{"id":848,"date":"2021-07-09T04:43:41","date_gmt":"2021-07-09T04:43:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/achrafothman.net\/site\/?p=848"},"modified":"2021-07-10T02:37:15","modified_gmt":"2021-07-10T02:37:15","slug":"a-i-for-accessibility-hackathon-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/achrafothman.net\/site\/a-i-for-accessibility-hackathon-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"A.I. for Accessibility Hackathon 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to the World Health Organization, 1 billion individuals, or 15% of the world population, are considered to have disabilities that exclude them from education and the workplace, weaken their potential to connect and communicate effectively, and limit their ability for independent living. With the shift to online living, more barriers arise and the need for inclusiveness and accessibility is stronger than ever.<\/p>\n

Through the advancement of assistive technologies (AT), new possibilities have opened up to overcome barriers to basic living activities. Artificial Intelligence (AI) plays a crucial role in the development of assistive technologies, enhancing an inclusive user experience and removing barriers. AI advances such as predictive text, visual recognition, and speech-to-text transcription are already showing enormous potential for helping people with vision, hearing, cognitive, learning, mobility disabilities \u2013 as well as a range of mental health conditions.<\/p>\n

For this purpose and marking the tenth Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), the Talal and Madiha Zein AUB Innovation Park<\/a>, in collaboration with the Maroun Semaan Faculty of Engineering and Architecture\u200b and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences\u200b at AUB and Beirut Digital District (BDD), is organizing the AI for Accessibility Hackathon 2021<\/a>. \u00a0This competition is aimed at rallying talents and fostering the regional development of the innovative entrepreneurship community related to artificial intelligence, while also increasing social inclusiveness.<\/p>\n

For this event, I was invited to join the judging committee to represent Mada Center, Qatar, and to introduce the Mada Innovation Program<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Before talking in deep about the event, I would like to thank you in particular Maha Zouwayhed<\/a>, IT Business Development Manager and Accessibility Advocate, for her commitment during the event and also all mentors, judging members, and future entrepreneurs. Without them, the hackathon couldn’t reach such a success.<\/p>\n

The judging team was composed by:<\/p>\n