LG Electronics empowers over 300 Young Technology Leaders with Disabilities, aims to bridge the Digital Gap

.          Run by LG Electronics and the GITC Organizing Committee, and now in its eleventh year, the competition has attracted a total of around 4,000 young participants to date.

·         The program was established to help youth with disabilities by bridging the digital gap and enhancing their ability to utilize IT to improve their employment and higher education opportunities.

LG Electronics has today awarded more than 320 young technology leaders with disabilities from 16 countries for their effective participation and skills exhibition in executing computer-based activities.

Drawn from across the globe, the leaders were hosted and awarded at the 11th Global IT Challenge for Youth with Disabilities (GITC) which not only inspired them but also tested their skills for computer-based activities in a series of four timed challenges – eTool, eLifeMap, eContent and eCreative.

Commenting on the awards and empowerment of the young leaders, Chairman of the GITC Organizing Committee Kim In-kyu said, “Technologies can help all of us to overcome obstacles in our daily lives and is something of a universal language that transcends borders, culture and many other differences. We hope that the wonderful young people who entered this year’s competition feel motivated and empowered to take on even greater challenges in the future.”

Among the four challenges, the eTool challenge tests entrants’ ability to make and edit presentations using Microsoft PowerPoint and utilize functions and formulae to calculate and organize data in Microsoft Excel. eLifeMap involves conducting advanced text and image searches online to solve daily problems, while eContent evaluates one’s capacity to create and edit videos dealing with a specific topic. Lastly, the eCreative challenge, which is divided into two sections, tasks participants with coding a self-driving car program (eCreative_SmartCar) and with developing an idea for technology to make life more convenient for persons with disabilities (eCreative_IoT).

In conjunction with South Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare, LG Corporation has been hosting the GITC since 2011. The program was established to help youth with disabilities by bridging the digital gap, and enhancing their ability to utilize IT to improve their employment and higher education opportunities. Run by LG Electronics and the GITC Organizing Committee, and now in its eleventh year, the competition has attracted a total of around 4,000 young participants to date.

In his remarks, the winner of the all-around championship in the 2022 Global IT Challenge, 17-year-old Lee Ji-el from Korea said, “I started learning how to code because I wanted to become a programmer and this competition was perfect for me to keep pushing myself to improve my skills. I’m honoured to be this year’s Global IT Winner, which I’m confident will motivate me to study even harder to achieve my dreams.”

Using the GITC as a stepping stone for academic and professional pursuits, participants have continued to challenge themselves to accomplish their dreams after the competition. Faiza Pulri Adila from Indonesia, who won the all-around championship in the 2018 GITC, is studying nanotechnology engineering at Airlangga University in Indonesia. In addition, Cheenmanee Tnanapon from Thailand, the first person with developmental disabilities to win the all-around championship in the 2016 GITC, is taking the lead in raising disability awareness by appearing on popular Thai TV programs.

As highlighted in LG’s Better Life Plan 2030, the GITC is one of the company’s many initiatives in the key areas of accessibility and inclusion. LG is investing heavily in future generations as part of its comprehensive social contribution framework and will continue to operate various events and programs specifically designed to assist and support the next generation of leaders by strengthening their skills and capabilities.