Business leaders are teaming up with non-governmental organisations to host the first Special Needs Support Exhibition (SNSE 2011) in Bahrain in February.

The expo is aimed at helping people with special needs enter the workplace, said the organisers.

'We want to give awareness to the private sector that they (people with special needs) are part of the community and they should come into the workforce,' said Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive officer Ebrahim Al Lengawi.

'Through the exhibition, we will try to find ways to integrate them,' stated Al Lengawi.

'They are very important, less than one per cent of Bahrain's population is disabled, where it is 2.6 per cent in other emerging countries, but it is growing and we need to raise awareness,' he noted.

'We, as the private sector, will do our best to be involved in this exhibition and we will circulate this announcement to all our members,' he added.

The aim, he said, was to raise awareness about the latest technologies and products that can be used by people with special needs to help them integrate into the workplace and society.

SNSE 2011 will showcase the latest rehabilitation products, technologies and services from different parts of the world.-TradeArabia News Service