NANJING -- The 2016 Global IT Challenge for Youth with Disabilities kicked off on Tuesday in the city of Yangzhou in east China's Jiangsu Province.

A total of 104 contestants with hearing, visual, physical and intellectual disabilities from 16 countries will compete in the event.

China sent a 28-member team, the largest in this year's competition, with an average age of 18.

The event, the 6th edition of the annual competition, was jointly organized by the China Disabled Persons' Federation, Rehabilitation International, the Korean Society for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities in cooperation with UNESCO and China Internet Development Foundation.

The event aims to encourage disabled youth to study modern information technology and boost education and employment for them.