The employers’ Federation of Ceylon ICT Training Centre for Persons with Disabilities conducts many courses on information and communication technology and also on empowering persons with disabilities for productive employment under the guidance of Ms. Manique Gunaratne. Three vision impaired persons completed a course of study in Windows Operations in June 2016. Ms. Gayani Batawalaarachchi (job seeker), Ms. Ruwani Rathnayake (Staff – Airport & Aviation) and Mr. Anusha Dissanayake (Student, University of Peradeniya) were the successful candidates. Up to date 54 persons with disabilities has successfully completed the course of study in Windows Operations.

Picture descriptions for vision impaired persons:

1 Manique, Anusha, Gayani and Ruwani at EFC.

Manique Gunaratne

CISCO International Trainer for I T E (Information Technology Essentials)

The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon ICT Training Centre for Persons with Disabilities has extended its services of printing of Braille documents. Any organisation or individuals who wish to get any Braille printing done please contact the ICT Training Centre.

Picture description for vision impaired persons:

1 Manique printing Braille documents.

Manique Gunaratne

Resource Person to Train, Promote & Develop Information & Communication Technology for Persons with Disabilities

Cisco system  in collaboration with the Universities and other none profitable institutes in Sri Lanka conducts CCNA and ITE courser under the Cisco Networking Academy Program. The objective is to provide proper training on networking and PC Hardware to bridge the gap of skilled and properly trained ICT work force in the country.

While Cisco provide state of the art facilities for the students Cisco also ensure the quality of delivery through these academies with periodical reviews and updating of the curriculum.

Apart from the theoretical and hands on training on these areas Cisco also provide soft skills training material to harness the students creative, analytical and entrepreneurship skills. This will enable the student to develop their skills to become a professional in modern demanding working environment.

In order to create a platform between the students and the industry Cisco conducted a career guidance program in May 2016 at Sri Lanka institute of Information technology, Malabe.

Another objective of this was to facilitate Industry leaders to meet the potential future employees, the students who have completed or in the final phase of completion of CCNA and ITE courses.

At this programme, Skills profiling was done by Prof Koliya Pulasinghe – Dean Faculty of Computing. Ms. Ishara Wickramathilake, Senior Assistant Manager – Aitken Spence HR did the presentation on Branding yourself.

12 EFC Cisco ICT students with diverse disabilities got the opportunity to attend this “Carrier Guidance” programme and receive a certificate. The Cisco courses of The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon is conducted by Mr. Anuradha Jayakody, Senior Lecturer of Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology and Ms. Manique Gunaratne of The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon.

Picture descriptions:

1 Manique with the Cisco team with the SLIIT logo.

2 Manique and the Cisco team at SLIIT.

3 Manique with the Cisco team inside the auditorium of SLIIT.

Manique Gunaratne

Cisco Council Member

Cisco networking academy carrier guidance 2016 includes persons with disabilities.

Cisco system  in collaboration with the Universities and other none profitable institutes in Sri Lanka conducts CCNA and ITE courser under the Cisco Networking Academy Program. The objective is to provide proper training on networking and PC Hardware to bridge the gap of skilled and properly trained ICT work force in the country.

While Cisco provide state of the art facilities for the students Cisco also ensure the quality of delivery through these academies with periodical reviews and updating of the curriculum.

Apart from the theoretical and hands on training on these areas Cisco also provide soft skills training material to harness the students creative, analytical and entrepreneurship skills. This will enable the student to develop their skills to become a professional in modern demanding working environment.

In order to create a platform between the students and the industry Cisco conducted a career guidance program in May 2016 at Sri Lanka institute of Information technology, Malabe.

Another objective of this was to facilitate Industry leaders to meet the potential future employees, the students who have completed or in the final phase of completion of CCNA and ITE courses.

At this programme, Skills profiling was done by Prof Koliya Pulasinghe – Dean Faculty of Computing. Ms. Ishara Wickramathilake, Senior Assistant Manager – Aitken Spence HR did the presentation on Branding yourself.

