About the Organiser
The Infocomm Accessibilty Centre (IAC) is Singapore’s first centre set up to provide training in infocomm technology for people with all disabilities types. It is specially equipped with a wide range of assistive technology devices to cater to the different needs.
IAC also works with the IT Apprenticeship Programme (ITAP) to further train
disabled people for specific jobs so as to get them to be work ready.
Find out more about IAC
The Tweet Meet
Post-event feature
On 26 June this year, the Infocomm Accessibility Centre (IAC) wrapped up a month-long civic movement titled The Tweet Meet with a digital picnic at SMU Campus Green, where netizens and members of the public picnicked, tweeted about the cause and enjoyed musical performances – one of which was put up by Gerald Bartholomew, a former IAC trainee who is visually impaired. Members of the public also interacted with people with disabilities at the event physically and via online platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Skype.
The Tweet Meet is part of the ‘SOW – It’s Time To Grow’ campaign to encourage members of the public to Know Somebody, Grow Somebody and sign up someone they know with disabilities who will benefit from one of the many IT courses offered at IAC.
In one month, The Tweet Meet garnered 110 followers on its Twitter site #TweetmeetSG, and more than 260 friends on its Facebook page, Tweet Meet Singapore.
The month-long campaign was also well-received and supported by corporations such as Ben Foods (S) Pte Ltd, FairPrice Foundation, Feego, HTC and the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (TAFEP), which lent a hand to support this civic movement.
As part of the campaign, the IAC hosted bloggers and netizens to tours of IAC, showcasing the IT courses provided by the Centre to people with disabilities and also the assistive technology devices and software available to help people with disabilities use computers and access the Internet.
Feedback from the bloggers was positive – in fact, the tour opened their eyes and they learnt about the different devices and software that help people with disabilities to learn IT skills.
During the month, volunteers from Singapore Polytechnic also visited the homes of IAC trainees to equip them with webcams and microphones and helped them set up accounts on Skype, Twitter and Facebook, so they can start chatting with friends online and widen their social network by making more friends via these online channels. The webcams also made it possible for them to be part of The Tweet Meet in the comfort of their homes.
“We used The Tweet Meet as a platform to encourage more people with disabilities to take the first step and try out social networking tools such as Twitter, Facebook and Skype. Enabling them via online platforms not only opens up a whole new world to them, at the same time it also serves to build up their self-confidence, help them broaden their social network and learn new skills. This will hopefully encourage them to take up more IT courses at IAC as a first step to greater independence,” said Ms Chia Woon Yee, Director of Technology for Society for the Physically Disabled.
She added: “We are very heartened that the Singapore public has responded positively to The Tweet Meet. We hope that this event will generate more referrals for IAC’s courses and help us hit the target of offering 1,000 more IT course placements to people with disabilities by March next year.
For more information on the IT courses offered by the IAC, please visit: www.iacentre.org.sg/cs_courseschedule.php
