Making the world’s most influential connectivity industry event inclusive for the global deaf community for the first time, DeafTawk has partnered with the GSMA and Jazz, to provide live sign language interpretation services at Mobile World Congress Barcelona (MWC22 Barcelona), taking place at the Fira Gran Via in Barcelona from 28 February – 3 March 2022.
This is the first of its kind global deaf-inclusive tech event and is an ideal platform to reach out to the deaf community across the world eager to know about the new technologies and startups. The initiative will enable the deaf community to benefit from the four-day event learning from tech entrepreneurs, leaders, and domain specialists from leading companies around the globe. DeafTawk will provide live interpretation for all the MWC22 Barcelona Keynotes, D4T sessions, and the 4YFN session on Reaching Underserved Population Segments.
MWC22 Barcelona is the world’s most influential event for the Connectivity industry. Here, senior decision-makers, creators, and innovators come together to shape the future of Connectivity. Many world-leading companies from all over the world join this conference as they reconnect, reimagine, and reinvent for industry success. The presence of 1,500 exhibitors and 1,000 speakers is a testimony to the event’s global reach and presence.
Ali Shabbar – CEO, DeafTawk expressed his gratitude saying “We would like to acknowledge the support of the GSMA and Jazz, for providing an opportunity to the deaf community to participate at one of the largest tech events. We are truly excited to make MWC22 Barcelona inclusive for deaf persons across the globe and look forward to making the future more inclusive.”
Aamir Ibrahim, CEO of Jazz, said, “It’s heartening to see DeafTawk, a startup scaled under Pakistan’s premier accelerator program Jazz xlr8, making the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona inclusive for the deaf community globally through sign language interpretation services. Humbled that we could enable this fusion of tech innovation and empathy and committed to taking this journey forward.”
Claire Sibthorpe, Head of Digital Inclusion within GSMA Mobile for Development added, “We are delighted that DeafTawk, one of our Innovation Fund grantees, are helping us enable a more inclusive and accessible experience for persons with hearing impairments at MWC22 Barcelona. This is in line with our vision of driving increased digital inclusion for persons with disabilities and an exciting opportunity.”
Launched in 2018, DeafTawk aims to empower the deaf community by bridging the communication gap between them and the rest of society through digital technology. It is a grantee of the GSMA Innovation Fund for Assistive Tech, an initiative currently funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and has created an online solution for the connectivity of the deaf community with qualified sign language interpreters, while also working on building the capacity of sign language interpreters for provision of quality services. The start-up is also an alumnus of the National Incubation Center in Islamabad and provides on-premises and content interpretation services as well. DeafTawk is now expanding its operations from Pakistan to South America, Europe and Southeast Asia.
