November 30th, 2015: A team of students from Canadian University Dubai (CUD) is working to unite the deaf and non-deaf communities in the UAE through the creation of an innovative mobile application, as part of an initative to promote social responsibility.
The app, known as Efhamni – ‘understand me’ in English – aims to help deaf people of all ages to communicate, by teaching them the fundamentals of Emirati sign language. The project was conceived in response to research by the team, which found that families with deaf children tend to adopt more informal methods of communication that might limit the child’s potential to engage with wider society.
The team plans to create a simple interface with seven symbols representing basic topics including food, clothing, sport and places, each with a selection of video tutorials for sign-language that relates to the theme.
Team member Hira Abdul Bari explained, “Our ultimate aim is to spread awareness of sign-language by creating a simple app that helps deaf people communicate about the routines of everyday life. We have collaborated with sign-language professionals to help ensure that the app will make a real difference and hopefully contribute to a better future for members of the deaf community.”
The app is being developed as part of the Ripples of Happiness Program – a region-wide community initiative. The program is delivered by the Coca-Cola Foundation and INJAZ UAE, a member of the Junior Achievement Worldwide initiative, and brings in mentors from the local business community to support the students in their project development.
Currently involving universities from six countries – the UAE, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia – the initiative seeks to foster social responsibility, entrepreneurial skills, financial literacy, and workplace readiness among students.
The CUD team will be demonstrating their prototype app to members of the deaf community as well as University students, faculty and staff at a special presentation on December 15th from 6pm in CUD’s Red Theatre.
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