12 EFC Cisco ICT students with diverse disabilities got the opportunity to attend this “Carrier Guidance” programme and receive a certificate. The Cisco courses of The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon is conducted by Mr. Anuradha Jayakody, Senior Lecturer of Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology and Ms. Manique Gunaratne of The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon.

Picture descriptions:

1 Manique with the Cisco team with the SLIIT logo.

2 Manique and the Cisco team at SLIIT.

3 Manique with the Cisco team inside the auditorium of SLIIT.

Manique Gunaratne

Cisco Council Member

Cisco instructor forum and council meeting

Cisco Sri Lanka had an Instructor Forum at Its office at World Trade Centre in March 2016. All Instructors in all academies were present for the conference. At the end of the conference Cisco Council meeting was held. This team of council members will take the leadership in taking the cisco courses way forward. Ms. ManiqueGunaratne of The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon ICT Training Centre for Persons with Disabilities participated at this forum as a council member. The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon ICT Training Centre for Persons with Disability is a Cisco Academy and it conducts courses on ITE (Information Technology Essentials) and CCNA (Cisco Computer Network Associate) courses for persons with diverse disabilities.

Picture descriptions:

1 Cisco council team.

ManiqueGunaratne

Whats up: 0094779571918

Internet society sri lanka includes persons with disabilities in the internet governance forum

Internet Society of Sri Lanka (ISoC Sri Lanka) Chapter conducted the first ever Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Sri Lanka as a local event.

The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) was a forum where civil society, industry, the technical community and decision makers discussed key aspects of Internet governance issues on an equal footing.

The IGF Support Association which is the global body in organizing IGF worldwide requested Internet Society of Sri Lanka (ISocLK) to inaugurate an Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Sri Lanka. In response to this request, the ISocLK has decided to conduct the inaugural session of IGF Sri Lanka in 2016.

The President, Secretary and the Executive Committee of ISoC Sri Lanka chapter (ISocLK) invited Ms.ManiqueGunaratne of The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon Network on Disability to grace the occasion as one ofthe panelist of the Session 01- Next Billionth User andto be present at the Inauguration of IGF Sri Lanka 2016 which was held in March 2016 at Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH), Colombo 07. Ms. ManiqueGunaratne spoke on “Difficulties faced by persons with diverse disabilities when browsing the internet”.

The IGF inaugural session was to conduct dialogues on three main topics which would discuss the burning issues of the IT industry directly affecting the society at large, including the civil society.

The Chief Guest at the Internet Governance Forum was the Minister for Science and Technology. ICT Students with diverse disabilities (vision impaired, hearing impaired and physical disabilities) of The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon ICT Training Centre for Persons with Disabilities got the opportunity to participate at this Forum.

Picture descriptions:

1 Audience.

2 Banner of the forum.

3 Manique as a panelist at the conference.

4 Manique and Sagarika (Secretary of the ISoC)

5 Manique making a presentation.

6 Manique and the Minister 2.

7 Manique and the Minister.

8 Welcoming the Chief Guest.

ManiqueGunaratne

Viber: 0094779571918

EFC ict training centre releases braille and large print pocket calendars for 2016

