Designation
Executive Director
Department
Executive Board
Mr. Dang Hoai Phúc currently lives with his wife and three children (two daughters and one son). Here is his brief bio:
- Born in Ba Ria, approximately 50 km from Saigon, Mr. Phúc lost his sight at the age of nine due to a landmine explosion in 1991.
- From 1992 to 2007, he attended the Bung Sang School for the Blind in Saigon.
- He completed his secondary school program at Le Loi/Hoang Van Thu and pursued the high school program at Nguyen Chi Thanh.
- Later, he majored in English linguistics at the HCM College of Social Sciences & Humanities.
- Mr. Phúc's passions include songwriting and playing various instruments such as the guitar, piano, and traditional Vietnamese musical instruments. His focus shifted to the piano later during his studies at the Saigon Music School. Listen his compositions in the album "Nu Tinh Oi," recorded in 2002.
- He participated in the 2-year Bung Sang Computer Science Project in HCM, sponsored by the Mantovan Association, Italy, from 1999 to 2001.
- Since 2002, Mr. Phúc has been actively involved with Sao Mai Center for the Blind, serving as a computer instructor for the blind, board member, and vice director. Since 2007, he has held the position of the executive director at the Center.
In addition to his in-country contributions, Mr. Phúc has made significant impacts on the international stage, including:
- Leading the software development team in implementing various projects, such as the SM Music Reader (a music-reading application for Android and iOS), Sao Mai Braille (a Braille converter for literary text, math, tactile graphics, and music), Sao Mai VNVoice, Myanmar TTS, and many more.
- Head of the ON-NET Technical Initiative working group in the Southeast Asia region from 2007 to 2009.
- Technical and Accessibility Consultant at the Institute on Disability and Public Policy/American University from 2011 to 2013.
- Fellow of the Community Solutions Program at the National Industries for the Blind in the United States in 2014.
- Country Coordinator for International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI) since 2007, and the Overbrook-Nippon Network on Educational Technology (ON-NET) since 2005.
- Since 2021, he has served on the advisory board of the Accessible Books Consortium/WIPO.
This comprehensive bio highlights Mr. Phúc's personal journey, professional achievements, and international contributions, showcasing his dedication to enhancing accessibility and opportunities for the blind community.
Watch the video below featuring his discussion on a talk show aired on HTV television channel, conducted in 2017.