New project to assist the visually impaired

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s wife, Emine Erdoğan (center), distributes the new tools to visually impaired people at a press conference in Ankara. AA photo

A new device designed to improve the lives of visually impaired people, called “Gören Göz” (“seeing eye”), was introduced at a press conference on Feb. 23 at Ankara’s Cermodern.

In the first phase of distribution, 5,000 of the devices will be given to visually impaired people in the pilot regions of Istanbul and Ankara.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s wife, Emine Erdoğan, said at the ceremony that the tool could significantly help make the lives of Turkey’s visually impaired population easier.

“Our visually impaired citizens will be able to get around more easily thanks to this voice-activated tool. They will be able to determine the direction they want to go in, communicate with each other and also reach the Internet and radio using Gören Göz.

But in order to be fully effective this tool requires some external support, which local administrations should strive to provide. Mass transit vehicles, bus and train stations, streets, pedestrian crossings and sidewalks should be designed to support this tool. Banks, libraries, cafes and restaurants should also set up the necessary infrastructure to support this system,” she said.

At the end of the press conference, Gören Göz devices were distributed to visually impaired people in the audience.