Tamkeen is the initiative of H.H. General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to empower visually impaired people in the UAE to become independent. This project will help Tamkeen to pursue its long-term development plan and objectives.
The initial 10-day intensive teacher training programme, which is being supported by the British Council and British Business Group in the UAE, will bring together a group of 10-15 English teachers in the UAE and focus on developing their special needs teaching techniques. The programme will be conducted under the guidance of one of the world's leading experts in teaching the blind, Professor Boguslaw Marek.
"Communication skills training is one of the key areas - and arguably the most important - in Tamkeen's programme. This element of Tamkeen's work will focus on providing oral and written English language training to its students, in collaboration with the British Council with the support of the British Business Group. Proficiency in English then leads students into IT and other more vocational training," said Ms. Jo Maher, Director Operations of the British Council in the UAE.
"By 'teaching the teachers', we are contributing to the long term development of the visually impaired community in the UAE and we will be working with local sponsors to ensure these teaching skills are updated regularly," she added.
Jennifer Bibbings, Chairman of the British Business Group, emphasised the long term benefits of focusing on teaching quality: "The establishment of a high quality training infrastructure for students with special needs, and with a focus on UAE nationals, is an important development for Tamkeen. The British Business Group believes that by working with the British Council in the teacher training programme, we are offering it a very practical, tangible and sustainable form of support.
"We are very fortunate to have the services of Professor Marek, who is recognized internationally for his work in teaching the blind and who has worked very successfully with the British Council in other countries."
Browse
related articles
Tamkeen launches English language teacher training programme for the vision impaired
- United Arab Emirates: Wednesday, July 07 - 2004 at 13:47
- PRESS RELEASE
Related content
Dubai's Tamkeen project has embarked on a teacher training programme to create a pool of professionally trained English language teachers for special needs students.
Article Options
Log in to request more information from British Council
Posted by Anne-Birte Stensgaard, Senior News EditorWednesday, July 07 - 2004 at 13:47 UAE local time (GMT+4)
Replication or redistribution in whole or in part is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AME Info FZ LLC / Emap Limited.
Notes and Media Contacts »
Tamkeen
The new project 'Tamkeen' (the Arabic word for 'enabling'), an initiative of H.H. General Sheikh Mohammed, supported by Knowledge Village, Emirates Airline, HP, Microsoft, Biz-ability and the British Council, aims to empower UAE nationals and residents, who are vision impaired or partially sighted, to become independent livelihood earners through training, employment, career development and facilitation.
Tamkeen also plans to attract vision impaired and partially sighted from Bahrain, Kuwait and other Middle Eastern countries to come and study at Tamkeen. Efforts are also underway to place Tamkeen students with government organisations and corporate houses. The organization is open for anybody of work-ready age from any nationality. All training and support is given free of charge and the average capacity of each class is 5-6 persons.
Professor Boguslaw Marek, OBE
Boguslaw Marek, known to his friends as 'Bob', is a professor of English at the University of Lublin in Poland. His interest in visual impairment goes back to the early 1990s, when he decided to teach English to totally blind children. He learned his first lessons about visual impairment at the Laski school for the Blind, where he worked as a volunteer for two years. In order to get professional qualifications, Bob completed a diploma course in visual impairment at the Institute of Education (University of London). He now runs courses in English as a foreign language for totally blind children and university students, as well as specialist courses for teachers of English. In 2002, in recognition of his work with blind learners, and for his English for the Blind Programme in particular, Bob received The Order of the British Empire (OBE) from Queen Elizabeth II.
During his first visit to the UAE, in 2003, Professor Marek met officials from the Special Needs Department at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, as well as officials from the UAE Ministry of Education. In addition, Professor Marek gave two workshops to female students from the Dubai and Sharjah Women Colleges of Technology (HCT) on training and teaching visually impaired students and those with special needs.
British Council
The British Council is the United Kingdom's international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations with a network of 243 offices and teaching centres in 100 countries. In England, the British Council is registered as a charity. The British Council in the UAE connects people with learning opportunities and creative ideas from the UK and builds mutually beneficial relationships between people in the UK and the UAE, through its centres in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah.
