The First Deaf-Friendly Websites For The Arab World Are Here

Inc. Arabia takes a close look at Mind Rocket, the award-winning Jordanian startup that provides assistive technologies for deaf and hard of hearing individuals.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 5% of the world’s population—around 360 million people across the globe—suffers from disabling hearing loss and impairment.

In Jordan, a few companies have set their sights on creating a more deaf-friendly digital environment, where deaf and hard of hearing individuals can access the information just like everyone else.

Last month saw the launch of the first set of Arabic websites that feature animated avatars translating their content into Arabic Sign Language for the Deaf. The websites include the traveler’s Arabic guide thetravelguideonline.com, Zafafi.me, Jamalukee.com, Albait.me and Selfmademillionaire.me.

All the user has to do is click on the “Deaf Version” button, visible in all the home pages, and the avatar will pop up on the bottom-left corner waiting for the user to hover the pointer over whatever they wish to be translated.

The launch stems from a collaboration between Mind Rockets Inc. and Creative Investments, two Jordanian firms based in Amman.

Mind Rockets is an award-winning startup which develops assistive technologies for deaf and hard of hearing individuals, based on the translation of text/speech to any sign language using animated avatars.

The mission of Mind Rockets is to facilitate the inclusion of deaf communities worldwide in the online sphere and, therefore, empowering their lives. 

Creative Investments was launched in 2008 to focus on digital advertising but later expanded to the field of Arabic content online, launching a number of Arabic websites related to travel, cooking, fashion and make-up, business and other topics.

For founder and CEO of Mind Rockets, Mahmoud Darawsheh, the partnership marks a breakthrough moment.

First and foremost, no one has ever offered an Arabic sign language translation feature to a website or a group of websites before this.

“This step reminds the world of the urgent need for making vulnerable societies an integral part of the digital crowd,” he said in a statement.