ABU DHABI, (Pakistan Point News - 31st Mar, 2021) Etisalat, in partnership with the Ministry of Community Development, today announced the launch of a first of its kind web extension aimed at simplifying the World Wide Web and making it autistic-friendly.
The launch was made earlier today in the presence of Dr Ahmed bin Ali, Group Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, Etisalat, and Wafa Hamad Bin Sulaiman, Director of People of Determination Welfare and Rehabilitation Department at the Ministry of Community Development, to commemorate World Autism Acceptance Day, which falls on 2nd April.
The day aims to put a spotlight on some of the hurdles that autistic people face every day and celebrates the unique way autistic people view the world. The World Health Organisation estimates current global prevalence to range between 1 in 100 and 1 in 132 people.
A panel comprising autism specialists attended today’s virtual press conference, namely Dr. Sharifa Yateem, the first Emirati behaviour analyst certified by the Behaviour Analyst Certification board and an autism expert; Amal Sabry, Founder and Managing Director at Emirates Autism Centre; and Dr. Rawhi Abdat, a researcher and psychologist at the Ministry of Community Development.
Etisalat tapped the expertise of Brussels-based IT company Bliss to come up with a web extension aimed at empowering autistic people and personalising their browsing experience. This extension was developed in collaboration with autistic people based in the UAE and guided by global evidence-based research findings on autistic-friendly designs.
On April 2nd, users can log on to the website and click ‘on’ to download and activate the ‘Etisalat Wider Web’ web extension. From April 3rd onwards, the web extension will remain on the Google extension page. Using the drop-down menu on Google, users can click on ‘More Tools’ and ‘Extension’. They can click on the ‘Etisalat Wider Web’ green icon, which has a description of the extension. Once activated, websites will display autistic-friendly settings such as neutral colours like dark grey or medium grey, simplified fonts, simplified menus, simplified layouts, fewer images, ad blockers, and carousel freezing to facilitate reduced sensory overload.
Autistic people worldwide can now access www.etisalat.ae and activate for free the ‘Etisalat Wider Web’ extension, which instantly transforms a standard web page into an autistic-friendly one.
Dr Ali said, "Etisalat is honoured to launch the world’s first web extension dedicated to empowering autistic people because we believe the world is a better place when people come together, and is a testimony to our strong commitment to inclusion, accessibility and breaking barriers. This stems from our Corporate Social Responsibility strategy to support and empower People of Determination through a plethora of initiatives and services, and is aligned with our strategy of ‘Driving the Digital Future to Empower Societies."
Wafa Sulaiman said, "The Ministry of Community Development is committed to collaborate with all initiative as well as support and empower priority groups especially when it comes to people of determination in a way that guarantees a better quality of life for all members of society."
