Japan funds $4m project for ICT for vulnerable people

RURAL residents, the elderly and people with disabilities are all set to benefit from a project aimed at increasing ICT access to vulnerable people, which was launched at the Hilton Trinidad on September 16.

The event was titled Strengthening Digital Inclusion among Vulnerable Groups in Trinidad and Tobago.

The project involves the Ministry of Digital Transformation, Japanese Embassy and Inter American Development Bank (IDB). It will cost US$572,200, or roughly $4 million.

Japanese Ambassador Yutaka Matsubara said the project was financed by the Japan Special Fund, which he said would support other projects in the future. He recalled that the covid19 pandemic had shown the value of ICT, although lamenting that during that period some people became more isolated that they had previously been.

Ministry permanent secretary Corey Belfon emphasised the theme of no one left behind.

He said 15 ICT access centres are now available to the general public nationwide. These were outfitted to help the visually-impaired and the hearing-impaired, he added.

Some 2,000 elderly people have already used these centres since early 2023, Belfon said.

IDB country representative Carina Cockburn estimated the number of people with disabilities globally will grow from 88 million now to 150 million by 2050.

She lamented only 40 per cent of people with disabilities have internet access, lagging behind the general population's 79 per cent.

Cockburn cited the challenges unearthed by an intern at the IDB (Omar Harrinanan) in accessing governmental e-services online, which she said did not cater for visually-impaired people.

The online forms had small spaces to insert personal details, fine print and walls of text. The fact that forms were available only in PDF format meant that screens could not be used to read it on behalf of visually-impaired people. User guides to these forms were not easily found and were not user-friendly, Cockburn said, and half of disabled people were unaware of apps that could help them.

She promised a pilot project that will leverage technology for people with disabilities.

Cockburn lamented that only about 50 per cent of rural residents have internet access, compared to 80 per of urban residents. Within this first class, she pointed out a lack of access to smart technology, which she said could help farmers improve crop yield and build climate resilience.

In the question session, Newsday sought more details of the pilot project for people with disabilities, including its scope.

IDB senior specialist Dr Jason Wilks – who earlier gave a project overview – said in the coming weeks the IDB will have talks with various groups representing different disabilities. He said the goal was to have a platform for multiple groups to be able to meet up.

"We want to facilitate a coming together."

He hoped for talks among as many different groups as possible.

Also in the question session, Disabled Persons International TT president Kerwin Thomas estimated that seven per cent of TT's population had a disability. Of the project, he said, "The time is right. Now!"

Barbara Alleyne of Goodwill Industries spoke of her group's youngsters need for training in online skills.

"We need help to be able to prepare these young people, or they will be lost out there."