Highlights the benefits of global solidarity and spreading a culture of coexistence through education
Tolerance Week kicks off at Expo 2020
Ritika Sahni: "Education for tolerance must aim to counteract the influences that lead to the exclusion of others."
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Expo 2020 Dubai launched the activities of the Week of Tolerance and Coexistence with a symposium titled "Design for All", which focused on the formation of accommodating societies for people of determination.
The Week of Tolerance and Coexistence seeks to highlight the benefits of global solidarity and sharing and delves into topics including accessibility, indigenous communities, cultures, peace and security, while today highlighting the importance of the role of companies that are making giant strides to improve the lives of people of determination.
During the symposium, the educational specialist, Ritika Sahni, who is the owner of initiatives to raise awareness of people of determination in unconventional ways, called for spreading a culture of tolerance through education, in order to contribute to confronting the influences that lead to the exclusion of others.
“Education for tolerance should aim to counteract the influences that lead to the exclusion of others, and should help young people develop their capacities to make independent judgments and promote critical and moral thinking,” Sahni said.
She added, "Here comes our role in spreading awareness in the community about people of determination. The initiative has succeeded in achieving its goals by adopting simple methods, such as organizing events in different places that would bring about greater rapprochement with the rest of society."
The symposium was attended by speakers from projects awarded by "Expo Live" grants, including "Willog", "Cocats", "Inclome" and "BMy Eyes" in the Nexus Hall at the site of "Expo 2020 Dubai".
Various projects from the grantees of the program were presented.
“We are a non-profit organization that provides an interactive map for unhindered movement that relies on the collective contributions of wheelchair users...Our service is available in English, Japanese and many other languages,” said one of the officials at the WiLog Project, Tomomi Furubayashi.
He added, "Although the majority of our current users are in Japan, we aim to expand our customer base abroad through the use of the application, and we hope that our participation in the exhibition will allow the promotion of the application as an opportunity to maximize the user base around the world."
BeMyEyes is a free application based in Denmark, issued in 180 languages, to find channels of communication between visually impaired people, sighted volunteers and company representatives from around the world to obtain visual assistance through video call.
The "Enclome" platform, the first online recruitment platform in Latin America aimed at helping people of determination to search for jobs in major companies, was also presented.
Sahni said that the percentage of unemployed people of determination of working age in the southern hemisphere ranged between 80 and 90 percent, compared to 50 to 70 percent in the northern hemisphere.
She attributed this to several challenges, including the lack of a reliable source of income, low wages, and challenges related to education, transportation, and others.
Dr. Sandra Willis, Director of Learning and Knowledge Development at the Pineda Foundation, said that 15% of the world's population suffers from some form of disability, and that these and older adults still face multiple forms of discrimination and exclusion, which she attributes to physical challenges, as well as digital and social environments.
Zaki Nusseibeh: The UAE is a global capital of tolerance
Al Ain ■ WAM /
Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh, the cultural advisor to His Highness the President of the State and Supreme President of the United Arab Emirates University, confirmed that the UAE has become, thanks to the approach of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, "may God rest his soul", and his rich human legacy, a global capital. Tolerance and a bridge for communication between peoples of different cultures in a respectful environment that rejects extremism and emphasizes openness and acceptance of all nationalities, religions, genders, races and cultures.
He said - on the occasion of the International Day for Tolerance, which falls on November 16 of each year - that "tolerance in the UAE is to inculcate Zayed's goodness, which we reap the good fruits year after year of love, prosperity, brilliance and leadership among the countries of the world. Tolerance, benevolence, giving and humanity ... words cannot pass without To stand and remember the founder and builder of the renaissance of the UAE, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and his patriotic and humanitarian qualities, which were synonymous with his personality, and carry between them a record of giving and benevolence to the homeland without return.
He stated that "Sheikh Zayed - may God have mercy on him - was a model of tolerance and sacrifice in an age where his likes were rare, after he benefited from a rich experience in desert life that earned him wisdom, generosity and magnanimity. ».