It is the time of the year when many look for calendars for the newly dawned year, either for personal use or as a gift. Visually impaired and low-vision people can now find a readable calendar of their own. The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon’s (EFC) ICT Training Centre offers free pocket Braille and large print calendars every year. The first Braille and large print calendar for 2016 was handed over to the Director General, EFC, Mr. Kanishka Weerasinghe by Ms. Manique Gunaratne, Manager, ICT Training Centre recently at the EFC.
“It is very important for vision impaired persons to expand their Braille-reading skills,” notes Ms. Gunaratne. She adds that the only method to evaluate the literacy rate of vision impaired persons is Braille. “Literacy is so important. There are talking devices, but there is nothing quite like the written word. It is so important for blind children and adults to learn to read, just as it is important for sighted people to read,” she observes. EFC Braille calendars are an absolute must for any blind adult or child on the go. They are fast, easy to use, efficient and a real necessity today.
The EFC ICT Training Centre for Persons with Disabilities removes barriers, creates solutions and expands possibilities, so that the visually-impaired can achieve their full potential.
The Braille calendars are distributed free among EFC ICT trainees and other vision impaired persons in all corners of the country. EFC ICT Training Centre provides many services for persons with disabilities. Developing technologies and ICT skills are the key roles of the ICT Training Centre. Todate it has trained about 170 persons with disabilities on ICT skills. There are several courses conducted at this training centre. Each year the training centre is upgraded with equipment and with modern courses to suit the contemporary job market. The trainees are awarded well recognized certificates and the courses conducted are recognized by the Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission where the certificates carry the TVEC registration number.
The ICT courses are not limited to Colombo. The training centre extended its services to the North in 2011. Library facilities with accessible formats are available at this Centre which caters to all persons in the disability field. Special assistive devices for persons with disabilities make this Centre more popular among persons with disabilities. These assistive devices are unique and they are available only at EFC.
The ICT training is now a Cisco academy. It also conducts international courses in collaboration with Cisco, Curtin University of Technology Australia and Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT).
Picture caption:
Ms. Manique Gunaratne handing over the first Braille calendar to the Director General, EFC, Mr. Kanishka Weerasinghe.

Manique Gunaratne
Face Book – Manique Gunaratne

United nations population fund together with efc ict training centre developes a mobile application on reproductive health for vision impaired and hearing impaired persons

UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is the lead UN agency that expands the possibilities for women and young people to lead healthy sexual and reproductive lives. They are on the ground improving lives in more than 140 countries, delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.

Since the establishment of UNFPA Sri Lanka in 1969, the agency has been working with the Government of Sri Lanka to ensure rights of men, women and young people to sexual and reproductive health information and services to live healthy lives.

The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon ICT Training Centre for Persons with Disabilities assists developers, researchers and all manufacturing assistive devices for persons with disabilities with knowledge, experiences, technical and accessibility support.

Sexual and reproductive health remains a big challenge for today’s young people in Sri Lanka. Most of these young people lack accurate information about reproductive health and contraception putting them at risk from unwanted pregnancies, STIs and HIV and AIDS.

People with disabilities are marginalized from society due to their inability to access sensitive information regarding their sexual and reproductive wellbeing easily and discreetly. Of the total population aged five years and over (18.6 million) in Sri Lanka, 1,617,924 persons were those with at least one of the six disability domains defined by the Census (disabilities in seeing, disabilities in hearing/speaking, disabilities in hands, disabilities in legs, other physical disabilities, intellectual disabilities). This represented 8.7 per cent of the total of whom 43 per cent were males and 57 per cent were females (DCS, 2014). Sri Lanka’s highest proportion of disability is related to vision impairment. In this category there were slightly more females than males As Sri Lanka’s population ages, it is also experiencing an increase in disabilities, especially among the adult and older population.

There are virtually no special facilities in schools/other education centers for people with disabilities children/adults in many parts of Sri Lanka. As a part of comprehensive reproductive health education programs in Sri Lanka, UNFPA wants to enables young people with disabilities to make informed decision about their reproductive health. Sexual and reproductive health and rights information accessibility creation for persons with disabilities using specially designed mobile application that caters to adolescents and youth who are unable to see and who  are unable to hear. The main goal of this mobile application is to improve the accessibility of knowledge and awareness of marginalized, adolescents with disabilities and youth in sexual and reproductive health and rights in Sri Lanka and beyond. The app runs on any iOS and Android phone, and it is free. In addition, it is available in all three languages (English, Sinhala and Tamil) while the content will be edited to suit the Sri Lankan sensitivities. This mobile application contains voice a guild for blind or visually impaired people that will help them get through mobile app content.

