Grade 9 Miriam College-Southeast Asian Institute for the Deaf (MC-SAID) Janna Nadine Co (third from left) won Gold and Silver medals, a certificate, and cash prize in the e-Tool Challenge and e-Life Challenge categories at the 2017 Global IT Challenge (GITC) for Youth with Disabilities in Hanoi, Vietnam. The event was held at the Grand Plaza Hanoi Hotel from September 18 to 21, 2017.

Janna earned the right to represent the country after winning in the hearing-disabled category of the National IT Challenge last April. She then became part of a team of Filipino youth with disabilities, where she represented the team’s hearing-impaired through the efforts of the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA). There was a total of 25 teams from 16 countries that joined the annual competition.

The GITC is for individuals aged 13-19 years old with visual, hearing, mobility and intellectual disabilities and have knowledge of the Internet Explorer web browser, MS Office and Scratch programs. The competition, challenges participants to utilize their ICT knowledge and skills to solve problems.

In addition to providing them with the ability to leverage information and social participation, it seeks to set an ICT agenda for participating countries to boost international cooperation and exchange for accessibility.