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WBU E-BULLETINVOLUME 6, ISSUE 1February 2012
CONTACT US AT:World Blind Union1929 Bayview AvenueToronto, Ontario, Canada M4G 3E8Telephone: 1-416-486-9698Fax: 1-416-486-8107Email: [email protected]: www.worldblindunion.org
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE E-BULLETIN..................................................2PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE.......................................................................3WBU 2012 GENERAL ASSEMBLY UPDATE.............................................4ELECTION OF WBU TABLE OFFICERS....................................................4UPDATES FROM WORKING GROUPS…..................................................6
WBU EMPLOYMENT RESOURCE BANK PROJECT UPDATE...................7WIPO TREATY UPDATE (RIGHT 2 READ) ………………………………………….7
TECHNOLOGY WORKING GROUP UPDATE.........................................9 WBU’S ADVOCACY COORDINATOR POSITION.................................10UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD...............................................10
CHANGES AT THE DAISY CONSORTIUM .......................................... 10 FIRST BLIND WOMAN CANDIDATE...................................................10
CONDENSED INTERVIEW FROM GULF NEWS, DUBAI.......................12ANNOUNCEMENTS.............................................................................15
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INVITATION TO JOIN THE IINPWD .... 15 ERROR: REFERENCE SOURCE NOT FOUND
THE 2012 SUMMER PARALYMPIC GAMES……………………………………..15
2012 WBU MEMBERS CONFERENCE NOTICES .................................... 16RESOURCES.......................................................................................16
MAINTAINING A HEALTHY DIET PROTECTS AGAINST AMD..............16NEWS FROM THE REGIONS................................................................18AFRICA...............................................................................................18ASIA...................................................................................................20
ALL INDIA CONFEDERATION OF THE BLIND……………………………….20
BRAILLE WITHOUT BORDERS.......................................................20ASIA-PACIFIC......................................................................................20
ASIA PACIFIC DISABILITY CHAMPIONS AWARD………………………..20MAKE THE RIGHT REAL! CAMPAIGN ............................................21
EUROPE............................21ERROR: REFERENCE SOURCE NOT FOUNDONCE UPDATE FOR HAITI.............................................................21
LATIN AMERICA..............................................................................22 160 TH ANNIVERSARY OF LOUIS BRAILLE’S PASSING CALENDAR 22
ASAERCA CONGRESS 2012..........................................................23FOAL CALLS FOR REHABILATION PROJECTS.................................23
NORTH AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN.............................................23WBU OFFICERS..................................................................................24WBU STAFF........................................................................................25EMAIL COMMUNICATION WITH WBU OFFICE ……………………………………25
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE E-BULLETINContributions are welcome to the e-Bulletin. We thank those of you who have been providing us with stories and updates for the quarterly newsletters and encourage members to provide articles and updates. If we do not hear from you, we cannot report on your success. Our next deadline for content submission will be Friday March 26, 2012 for our next issue of the e-Bulletin. We accept submissions in English, French, and Spanish, preferably in electronic format. Please send submissions to Marianne McQuillan:[email protected]
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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Welcome to the first issue of the e-bulletin for 2012, busy year full of activities and events.
Our small but effective team will be joined by two new individuals who you will hear about and from this year: Victor John Cordeiro who will take up the position of Advocacy Coordinator thanks to the generous support from CBM. And Arie Opps who will set up the database a critical step in building our online employment resource bank. You can read more about both of these roles in this issue.
Congratulations to Stephen King as he assumes the role of president of the DAISY consortium. Our best wishes go out to Tagrid al Manharaui the first blind woman seeking election to the legislative assembly in the parliament of Egypt.
During September this year, half of the CRPD committee will stand down. Five of the eighteen, All but one of those who are blind are amongst this group. We wish all who will seek re-election and those who stand for the first time, our best wishes. We hope there will be a continuation of a strong representation of persons who are blind or partially sighted.
Within the WBU family, we will see general assemblies and elections in the leadership of ULAC and ABU. We will see elections of the leadership of WBU-AP later this year. And the general assembly and elections of the leadership of the WBU to be held in November. Our best wishes go to the planning, conduct of and those seeking leadership roles for each of these major events.
Plans are well underway for our General Assembly. Registrations are now open and a draft outline of the program of events and content can be found on the WBU-ICEVI2012.org website.
I encourage you to read the collection of interesting and informative material contained in this publication. I urge each region to take responsibility of providing content on the happenings in your region to the WBU office for inclusion.
