A public payphone once used to connect people across Oman has been given a new purpose at the Children’s Public Library in Muscat, where visitors can now use it to discover books through the voice of Al Baraa Al Jabri, a young autistic Omani with a longstanding passion for reading.
Omantel and the Children’s Public Library have launched the initiative to provide Al Baraa with a platform to share his interest in books while encouraging children and other library visitors to explore reading differently.
The initiative was launched at the Children’s Public Library in Qurum in the presence of Her Highness Sayyida Dr Mona bint Fahd al Said, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Children’s Public Library, and Eng. Aladdin bin Abdullah Baitfadhil, Chief Executive Officer of Omantel.
At the centre of the initiative is a refurbished Omantel public payphone, repurposed as an interactive feature inside the library. Al Baraa has recorded a series of audio reviews in which he shares his thoughts on selected books. Each book is assigned a number that visitors can call on to listen to his review.
The concept brings together an earlier era of telecommunications and a contemporary approach to inclusion and engagement. Rather than placing technology at the centre of the experience, it uses a familiar piece of Oman’s communications history to give Al Baraa a platform to share his passion for books.
For Omantel, the initiative reflects a broader approach to social impact that focuses on creating opportunities for people to express their interests, abilities and ideas. It also seeks to contribute to a more inclusive understanding of autism by focusing on individual strengths and interests rather than limitations, if any.
Al Baraa has had a strong interest in books from an early age, turning reading into a way to explore ideas and share knowledge with others. Through the initiative, that personal interest becomes part of the library experience, allowing his perspective on books to reach children, families and other visitors.
The initiative also aims to challenge perceptions of autism by showing how the right environment and opportunities can enable individuals to communicate, participate and contribute in ways that reflect their strengths. It places greater emphasis on individual abilities, interests and perspectives, and on creating opportunities for people with autism to express themselves and contribute to their communities. Reading is therefore central to the initiative rather than incidental to its social purpose. By combining books with audio and an interactive physical experience, the project offers young visitors another way to discover literature and engage with the ideas behind it.
The collaboration forms part of Omantel’s wider social impact efforts, which seek to use the company’s technology and capabilities while finding new and meaningful uses for telecommunications assets from its past. By transforming an old public telephone into a platform for Al Baraa’s voice, the initiative connects Omantel’s communications history with new ways for people to express their interests and engage with others.
Source: Omantel Press Release
