'Special reporters' get exclusive on Emirates chief

Dubai - Their media skills were put to test when they got to speak with Clark, who recently visited their school.

It was a dream come true for three media-trained people of determination as they hosted their first high-profile interview. They sat down with no less than Sir Tim Clark, president of Emirates airline.
One of them has cerebral palsy and the other two have Down syndrome, but all of them managed to conduct the interview smoothly, using assistive technology.
The trio are graduates of Al Noor Training Centre for Persons with Disabilities. They learned the basics of research and interviews from a UAE-based media professional, Amit Kakkar, who trained them every weekend for eight months.
Their media skills were put to test when they got to speak with Clark, who recently visited their school.
The students - Bilal Hafeez, 34 years old, Brendyn Monsorate, 19, and Christopher Swaminathan, 27 - all harbour ambitions to bring their new skills into the professional workplace.  Pakistani national Hafeex uses the assistive technology provided by Al Noor, allowing him to overcome his speech difficulties and communicate via a computer, displaying "pop-up" questions for Clark. The text-to-speech tool on MS word helped him conduct the interview. Hafeex is currently employed as a graphic designer in a Dubai firm.
Monsorate, on the other hand, is an Indian national and the youngest of the three trainees. Having developed and fine-tuned his skills in interviewing people on camera at the Work Placement Unit, he asked Clark to talk about his association with Al Noor.
Clark replied: "My association started when the Emirates Airline Foundation, which I chair, got involved with a lot of things at Al Noor, trying to help out in certain areas.
"From that, I decided I wanted to do a little bit more and start contributing in my own way, which is what I've been doing. Kids can come in at a very young age, and then go on and actually go into the workplace. There are a lot of children who have aspirations but can't do anything about it. I think what this school does is give hope, that there is an aspiration to go out there, so it's a great story."
Sri Lankan national Swaminathan, who has worked as an IT assistant teacher at school and is now looking for a new role as a broadcast technology and business reporter, asked Clark about his thoughts on workplace units for determined ones such as the one at Al Noor.
Clark said: "People like myself and companies should be looking at the students that are coming out of work placement groupings. We should give all the students a chance to demonstrate what they can do, and what value they can give to companies. It's a good thing, it's coming from a great school, and I know the amount of work that has gone into getting people to the level that they are in, so they are actually able to go out and get jobs, which is fantastic.
"That's why I do it - because I'm very interested in seeing people get a chance in life, irrespective of where they come from, and what their capabilities are. If they can offer something, they should at least be given the hope to meet their potential and chase their professional dreams."
To encourage other individuals and organisations to do more for people of determination, Clark donated Dh110,000 to Al Noor's 'Adopt-A-Class' initiative, specifically for the work placement unit.
Aimed at providing assistive technology and training determined ones, the unit identifies students' key skills and interests and works to nurture, develop and train them so that they may be able to advance their careers.
The total number of students currently enrolled at the work placement unit is 16. Some of the assistive technology equipment students use are AAC devices that help them communicate, adapted bedding accessories, and eye-gaze-adapted electrical appliances, which allow them to use their eyes to start different activities.
saman@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai