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Kalimat Foundation makes 30,000 books accessible to children in 11 countries

Web Desk 05:50 PM | 14 Feb, 2023
Kalimat Foundation makes 30,000 books accessible to children in 11 countries

SHARJAH - Kalimat Foundation’s “ARA” initiative has become a global role model for empowering blind and visually-impaired children, and ensuring their right to access resources of knowledge, as it is the very first initiative to run surveys on children who are blind, visually impaired, or who have other print disabilities, in the Middle East, North and East Africa.

ARA’s quest to provide sources of knowledge to this group of children has been the most significant, given that since its inception in 2017, it has distributed tens of thousands of accessible books to schools as well as public and private entities in many countries around the world.

The initiative’s exceptional efforts came as a response to the surveys’ results which indicated that accessible books in the Arab world are scarce, most blind children don’t have access to them, and there was a troubling gap in offering them equal opportunities with their sighted peers. This led to the initiative to produce 30,000 books in accessible formats, including braille, large print, and audiobooks.

These books were made available to more than 45 public and private institutions as well as various entities in 11 countries, in addition to all UAE schools to support inclusivity, in collaboration with the Emirates Schools Establishment (ESE).

Countries across three continents, namely; Asia, Africa and North America benefited from the ARA Initiative, including the UAE, the KSA, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, Morocco, Oman, Algeria, and the USA. 

The ground-breaking success is the first phase of the initiative’s adjectives that seek to support blind and visually-disabled children, help them develop their capabilities in literacy by providing reading content in accessible formats, highlight the efforts aimed at helping them to integrate better into society, as well as educate publishers about technologies and tools used to produce and publish accessible books.

The initiative did not stop at those local and international milestones, but also produced more than 100 EPUB3 titles, giving visually-impaired children the opportunity to access a library of books whose text size and colour can be easily modified according to their needs.

Future Plans

Amna Al Mazmi, Manager of Kalimat Foundation (KF), said: “Today, we celebrate the distribution of the first batch of accessible-book production. We were able to achieve this remarkable success thanks to the vision of Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi, Founder and Chairperson of KF, and her full support to blind and visually-disabled children, in life with her firm belief in their right to access sources of knowledge, and bolster their presence and participation in social and creative life on par with their peers.”

“Our future plans comprise the production of new titles of accessible books. We will also offer training to more publishing houses on the production of EPUB3 books to further enhance the integration of visually-impaired children with their sighted peers, and bridge the critical shortage gap in the public libraries across the Arab world in terms of accessible Arabic books,” she added.

Al Mazmi remarked that the future plans also comprise the Ara Discussion Circle, which will be organised this month, and will be attended by blind and visually-impaired individuals, as well as Visual Impairment organizations, and publishing houses. KF will share its achievements and future goals, and hear from the attendees about their needs and interests, in order to work together and bridge the accessible book gap by activating the Marrakesh Treaty authorization.

Honourable Achievements

Over the past six years, KF achieved tangible accomplishments in forging international treaties and opening collaboration channels with like-minded entities as well as offering education and training opportunities to elevate the accessible-book ecosystem. In 2018, it signed off a cooperation agreement with ABC to produce Arabic accessible ebooks, and in 2019, it offered training to 10 MENA-based publishing houses about the mechanism of accessible EPUB3 book production. ARA also organised a series of workshops to raise awareness about the importance of blind children's integration in their communities in the Middle East, North and East Africa.

Exceptional Publishing Rights

Through the ARA initiative, KF became UAE’s first non-profit to secure publishing rights under the Marrakesh Treaty, administered by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). The UAE Ministry of Economy authorised KF to facilitate access of the visually-impaired and print-disabled to published works in line with the terms of the treaty, to reproduce, distribute, and make copies of published works available in accessible formats for the blind, visually-impaired, and otherwise print-disabled.

On the importance of the Marrakesh Treaty, Adel Al Zumar, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Emirates Association of the Visually Impaired (EAVI), said: “This agreement was a dream to many visually-impaired children in the Arab world, to have reading material in accessible formats such as braille or audiobooks. It will enable many visually-impaired individuals, especially children, to read and access a wide variety of accessible books.”

Short-listed for International Awards

KF produced 100 EPUB3 titles, following a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed off with Knowledge without Borders' cultural initiative "1001 Titles" in 2019, to bridge the gap in Arabic accessible content for children aged 3-12 years. In recognition of ARA’s great efforts, it was shortlisted twice for ABC’s International Excellence Award for Accessible Publishing, in the Initiative category, in 2020 and 2022.

Beneficiaries’ Testimonials

Through ARA’s efforts, a host of representatives of public and private entities that benefited from the initiative stressed its significant impact on children’s access to sources of knowledge and full integration in the student community, particularly in their early years. 

