At the meeting of the IBF Foundation Board of Directors, grants were approved for 9 projects under the Information Technology Grant Programme.
The purpose of this grant programme is to support organisations' projects to purchase IT tools and communication devices in order to support visually impaired people. This programme is modelled on the emergency assistance programme implemented last year in the context of the spread of the new coronavirus.
The grant program was open for applications from October 26th to November 8th. We received 10 applications. The selection committee was made up of four IBF Foundation members. Criteria for selecting were details of information, organizational capability, the feasibility of the project, the target beneficiaries and the relevance of the objectives and equipment.
Only one approved applicant is a sports organisation for people with disabilities, with most being NPOs or NGOs.
The requested items ranged from laptops and tablets to cameras for video conferencing and voice recorders. The aim of the grant scheme is to provide visually impaired people with computer skills to enable them to participate in society, and to equip them to take part in video conferences.
Grant List is as follows.
Argentina Escuela Especial N° 515 （Argentina）
Asociación Jujeña de Ciegos y Ambliopes “Héctor Nerssier” （Argentina）
Asociación de Sordociegos de Honduras （Honduras）
Ghana Blind Union （Ghana）
Uganda Blind Sports Association （Uganda）
Society for the Blind of Uzbekistan （Uzbekistan）
Kenneth Ulo Foundation （Nigeria）
Bina Foundation （Nigeria）
Nepal Association for the Welfare of the Blind （Nepal）