Dubai: Al Manar Forum, which highlights the capabilities of people with visual disability and ways to support them, will be held on November 8 by the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai (GDRFA).
Major General Mohammad Ahmad Al Merri, director of GDRFA-Dubai said that the objectives of the forum include educating the UAE community on how to deal with people with visual disability correctly, and highlighting the capabilities and accomplishments of these individuals.
It is worth noting that the GDRFA-Dubai has 20 employees with various disabilities.
The forum, which is its seventh edition, will be held at the Intercontinental Hotel and will be attended by senior officials, intellectuals and people who are visually impaired.
Al Manar Forum was named after Manar Al Hammadi, a visually impaired GDRFA staff member, who created the forum in 2009 as an annual event for the visually impaired, with the support of GDRFA.
Al Hammadi said, “My goal is to facilitate the integration of the visually impaired in society, make the community know how they can be more accepting of the blind,” adding that she also wants to maximise the contribution of the visually impaired to society.
Maj Gen Al Merri added that the GDRFA wants to ensure that its employees with disabilities work hand in hand with other employees.
The forum is in line with the vision of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who has approved a law aimed at protecting the rights of people with disabilities.