I wish each of you and your organisation every success for 2012.Maryanne Diamond
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WBU 2012 GENERAL ASSEMBLY UPDATE
Members need to inform the WBU office of the names of their voting delegates by August. In order to retain the right to vote, members must have paid their fees up to date by the end of February. The website for the WBU/ICEVI General Assembly is up and running and can be linked here: www.wbu-icevi2012.org for more information and to register. Those who wish to attend as observers are welcome along with delegates. There are different fees for the different types of representation, please refer to the details on the website. With respect to Delegate support to attend the General Assembly, the guidelines for delegate financial support and the application form is available on the WBU website. To view these documents link here: http://www.worldblindunion.org/en/resources/general-documents/Pages/default.aspx
ELECTION OF WBU TABLE OFFICERS
As WBU members know, one of the important functions of the General Assembly is to elect the International Table Officers for the next Quadrennium. As the nominations process will be beginning shortly, we thought it might be helpful to outline for you in this article some of the requirements for nominations as well as the key responsibilities of the Table Officers.
The following positions will be elected at the General Assembly to be held in Bangkok Thailand from November 12 – 16, 2012:: President, 1st Vice President, 2nd Vice President, Secretary General, Treasurer. The Immediate Past President will also serve as a Table Officer.
As specified in Article IV, Section 6, of the WBU Constitution, to be eligible for nomination for the post of President, Vice-presidents or Secretary-General, the candidates must be blind or partially sighted as defined in the constitution, and the nomination of a candidate must be supported in writing by a majority of the delegation from the country in which the candidate resides, such support being confirmed in writing to the Chair of the Nominations Committee when the nomination is submitted. In addition, countries may only nominate candidates if that member is in good financial standing with the WBU.
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Candidates who are unsuccessful in a particular election are permitted to run for a subsequent position and will be required to submit a new nomination form for that position to the Chair of the Nominations Committee.
Both the nomination form for Table Officers as well as position descriptions for each of the roles can be obtained from the WBU office at: [email protected]. The Chair of the Nominations Committee is Lord Colin Low from the United Kingdom. All WBU Regions have representation on the Nominations Committee.
What follows is a brief description of the Table Officers’ roles. Please note that this is a brief summary only and one should refer to the position descriptions for more detailed information about the roles.
President: Manages and directs the business and affairs of the World Blind
Union, subject to the Constitution and the direction of the Officers and Executive Committee
Represents the WBU in all matters and at all meetings, and is the official spokesperson for the WBU.
Should the President be unable to attend meetings or other events, then the Vice-Presidents shall preside over meetings. The President may appoint representatives to attend other meetings or events on his or her behalf.
Presides over the meetings of the Assembly, the Executive, the Officers, and the Table Officers.
In case of a sudden vacancy between two sessions of the General Assembly, the First Vice President shall take the place as President until a new President is elected.
The President also assumes responsibility for managing and monitoring a specific priority area within the Strategic Plan and provides overall management of the WBU Strategic Plan.
First and Second Vice Presidents Represent the President in his/her absence and shall perform
those duties allocated to him/her by the Executive and/or the President.
The Vice-Presidents assume responsibility for managing and monitoring a specific priority area within the Strategic Plan as assigned by the Officers or the President.
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The Vice Presidents shall be empowered to guide and implement specific projects, or assume other responsibilities on behalf of the WBU as assigned by the President or WBU Officers.
Secretary GeneralSome of the specific roles of the Secretary General have evolved since the establishment of the WBU Office.The primary responsibilities of the Secretary General include:
Oversight of Officers, Executive meetings and General Assembly Oversight of Communications Managing new member applications including their
recommendation for approval to the Officers and Executive Ensuring Constitutional and statutory compliance Oversight of Policies, Procedures & Position Statements including
their submission for approval by the relevant bodies Confirmation of voting delegates to the General Assembly Assume responsibility for managing and monitoring a specific
priority area within the Strategic Plan as assigned by the Officers or the President.
Treasurer Financial oversight including chairing the Finance Committee Annual and quadrennial budgeting Oversight of membership fees collection as well as requests for
membership fee relief Oversight of subsidy process (for meetings, etc.) Presentation of financial statements and audits for approval by
the Officers and/or Executive Monitoring internal and external controls and compliance,
including approval of CEO Expenditures Managing investments Assume responsibility for managing and monitoring a specific
priority area within the Strategic Plan as assigned by the Officers or the President.
UPDATES FROM WORKING GROUPS
WBU Employment Resource Bank project updateWe have hired the person who will take this project to the next step. His name is Arie Opps, and he will be responsible for managing the website that will be set up to provide links for employment
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opportunities, and the other content that will be added that provides the skills, and tools visually impaired people need in order to begin the process of navigating the job market. Arie will be joining us starting February 13th. Eventually, once it’s up and running, the Employment Resource Bank website will be able to be accessed from the main WBU website. This project has been generously supported by the Trillium Foundation, a branch of the government of Ontario.
We are still accepting case studies from member organizations of blind and partially sighted persons in different employment situations to provide a greater variety of examples of the kinds of work that visually impaired people can try if armed with the right resources. If you have any success stories, please send these along to provide to Arie. The guidelines are on our website http://www.worldblindunion.org/en/our-work/campaigns/Pages/default.aspx and click on the case study guidelines.
