LG Electronics Supports AI Skill Development for Youth with Disabilities

'Global IT Challenge for Youth with Disabilities' Korea Competition to Be Held

Four Events Including AI Information Search and Autonomous Driving Coding

Pre-Competition Training Provided in Generative AI and Block Coding

LG Electronics is set to support the development of AI capabilities for young people with disabilities, helping them pursue further education and employment.

On July 14, LG Electronics announced that it will host the "2026 Global IT Challenge for Youth with Disabilities (GITC) Korea Competition" from July 15 to 16 at Ramada by Wyndham Daejeon in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon. The event is co-hosted by LG and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and jointly organized by LG Electronics and the Korea Association of Persons with Physical Disabilities (KAPPD).

GITC is a competition that has been held since 2011 to enhance IT skills among youth with disabilities around the world and support their participation in society. Over the past 15 years, more than 5,000 young people with disabilities from 41 countries have taken part in the event. Notably, last year's competition was held in Korea as an official side event of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit and was the only event related to people with disabilities, adding special significance.

At the global competition held last year as a side event of the APEC summit, participants are being evaluated on their autonomous vehicle programming skills. LG Electronics

In this 2026 Korea event, 60 youth with disabilities from 17 regions across the country will compete in a total of four categories: e-Combination (covering AI-based information searches, document work, and more), e-Creative (evaluating autonomous vehicle programming skills), e-Content (assessing video production abilities), and e-Interactive (creating interactive games that respond to movement, voice, and facial expressions using AI). The four finalists will go on to participate in the global competition, which will be held in Da Nang, Vietnam, for three days from October 27.

Prior to the Korean competition, LG Electronics worked with KAPPD to provide all participants with both online and offline pre-training in generative AI usage, video production, and block coding. This initiative is meant to equip participants with AI skills that can be applied in their daily lives or in future careers, regardless of the competition itself. In addition, those who move on to the global competition will receive additional intensive training in September.

GITC has served as a stepping stone, enabling young people with disabilities who have previously participated in the competition to pursue further education or secure employment in IT-related fields, thus helping their social integration. For example, Kihoon Shin, who won at the 2011 Vietnam competition, went on to study computer engineering and is now a Ph.D. student at the Embedded Systems Lab of Pusan National University, conducting research on implementing AI in smart devices.

Daesik Yoon, Executive Vice President and Head of External Collaboration at LG Electronics, said, "Through GITC, we will actively support the growth of young people who have dreams and talents in IT, enabling them to overcome barriers and become future professionals equipped with AI skills."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.