Now tailor-made museum tours for 'special' children

Mona Abdul Karim Al Yafei, Deputy Director-General of Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services and Manal Ataya.

No longer will a child with disabilities lose his or her enjoyment of visiting a museum experience. The Sharjah Museum Department (SMD) is designing tailor-made initiatives for children with disabilities.
Under a recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), between the department and the Sharjah City of Humanitarian Services, the two parties set out details on a draft of cooperative initiatives, such as museum tours tailor-made for children with hearing disabilities, cross-promotional material, and free museum entrance for Sharjah City of Humanitarian Services (SCHS) students and their parents.
Manal Ataya, Director-General of Sharjah Museums Department, said: "Community involvement and enabling visitors with different disabilities to be part of a museum's activities is absolutely crucial to us and we are constantly collaborating with local partners to achieve that."
Under the terms of the MoU, hundreds of students under the care of SCHS will attend SMD's various cultural and educational programmes on a regular basis.
In one such example, SMD will create a tailor-made programme for Al Amal School for students with hearing difficulties. The "Outstanding Guide" initiative will see expert volunteers take part in a one-week training course at the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation in which they will be taught how to give guided tours using sign language.
SMD will also be involved in important annual events conducted by SCHS, including the five-Day-Al Amal Camp and other activities that this pioneer organisation plans to conduct. His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council, Ruler of Sharjah and Honoree President of SCHS, officially opened SCHS on October 21, 1979, making it the first institute in UAE to provide specialised services to people with disabilities.
Shaikha Jamila Al Qasimi, Director of SCHS, hailed the efforts Sharjah Museums offers to facilitate the accessibility of the museums for the disabled and those living with special needs. This was reflected by the positive feedback received from members of SCHS, following several museum visits. She also recommended SMD to start a programme to attract disabled tourists, especially after Sharjah was named the Capital of Arab Tourism 2015.
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