Techno-Vision Systems Ltd., and Chairman of the Braille Producers section of the UK Association for Accessible Formats (UKAAF). Accessibility for disabled persons aside, he stressed the financial benefits inherent to the standardization and simplicity implied when creating accessible documentation and media. “Many peoples think they know how to use office applications, but very few use them fully in a way that leads to efficiency he said. A properly designed document must by definition be also accessible. The cheaper conversion costs and higher portability of accessible documentation make perfect business sense” he said. Such very practical solutions are covered in a course being organized by FITA and the Central Bank of Malta at MITA, all of this week up till 30th October. The Malta Bankers’ Association contributed a presentation on accessible banking services in the Maltese islands and participated in a Q&A session which explored and gave a better understanding of the decision process, issues, resources and solutions involved in ensuring more accessible banking services. Life examples of Online Banking, phone banking, smartphone APPs and ATM services were discussed. Summing up the seminar and workshop proceedings, Mr. Stanley Debono thanked partner organizations and speakers for their contribution and all the participants for their feedback which will be used when determining the way forward for FITA’s future initiatives. More information may be obtained at www.fitamalta.eu and also by contacting FITA on telephone 25992343 or via email at info@fitamalta.eu
MITA Communications and PR Team
Designing more user centric solutions
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he Design Thinking Course, MITA employees attended a Design Thinking Course, a 2-week long curriculum that introduced the participants to the concepts of human-centred design and how this approach can be used to create innovative, effective, and sustainable business and social solutions. This course has been created to reach those who are brand new to design thinking concept. The course methodology has been inspired by a wider Design Thinking concept. The course was delivered by Jaroslaw Bialek who is the former MD of Macrobond Financial Polska - a Polish arm of the Macrobond holding operating within the fin-tech industry. He’s been related with the fintech industry for 12 years, working for the companies like: EcoWin AB, Thomson Financial and Reuters. Since 2009 Jaroslaw is related to several startup scenes. As a Global Facilitator he has organised over 20 Startup Weekend events. Jaroslaw contributed to re-designing the lean-startup-methodologybased NEXT program, delivering the program in several forms in Poland, Malta and Chile. He
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“A person with an impairment is not broken. Our built environment, our technologies are broken and disabling. We the people need not accept our limitations or those imposed on us by society, but can transcend disability through technological innovation.” During a seminar organized by FITA and MITA last Monday 26th October 2015, a number of business enterprises, government organizations, representatives from Homes for the Elderly and Disability NGOs got together to discuss the different implications of ICT accessibility when sought from different perspectives of the stakeholders involved. H.E. The President of Malta Marie-Louise Coleiro, presided the public seminar which was titled ICT Accessibility for a better quality of life. This seminar is the first amongst a series of events organized in conjunction with the Central Bank of Malta and KNPD that will span across 2016. H.E. complimented participants on the high turnout and interest expressed in more accessible ICT products and services. She stressed the importance of ensuring that information and services continue to be made accessible also for disabled and elderly persons not only as consumers but also as contributors to e-society. The seminar included a key note speech by Profs. Kenneth Camilleri, Director Centre for Biomedical Cybernetics and Head of Department, Systems & Control Engineering at the University of Malta where he emphasized the importance of a user centred approach to the implementation of any technology product or service in order for it to be meaningful and be of use to everyone. He quoted Hugh Herr’s statement as an axiom which should pervade all projects led by busi-
The Malta Independent ICT Feature
This course has been created to reach those who are brand new to design thinking concept
has also developed an ideation program, being part of the Design Thinking courses he runs in Santiago and Concepcion (Chile). It can be described as a discipline that uses the designer’s sensibility and methods to match people’s needs with what is technologically feasible and what a viable business strategy can convert into customer value and market opportunity. The course equipped the participants with the mindsets and methods of human-centred design so that they can be more intentional about facing and solving their current challenges and also let them experiment with the power of human-centred design. It also thought how to identify patterns and opportunities for concept development while inspiring to approach challenges differently and experience how human-centered design can add new perspectives to the work environment of the participants. Furthermore it provided handson experience speaking to, prototyping for, and testing solutions with the target audience of the course projects.
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his week FITA organised a well attended seminar on ICT Accessibility for a better Quality of Life. The seminar focused on the importance of ensuring that information and services continue to be made accessible also for disabled and elderly persons not only as users but also as contributors to
e-society. MITA employees attended a Design Thinking Course aimed at introducing the participants to different approaches which can be used to create innovative, effective, and sustainable business and social solutions. All ICT Features are available on www.mita.gov.mt/ictfeature