National initiative to spread the culture of guiding communication concludes

Muscat: The closing ceremony of the "Guiding Communication" initiative ("With a Hand Gesture, We Communication") was held today within the activities of the International Day of Sign Languages, which falls on 23 September of every year.

The event took place at the Aviation Hall of the Civil Aviation Authority, organized by Al Tawasul Training Institute in partnership with the "Nafeth" application and Oman Human Rights Commission.

The closing ceremony was held under the auspices of Dr. Abdullah bin Hamoud Al Harthy, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Social Development for Persons with Disabilities Affairs.

The "Guiding Communication" initiative is categorized as a national initiative to spread the culture of guiding communication and enhance community inclusion for persons with hearing disabilities. It aims to raise awareness of sign language, correct misconceptions about hearing disability, familiarize persons with hearing disabilities with their legal rights and duties through explaining the Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, spread the culture of etiquette when interacting with persons with hearing disabilities, and promote positive communication between persons with hearing disabilities and society.

The initiative aspires to expand geographically to cover all governorates of the Sultanate of Oman, where the total statistical figure for persons with hearing disabilities in the Sultanate of Oman stands at approximately 17,046. It also seeks to establish strategic partnerships with government entities and private institutions to ensure continuous financial and logistical support for the initiative, enhance its media presence through permanent content reaching wider segments of society, and make sign language a primary language in the Sultanate of Oman.

The initiative, which was implemented across 5 stations at various locations, delivered a number of training and awareness programs benefiting over 150 male and female employees from the government sector, more than 125 community members, in addition to more than 110 persons with hearing disabilities.

The closing ceremony included a presentation of the initiative's key outcomes and a visual presentation documenting the initiative's stations since its inception. The ceremony also featured two working papers: the first dealt with "Human Rights for Persons with Disabilities" presented by Oman Human Rights Commission, while the second addressed "Technology and Sign Language Interpretation" presented by Nahj Tech Company, alongside a visual presentation titled "Partnership Creating Impact" highlighting the key partnership efforts among the initiative's supporting entities.

The ceremony's program concluded with a working paper titled "Sustainable Sign Empowerment System" presented by Sultan Al Amiri, CEO of "Nafeth" application and Executive Director of Al Tawasul Training Institute, in which he addressed the prospects for sustaining work on empowering sign communication and its future development.