Tamkeen participates in IAPB General Assembly

The IAPB is an umbrella organisation of individuals, organisations and agencies of and for the blind, and those working to prevent blindness and promote eye care around the world. The IAPB works closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) in partnership with whom it runs the 'VISION 2020: The Right to Sight' campaign, a global initiative to eliminate avoidable blindness by the year 2020.

"Tamkeen is proud to participate in and support the global movement to prevent blindness," said Dr. Abdulla Al Karam, CEO of Knowledge Village. "Blindness is largely a condition that can be prevented if appropriate care and timely treatment is provided. Apart from educational and training programmes for the visually impaired, Tamkeen is also involved in raising awareness about the measures that should be adopted to avoid preventable blindness. The IAPB general assembly, being held for the first time in the Middle East in Dubai, is an ideal venue for addressing these important issues," he added.

The IAPB General Assembly is held once every four years, providing a forum for eye care professionals around the world involved in blindness prevention and community eye health to meet and share ideas, expertise, and experiences.

The IAPB event is one of the first international events that Tamkeen is involved in. Initiated by H.H General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Defence Minister and supported by Knowledge Village, IT Education Project (ITEP), British Council, Microsoft, HP, the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind (RVIB), biz-ability and Braillehouse, Tamkeen seeks to empower vision-impaired individuals in UAE through providing training, support, and counseling. Tamkeen is also supported by Emirates Airlines, its Key Sponsor.

Tamkeen runs programmes aimed at optimizing the independence of vision-impaired people and creating opportunities to enhance the quality of their lives. Using its own expertise and collaborating with other social organizations, Tamkeen provides training and services to the vision impaired to help create meaningful job opportunities for them in the UAE.

One of Tamkeen's key objectives is to become the focal point for vision impaired UAE nationals and residents in matters relating to training, employment preparation, employment opportunities and career development. It also seeks to increase the use of adaptive technology within the region and provide those users with a greater range of skills.

Part of Tamkeen's mission is also to create better awareness of the abilities of the vision impaired within the community in order to increase interaction and cooperation between the two.