ABLE – App, the mobile application was launched in December 2015 at Golden Pond – TajSamudra, Colombo. ‘ABLE’ therefore, tries to create a space where person with disability, especially young people, can obtain the information they need to lead healthier and fuller lives through their personal mobile phone or tablets. The app is made of two sections; the first is titled ‘LEARN’, wherein users can learn about a range of topics, from sexuality and family planning to gender based violence and sexually transmitted diseases. The second is ‘FIND SUPPORT,’ which consists of a comprehensive catalogue of clinics in every city and district of Sri Lanka. Persons with disabilities have the same sexual and reproductive health and rights needs as other people. Yet they often face barriers to information and services. There are virtually no special facilities in schools/other education centers or education materials for people with disabilities children/adults especially for vision impairment in many parts of Sri Lanka /Globally.

So, as a part of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) comprehensive reproductive health education programs in Sri Lanka, they want to enable young people with disabilities to make informed decision about their reproductive health. Sexual and reproductive health and rights information accessibility creation for persons with disabilities using specially designed mobile application that caters to adolescents and youth who are unable to see. UNFPA started this ‘ABLE,’ app concept to address the fact that the person with disability individuals are marginalized from society and often they do not receive proper information about their sexual and reproductive well-being, putting them at risk of unwanted pregnancies and STDs.

People with disabilities are a part of society. UNFPA wants to work towards a future where they are independent and living in a better environment with dignity and justice.”

To download the app and receive updates, search for ‘ABLE UNFPA’ at your mobile store, available on Android and iOS phones.

At the launch of this mobile application for vision impaired and hearing impaired persons the welcome note was delivered by JeyanAbeywickrama, National Programme Analyst of UNFPA. Dr. NadikaChandraratne from Family Health Bureau spoke on Importance of sexual reproductive health. The Usage and the accessibility of the mobile application for persons with disabilities was done by ManiqueGunaratne from The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon ICT Training Centre for Persons with Disabilities. Arun Jentrick is the Co-ordinator of the Comprehensive and Reproductive Health Education of UNFPA.

Picture descriptions:

1 Launch of the mobile application.

2 EFC Vision impaired and hearing impaired ICT trainees.

3 EFC trainees at the launch.

4 Manique making a speech.

5 Group of persons with disabilities.

ManiqueGunaratne

The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon,

385 J3 Old Kotte Road,

Rajagiriya,

Sri Lanka.

Cisco csr blog recognises the employers’ federation of Ceylon

The Cisco training done for persons with disabilities at The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon ICT Training Centre for Persons with Disabilities was recognized by the Cisco CSR blog. Please read the article on:

http://blogs.cisco.com/csr/cisco-networking-academy-empowers-the-disabled-in-sri-lanka

ManiqueGunaratne

Co-ordinator – ASSET (Advancing Special Skills for Economic Transformation) Project

CISCO Women rock it

CISCO launched a new CISCO TV series “Women Rock IT” in November 2015. The Surprising Role Technology Help People and The Planet. This programme is to Rock in with Women who realize their passion helping people and the planet. This programme was held at the Vocational Training Authority. Rocking women in the Technology field were invited as resource persons for this event.     

AlaneCahalane, CEO of Veterinary Specialty Hospital Hong Kong spoke on how Technology played a pivotal role in reviving hopes that a lame bear will walk again.

AnuSridharan, Co-Founder and CEO of NextDrop in India spoke on how technology is being used to solve the impact of an unreliable water delivery service in India.
ManiqueGunaratne from The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon spoke on how technology has played a major role in life’s of persons with disabilities in Sri Lanka.

MaithreeMalwathegoda, Assistant General Manager Fusion spoke on how a woman would benefit technology in order to have a successful professional and family life in Sri Lanka.

Picture description:

1 Manique making the presentation.

2 Manique highlights the important points.

3 Participants at the programme.

ManiqueGunaratne

National Campaigner for Rights of Women with Disabilities – Raising Our Voices for Us