Technologically innovative assistive/rehabilitative devices are critical ingredients towards making life more bearable for people with disabilities. Basic life tasks can often be debilitating to people without full use of some of their body parts.
The International Labour Organisation's (ILO) enterPRIZE Challenge in collaboration with Department of Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (DESTEA) has identified these life challenges as essential human need. To this end, ILO and DESTEA will host 2015 Free State Design Challenge which is aimed at challenging the creative minds in the Free State to come up with the devices that could make what otherwise used to be difficult day activities manageable.
Endorsing this challenge, MEC for DESTEA Sam Mashinini said that technology and innovation is and can be an abler of fruitful daily life for people with disabilities.
The Design Challenge will be divided into three categories, namely Mobility, Daily living activities and Work categories. The enterPRIZE Challenge was established in 2013 with the aim of supporting the development of sustainable growth-oriented Small, Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises (SMMEs), enabling them to create decent jobs for people of the Free State.
The details of the launch are as follows:
Date: 30 July 2015
Venue: ZR Mahabane Building (Central University of Technology)
Time: 10h00-13h00
For more information contact:
Festy Nyamate
Tel: 051 400 9631 / 9548
Cell: 083 340 8502
E-mail: nyamatef@detea.fs.gov.za
