PARIS, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Chinese cultural enterprise Tencent and Bangladeshi advocate Vashkar Bhattacharjee will be awarded the UNESCO/Emir Jaber al Ahmad al Jaber al Sabah Prize for Digital Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, the UN educational agency announced Thursday.
UNESCO said in a statement that they are awarded for their "outstanding contribution to the empowerment of persons with disabilities through the application of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to access information and knowledge".
Selected by an international jury, in the organizational category, Tencent, an internet-based technologies company, offered "products (which) have helped persons with special needs access critical information and interact more easily with digital devices, thus improving their quality of life," Unesco said in a statement.
It noted that the company was cooperating with professional information accessibility research organizations in optimizing digital technologies to advance the accessibility of information for all people.
As to the individual category, the jury picked Vashkar Bhattacharjee, a leading advocate who collaborates with local, national and international partners on the production of resources dedicated to learners with disabilities, and to the training of teachers in the use accessible reading materials."
In collaboration with his colleagues, he set up "a network of employers that provides fair work opportunities to persons with disabilities," in addition to the development of Bangladesh's first Accessible Dictionary in four forms, dedicated to persons with visual, print and learning disabilities, and a special program of self-employment through e-micro credit support for persons with disabilities.
Supported by Kuwait, the prize will be awarded during a ceremony at UNESCO headquarters in Paris on Dec. 3, to mark the International Day of Persons with disabilities.
