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Who We Are and What We Do
Information, Communication, Technology & Resource Centre on Disabilities (IRCD)
YPSA established the Information, Communication and Technology Resource Centre on Disability (IRCD) in 2005. The missionof the Centre is to ensure the best use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) for people with a disability, promoting their abilities. YPSA IRCD has practical experience in harnessing technologies to enable visually impaired people. 3 of the 4 full time staff are people with a vision impairment.
Information Communication Technology (ICT) opens many doors for people with a disability and people of low literacy. The Centre offers digital technologies for the visually impaired, other people with disabilities, people of low literacy and Indigenous communities with no script; this makes information and knowledge accessible for them and in turn enhances their technical skills.
Need for IRCD
Approximately forty percent of people in Bangladesh are illiterate or print disabled (unable to read printed materials). Accessible information has not been available to this group and their information rights have not been recognised. Approximately four million people are visually impaired in Bangladesh and a number of visually impaired students are now studying at school and university level.
There is a severe lack of adequate study materials and books for this group, both for sale in the markets and available in libraries. Class notes and lectures are a basis for study at School and University level; however these are not made in an accessible format for the visually impaired. The visually impaired and print disabled, are always disadvantaged in their studies because of this information lack.
Globally, information communication technology systems are including the print disabled and visually impaired people with accessible information systems and study information materials, which allow them equal access to education. YPSA’s IRCD is working towards a goal of improving the availability of accessible reading materials in Bangladesh and building skills and opportunities for all people to use ICT.
Training such people to use ICT will enrich their knowledge, their ability to use the Internet, their reading of daily newspapers, their use of ‘Digital Talking Books’, their ability to search job information and will also help them to acquire the skills needed to do certain work. The objective of training is to increase knowledge and literacy of ICT.
IRCD at work
Partnership with DAISY Consortium
At present YPSA is working as a Focal Organization for the “Digitally Accessible Information System (DAISY)”. Through DAISY any books & study materials of Schools and Universities can be transformed into digital format in a user friendly and accessible format. YPSA IRCD has produced over 400 digital talking books and developed the Bangla language pack Adaptive Multimedia Information System (AMIS) to playback the digital talking books. Some examples of publications made in DAISY format include:
| LITERATURE: Shamapthi: Author, Nobel Peace Prize Winning Poet Robindranath Thakur |
| HIV/ AIDS: They Think I Work in Garments |
| LAW: United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability |
| ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEXT: English Grammar |
| DIGITAL TALKING DRAMA: Early Marriage and Dowry |
To receive a copy of our full catalogue of DAISY Digital Book and talking Drama publications please email your request to ypsa.ircd@gmail.com
What is DAISY?
DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System) is an open international standard for accessible multimedia. The DAISY Consortium was established in Switzerland by leading, not-for-profit, organizations from around the world to help blind and dyslexic people. The organisation is committed to developing and maintaining resources to agreed standards.
DAISY helps bridge the digital divide in developing regions of the world to ensure access to information for the information disadvantaged; such as people with print disabilities, language minorities in a community, indigenous populations who do not have their own script, and those who are illiterate.
The DAISY Consortium’s vision
That all published information is available to people with print disabilities in an accessiable feature rich, navigatable format at the same time and at no greater cost than it is avaiable to people without print disabilities.
To know more about DAISY in Bangladesh please contact YPSA
Mr. Vashkar Bhattacharjee
Program Officer YPSA & Focal Point of DAISY in Bangladesh
Tel: +88-031-672857
Or visit the Link to the Daisy Consortium page: www.daisy.org
The IRCD also provides Computer Training for Visually Impaired students,Professional Development Training to assist people with a disability into employment, a space with computers available for members use and on-site support from IRCD staff members within this space. IRCD also welcomes members to email or telephone in technical questions for example on use of computer programs and the staff will try and research/ seek out answers.
Finally IRCD staff work with partners in development of accessible software and hardware. Some listed activities such as Professional Development Training are limited by funding availability and is affected by regular power outages.
The IRCD was established in 2005 and has benefited from the support of a number of donors during this time. Currently IRCD does not receive any external funding and continues to operate on YPSA’s internal funds. IRCD is continually seeking funds to continue their work including publication of further Digital Talking Books. The centre employs a number of people with a disability.
Get Involved
IRCD’s services including provision of Digital Talking books and software is free of charge to members. There are no membership costs.
If you would like to become a member
- Individual members must either email ypsa.ircd@gmail.com or phone +88-031-672857 giving their details including name, email address and telephone number.
If you would like to order a publication you can do this in one of two ways.
- Send an email request to ypsa.ircd@gmail.com or
- Telephone YPSA during working hours, Saturday through to Thursday, 10am to 5pm on +88-031-672857
Digital Talking Books, Talking Player Book Reader, TPB Reader and the Bangla language pack Adaptive Multimedia Information System (AMIS) to playback the digital talking books can be delivered to members on request. This is done by posting a CD if an address is provided. Alternatively The Digital Talking Book and Software can be downloaded from an internet link which will be emailed to the member. If a computer is not available to the member the Digital talking book can be played via MP3 or CD player
Upcoming Training Information:
Computer training for People with a Disability planned for December 2010 further details will be posted when known.
Contact us
House #10(P)
Road 13- Block B
Chandgoan Residential Area
Chittagong
Bangladesh.
+88-031-672857/ 2570915
ypsa.ircd@gmail.com
Download Digital Talking Book (Bengali)
You need TPB Reader or AMIS for reading the book.