Temanggung, 5 June 2023. PT XL Axiata Tbk (XL Axiata) through the XL Axiata Peduli program seeks to improve the digital competence of people with disabilities. For this reason, digital literacy training for the disability community was held simultaneously in Temanggung and Yogyakarta in early June 2023. The training was attended by a total of around 60 participants from Temanggung, Magelang and Yogyakarta.
In the implementation of this training series, XL Axiata collaborated with Bloggercrony Indonesia Community, National Blind Community, Benih Baik Indonesia Foundation, Gadjah Mada University Yogyakarta Campus Mosque, Indah Berbagi Foundation and Indonesia Inclusive Connection/KONEKIN.
Chief of Corporate Affairs XL Axiata, Marwan O Baasir, said, "Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency in 2022, the number of workers with disabilities was 5.37% or 7.04 million people. The data shows that the number of workers with disabilities in Indonesia tends to be very minimal. One of the causes is the lack of expertise competence possessed by friends with disabilities. This condition encourages XL Axiata to improve the competence of workers with disabilities through a series of trainings such as the one being held today."
Most of the participants who attended this training were people with disabilities of working age or who were ready to enter the workforce. In general, the XL Axiata Peduli program for people with disabilities is divided into three stages. First, an introduction through a live streaming podcast broadcast. Disability representatives from several regions were specially invited to be speakers on Youtube live streaming at XL Axiata Tower Jakarta, Thursday (31/05).
Each of the speakers shared the obstacles and stigma that they often encounter in their daily activities. Not only that, the speakers also shared their experiences in creating educational content in the form of audio and video on social media.
In the second phase, digital literacy training was held for students with hearing disabilities at the ABATA Islamic Boarding School in Temanggung, Central Java, from 2-6 June 2023. Participants were taught how to improve and utilise existing facilities. The literacy skills of students with hearing disabilities are strongly influenced by the learning patterns used, such as patterns of interaction with friends at school, how to respond and sensitivity to existing learning tools. These skills are needed to prepare them for inclusive environments.
The digital literacy material provided is about the introduction of the internet and digital tools. Where deaf students are taught to recognise the internet and digital tools such as tablets to support the creation of photo and video content for social media. In addition, they were also taught how to create audio-visual works and positive photo content. One of the deaf content creators, Hastu Wijaya, shared his experience on how to create interesting content, especially for people with disabilities.
In the third stage, a workshop and mentoring of educational audio video content production will be held. This workshop will take place on 8-9 June 2023 at the UGM Campus Mosque and will be attended by people with visual disabilities from the National Blind Community. The material given at this workshop is more about how to make educational audio videos on Instagram and YouTube social media. The participants were also introduced to digital publications. In addition, participants were also introduced to equality education on the use of worship facilities for the visually impaired in the form of videos.
At the end of the training, the participants were asked to make three three-minute educational videos specifically for the National Blind Community as well as an educational video on equality in the utilisation of religious facilities for the visually impaired.
Going forward, XL Axiata is committed to continue developing this program, even bigger than what is currently happening. The company wants more sectors to provide opportunities for people with disabilities to develop their potential despite their limitations.
Internship for people with disabilities at XL Axiata
XL Axiata has provided internship opportunities to people with disabilities. There are 5 disabled apprentices currently working at XL Axiata's representative office in Medan. They are people with hearing, speech, visual and physical disabilities. Working since 8 May 2023 and planned until 8 August 2023, they get tasks that are not physically related.
"XL Axiata encourages people with disabilities to be able to be inclusive, develop their potential, and have selling points in the world of work. Hopefully, people with disabilities have the enthusiasm and are not inferior to be able to work in private companies and government institutions with their respective abilities," added Marwan.
One of the visually impaired is Fauzan, a student at a university in Medan. In doing his work assignments, he uses a screen reader that converts information into sound. There is also Sidik Setiawan, a person with a disability who has photography skills.