How disabled-friendly is Dubai?

Dubai - Through improved employability prospects and better accessibility, authorities here are working hand in hand to make Dubai a disabled-friendly city by 2020

When Dubai bagged the right to host the world's biggest exposition - Expo 2020 - in 2013, it promised to "astonish" the world through its innovation and creativity. Since then, the words "vision 2020" have become the new buzz words.
But for one subset of the community - the more than 13,500 people with disabilities (PWD) - it is slowly changing their personal reality as well as their place in society.
Through improved employability prospects and better accessibility, authorities here are working hand in hand to make Dubai a disabled-friendly city by 2020.
Here, Khaleej Times speaks to those who are at the forefront of this change to find out just how disabled-friendly Dubai is, as well as what its current status and future plans are.
All for one and one for all
Dr Hussain Al Maseeh is the social care expert at the Community Development Authority (CDA).
For him, the city's biggest strength in delivering the wants and needs of PWD is its multilayered approach.
"Dubai's approach to disabilities has never been an issue for just one authority, it should and has been streamlined across all government sectors, on all levels."
From the healthcare sector, to Dubai Police, and Dubai Municipality, he said it is that "unified strategy" that is bringing about "comprehensive strides" in strengthening and/or improving what is already in place for PWD.
In 2013 His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council, launched the "My Community - A Place for Everyone" initiative.
And in early 2016, The Executive Council (TEC) - the body in charge of delegating strategy visions to different authorities here - launched a pilot project called,' Accessible Environments For People With Disability based on Universal Design'.
The end-goal of the project was to establish a "Dubai standard for universal design" by 2020 by emulating best practices from around the world.
And it spun three major sectors in Dubai: transport, buildings, and communication.
The ongoing TEC project includes partnerships with the CDA, The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Dubai Municipality (DM), and each is tasked with its own goal to improve and empower the lives of PWD.
"In 2016 we gathered statistics on the environment in order to develop this new code for Dubai. That allowed us to see where the niche was and it helped us to develop a strategy, training and carry out a pilot study of how to carry out an audit to gauge how disability-friendly a building is," Dr Maseeh said.
And just last month, the joint team overseeing the TEC project conducted a workshop for more than 45 engineers specialised in planning, designing, licensing, implementing and servicing facilities and buildings in the emirate of Dubai.
The aim was to give exposure to those specialised in technical training to deliver the principles of the 'Universal Design'.
"Now, we are on track for reaching that 2020 vision because of all this back work, and preparation," Dr Maseeh added.
Where the needs lie
For Dr Maseeh, accessibility is a key element when it comes to inclusion.
"I think we hear a lot about how 'we want to make education mainstream', but this can only be made possible if the accessibility aspect is there. That's where the focus needs to lie now."
And with technology now earmarked as one of the strongest pillars for reaching this 2020 vision, he said it needs to be taken advantage of.
"Technology empowers everyone - none more than people with disabilities."
CDA in numbers
The CDA is no stranger to embracing technology to make life easier for all.
And we can prove that with numbers. Take for instance the Sanad Card.
The CDA issued this smart card for PWD to identify their need and help them get advantages and benefits across 21 private and government entities.
"The Sanad Card is an essential tool in building a database for PWD in the Emirate of Dubai, which will contribute in designing programs, projects and services in line with their real requirements and needs," Huraiz Al Mur Bin Huraiz the CEO - Social Care & Development Sector at CDA told Khaleej Times.
From January 2015 to October 2016, 1,680 PWD's enrolled in a Sanad Card.
Sanad Relay is another technology-driven example of how technology has empowered the differently-abled.
"This service acts as a communication system for people with hearing and speech impairments. It was launched in May 2015 and it supports about 453 individuals with disabilities," Huraiz said.
The total number of application downloads stands at 2,151; with 912 downloads in 2015 and 1,239 in 2016 - exceeding the target of 1,000.
Using video calls or text messaging services to receive the service, the system provides people with disabilities and their families live-feed information on-the-go.
Capacity building and technical support is another vital role of the CDA, which aims to educate the community in interacting with persons with disabilities, Huraiz said.
In 2015, it undertook the training in the 'Sanad training kits', which included 18 institutions, with 47 trainers qualifying to train others in their institution.
And in 2016, this expanded to another 31 institutions, with 29 trainers qualifying as trainers.
"It also trained 266 participants within 12 institutions on 'how to deal with people with hearing disabilities' through basic and specialised sign language training packages."
As work continues across all government sectors to empower the PWD community, Dr Maseeh said this is a call for continuing crowdsourcing input across the Emirate as the saying goes: "nothing for us, without us". It is your voice that counts.
kelly@khaleejtimes.com
 
 

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