MoU signed to switch literary works into accessible formats for students with disabilities

AMMAN — The Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (HCD) on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Jabal Amman Publishers, the owner of the Kutubee Interactive Reading Platform, to switch literary works into accessible formats for some 4,000 students with disabilities.

The memo was signed by HH Prince Mired, president of the HCD, and Sinan Sweis, CEO of the Jabal Amman Publishers, making Kutubee the first inclusive interactive reading platform in the Arab world, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Under the MoU, the council will provide technical support for the platform on the Android and iOS operating systems to enable people with disabilities to use its contents, which include books and short stories in three languages (Arabic, English and French), along with a video explaining how to use the platform. 

The council indicated that it will also offer technical support to make 30 stories available in sign language on the platform.

The agreement also stipulates that the platform’s staff will be trained on methods of effective communication with people with disabilities and relevant laws, as well as holding an awareness workshop for writers on how to address disability issues within the rights approach.

Prince Mired stressed the importance of this agreement to advance education, which is a “real challenge” for children with disabilities. Such initiatives will support students with disabilities to make use of online electronic applications to meet their educational needs.

Sweis commended the HCD’s role, underlining that this partnership is a “perfect representation” of integrating people with disabilities into the educational process, especially in interactive reading applications.