As part of its Dialogues on disABILITY Speaker Series, the Museum of disABILITY History will host Mohammed Saad to present “Seeing Clearly Now: Creative Technology for the Blind in Saudi Arabia,” on Saturday, July 8, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at the Museum of disABILITY History, 3826 Main Street, Buffalo. In recent years, new adaptive technologies have been developed to allow people who are blind to fully utilize smart phones, tablets and computers. However, for Saad, there was a problem with these new programs as none of the apps designed to assist the blind were available in his native language of Arabic.

Saad, who has been blind since early childhood, will share his story of how he has creatively transformed the available technology to design practical solutions for himself and others in his community. An activist, Saad aims to fight negative views of the disabled in his native Saudi Arabia and introduce people are blind to programs, technologies and skills that can help them live full lives. Saad’s work began with a campaign to translate restaurant menus in his native Saudi Arabia into braille. With no formal background in technology, he redesigned some of the most popular apps to work in Arabic, developed Arabic courses to teach people who are blind how to use Apple technology and founded MANHAL, an Arabic-language app that offers a wide range of educational courses targeted for the blind.

The free event is co-sponsored by the Middle East Institute and the Museum of disABILITY History and. Registration is encouraged. For more information or to register, go to www.saad-modh.eventbrite.com, email David Mack-Hardiman at dmack@people-inc.org or call 716.629.3626.

Established in 1998, the Museum of disABILITY History, a project of People Inc., is the only one of its kind in the United States and is dedicated to advancing the understanding, acceptance and independence of people with disabilities. Located in Buffalo, NY, the Museum’s exhibits, collections, publications, archives and educational programs create awareness and a platform for dialogue and discovery.