Dr Najah Al Khalayla, Director of the Blind Academy, Abdullah Ibn Umm Maktum School in Amman, Jordan, stated: “A story would never make students feel bored, but it ignites their passion for learning. The best part of Kalimat Foundation’s ARA initiative is that it allows students to read the story on their own. Reading those stories enriches their vocabulary and gives them a broader range of words to use in their daily and academic life.”

Ensherah Saadeh, Head of Department - Community and Social Engagement at the Australian International School, noted: “For visually impaired children, the library was a dark and mysterious place, but as soon as Kalimat Foundation provided accessible books including braille storybooks, the library became their favourite place and a world full of dreams and imagination.”

Khaoula Besharat, Mother of Tala, a blind child, commented: “The storybooks we received from Kalimat Foundation and the workshops offered all year round were aimed at empowering blind children with a sense of belonging, capability and equality with their sighted peers.”

Partners and Sponsors

Sponsors, partners and supporters who contributed to the success of the ARA Initiative journey comprise the Hamriyah Free Zone Authority, UAE Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Community Development, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Emirates Association of the Visually Impaired, 1001 Titles initiative, Sharjah City For Humanitarian Services, Sharjah Public Libraries, House of Wisdom, as well as  Sharjah Islamic Bank, Sharjah Charity International; partners of future ARA plans, who will continue to sponsor the production and distribution of ARA’s second batch of accessible books.

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Daily Pakistan Global Web Desk

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Today's currency exchange rates in Pakistan - Dollar, Euro, Pound, Riyal rates on June 6, 2023

KARACHI - Following are the foreign currency exchange rates for US Dollar, Saudi Riyal, UK Pound Sterling, U.A.E. Dirham, European Euro, and other foreign currencies in Pakistan open market on June 06, 2023 (Tuesday).

Source: Forex Association of Pakistan. (last update 09:00 AM)

Currency Symbol Buying Selling
US Dollar ‎USD 304.9 308.15
Euro EUR 322 325
UK Pound Sterling GBP 377 381
U.A.E Dirham AED 83.5 84.5
Saudi Riyal SAR 80.5 81.5
Australian Dollar AUD 202 204
Bahrain Dinar BHD 758.82 766.80
Canadian Dollar CAD 226 230
China Yuan CNY 40.28 40.68
Danish Krone DKK 41.03 41.43
Hong Kong Dollar HKD 36.4 36.75
Indian Rupee INR 3.46 3.57
Japanese Yen JPY 2 2.08
Kuwaiti Dinar KWD 925.2 934.2
Malaysian Ringgit MYR 61.94 62.54
New Zealand Dollar NZD 173.16 175.16
Norwegians Krone NOK 25.88 26.18
Omani Riyal OMR 742.38 750.38
Qatari Riyal ‎QAR 78.38 79.08
Singapore Dollar SGD 220 222
Swedish Korona SEK 26.36 26.66
Swiss Franc CHF 313.87 316.37
Thai Bhat THB 8.21 8.36

Today's gold rates in Pakistan | gold price in Pakistan – June 7, 2023

Gold Rate Today:

KARACHI – The price of a single tola of 24-karat gold in Pakistan is Rs 228,900 on Wednesday. The price of 10 grams of 24k gold was recorded at Rs197,190.   

Likewise, 10 grams of 22k gold were being traded for Rs180,756 while a single tola of 22-karat gold was being sold at Rs 210,832.

Note: The gold rate in Pakistan is fluctuating according to the international market so the price is never been fixed. The below rates are provided by local gold markets and Sarafa Markets of different cities.

Gold Price in Pakistan: Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad

City Gold Silver
Lahore PKR 228,900 PKR 2125
Karachi PKR 228,900 PKR 2125
Islamabad PKR 228,900 PKR 2125
Peshawar PKR 228,900 PKR 2125
Quetta PKR 228,900 PKR 2125
Sialkot PKR 228,900 PKR 2125
Attock PKR 228,900 PKR 2125
Gujranwala PKR 228,900 PKR 2125
Jehlum PKR 228,900 PKR 2125
Multan PKR 228,900 PKR 2125
Bahawalpur PKR 228,900 PKR 2125
Gujrat PKR 228,900 PKR 2125
Nawabshah PKR 228,900 PKR 2125
Chakwal PKR 228,900 PKR 2125
Hyderabad PKR 228,900 PKR 2125
Nowshehra PKR 228,900 PKR 2125
Sargodha PKR 228,900 PKR 2125
Faisalabad PKR 228,900 PKR 2125
Mirpur PKR 228,900 PKR 2125

Daily Pakistan diligently monitors and updates the current gold rates in Pakistan on a daily basis

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