British Business Group for Dubai and the Northern Emirates
The aim of the BBG is to provide individuals representing British companies with a presence in Dubai and the Northern Emirates to meet on a regular basis and to act as a forum for the exchange of information relating to current and expected business opportunities. It assists the British Embassy in providing support to delegations, prominent executives and officials visiting Dubai and the Northern Emirates from Britain and in providing support to British companies and businessmen and women, establishing or contemplating the establishment of a trading base in Dubai and the Northern Emirates. It seeks to promote the improvement of Dubai / British relations and to demonstrate the interest and commitment of British business to the further development of Dubai and the Northern Emirates.
Face to Face Limited, P.O. Box 53189 Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Tel:(971 4) 3355863 Fax:(971 4) 3378187
The new project 'Tamkeen' (the Arabic word for 'enabling'), an initiative of H.H. General Sheikh Mohammed, supported by Knowledge Village, Emirates Airline, HP, Microsoft, Biz-ability and the British Council, aims to empower UAE nationals and residents, who are vision impaired or partially sighted, to become independent livelihood earners through training, employment, career development and facilitation.
Tamkeen also plans to attract vision impaired and partially sighted from Bahrain, Kuwait and other Middle Eastern countries to come and study at Tamkeen. Efforts are also underway to place Tamkeen students with government organisations and corporate houses. The organization is open for anybody of work-ready age from any nationality. All training and support is given free of charge and the average capacity of each class is 5-6 persons.
Professor Boguslaw Marek, OBE
Boguslaw Marek, known to his friends as 'Bob', is a professor of English at the University of Lublin in Poland. His interest in visual impairment goes back to the early 1990s, when he decided to teach English to totally blind children. He learned his first lessons about visual impairment at the Laski school for the Blind, where he worked as a volunteer for two years. In order to get professional qualifications, Bob completed a diploma course in visual impairment at the Institute of Education (University of London). He now runs courses in English as a foreign language for totally blind children and university students, as well as specialist courses for teachers of English. In 2002, in recognition of his work with blind learners, and for his English for the Blind Programme in particular, Bob received The Order of the British Empire (OBE) from Queen Elizabeth II.
During his first visit to the UAE, in 2003, Professor Marek met officials from the Special Needs Department at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, as well as officials from the UAE Ministry of Education. In addition, Professor Marek gave two workshops to female students from the Dubai and Sharjah Women Colleges of Technology (HCT) on training and teaching visually impaired students and those with special needs.
British Council
The British Council is the United Kingdom's international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations with a network of 243 offices and teaching centres in 100 countries. In England, the British Council is registered as a charity. The British Council in the UAE connects people with learning opportunities and creative ideas from the UK and builds mutually beneficial relationships between people in the UK and the UAE, through its centres in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah.
British Business Group for Dubai and the Northern Emirates
The aim of the BBG is to provide individuals representing British companies with a presence in Dubai and the Northern Emirates to meet on a regular basis and to act as a forum for the exchange of information relating to current and expected business opportunities. It assists the British Embassy in providing support to delegations, prominent executives and officials visiting Dubai and the Northern Emirates from Britain and in providing support to British companies and businessmen and women, establishing or contemplating the establishment of a trading base in Dubai and the Northern Emirates. It seeks to promote the improvement of Dubai / British relations and to demonstrate the interest and commitment of British business to the further development of Dubai and the Northern Emirates.
Face to Face Limited, P.O. Box 53189 Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Tel:(971 4) 3355863 Fax:(971 4) 3378187
Disclaimer »
Articles in this section are primarily provided directly by the companies appearing or PR agencies which are solely responsible for the content. The companies concerned may use the above content on their respective web sites provided they link back to http://www.ameinfo.com
Any opinions, advice, statements, offers or other information expressed in this section of the AMEinfo.com Web site are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of AME Info FZ LLC / Emap Limited. AME Info FZ LLC / Emap Limited is not responsible or liable for the content, accuracy or reliability of any material, advice, opinion or statement in this section of the AMEinfo.com Web site.
For details about submitting your stories, please read the guide - all content published is subject to our terms and conditions