We are also very interested to receive information about any tools or resources that you have so that we can also add these to the employment resource bank.
Right 2 Read Campaign: WIPO Treaty update by Maryanne Diamond
Between 21st November and 2nd December, in Geneva, the World Intellectual Property Organization, (WIPO), held its copyright negotiating committee meeting, the "SCCR".
The first week about 15 delegates attended for WBU, during which the Committee dedicated two days to discussing the question of a new law to improve access for blind and other reading disabled people.
Despite all our efforts, WBU feels that this meeting regressed on the matter of achieving a treaty for blind and other print disabled people.
At the previous SCCR meeting in June we were pleased that member states from various parts of the world, including the EU, had been able to draft a single text from the four competing proposals for a law which the Committee had examined previously. (Known as the "Chair's text").
This latest November /December SCCR meeting saw many amendments to the "Chair's text", which seem to take the Committee
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further from agreement on the text of a new law than it appeared to be in June 2011.
WBU was particularly dismayed by the unhelpful amendments on the "Chair's text" that the EU negotiators submitted. For instance, the EU wants to remove the right for our organizations to use the new law without rights holder authorization. Such an amendment would render the new law almost pointless. The EU also sought to limit the number and range of organizations that might be able to use the new law to those whose "primary" mission was to provide accessible books to print disabled people. Such an amendment would see many public libraries, schools and universities unable to benefit from the new law.
Nonetheless, the conclusions of the SCCR point to finalizing the text at the next meeting - SCCR24, which will take place in July 2012. They also anticipate agreement on the type of law this text will become - soft law guidelines or a legally binding treaty.
We first formally tabled our treaty proposal in May 2009- two and a half years ago. This is not such a long time for what is after all a negotiation on a UN treaty, and a ground-breaking one at that. However, our patience is not endless, and we need to get concrete results in 2012. With continued hard work this should be achievable.
The big question, not just for WBU but also blind people wanting accessible books across the world, is "Will the EU negotiators work constructively and urgently with other Member States to agree a useful, effective and binding treaty in 2012?"
The Parliament aside, the EU's record on this matter so far is not encouraging. But as we head towards Christmas, perhaps EU negotiators can find inspiration in the novel "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. So far, the EU has played the role of a pre-Christmas, miserly, "Scrooge" at the WIPO negotiations. They have given little away and made us work hard for every small concession.
But Scrooge eventually realized that things could be so much better if he showed some goodwill towards others in need of his help.
WBU urges the European Commission and Council of Ministers to also find some goodwill this Christmas for blind, partially sighted and other print disabled people. Come on Commissioner Barnier and EU Member States! Please come back reformed and ready to be constructive in
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2012.Work with us to make 2012 the year of the WIPO treaty for blind and print disabled people.
Technology Working Group Update
New Version of Google Android with Accessibility Enhancements
Following our advocacy approach with Google in March 2011, the company released Android version 4 Ice Cream Sandwich in October of 2011. This new version of Android includes system wide large font capability and a new screen reader called Explore By Touch.
Whilst this clearly represents a very significant step forward for blind and low vision Android users, there's clearly more work to be done on Android. Robin Spinks and Richard Orme will be meeting the Android Accessibility Team at the end of February 2012 to feedback consumer experience and begin to roadmap the next stage of our advocacy with Google.
Tangible Progress hits the High Street as Nokia launches Nokia Screen Reader In late October 2011, Robin Spinks and Steve Tyler presented a session on accessibility issues at Nokia World, Nokia's global flagship conference. At this event, Nokia unveiled for the very first time Nokia Screen Reader, a brand new free of charge screen reader for Nokia Belle devices. This is a hugely significant development for our members in that it means that a blind person can now purchase a talking phone for around half the cost it would have been, just one year ago.
WBU’s Advocacy Coordinator Position
We have hired for this CBM supported position. The successful candidate’s name is Dr. Victor John Cordeiro and he is from Bangalore, India. Dr. Cordeiro is a blind gentleman who has an extensive educational background, including a PhD in Disability and Rehabilitation. He also has extensive advocacy involvement Manager of Advocacy and Campaigns at Leonard Cheshire Disability South Asia Office. This and previous positions enabled Victor to lead a large number of advocacy programs throughout South Asia. He will be
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responsible for gathering information and assisting member organizations and countries to implement the United nations CRPD (Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities). We are excited about launching this program in 2012. We wish to again express our thanks to CBM International for their support of this position.
UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Changes at the Daisy Consortium Congratulations to Stephen King who has just begun his four year term as President of the Daisy Consortium. Stephen will still hold the position of “Group Director: Prevention & International Affairs” at RNIB. In order to focus on his new position, he has stepped down as Chair of WBU’s Technology Working Group. Kevin Kerry will now Chair the WBU Technology working group until the next general assembly.
First Blind Woman Candidate for the Egyptian Elections For the first time in the history of ancient Egypt, a woman blind from birth is presented as a candidate for deputy in the legislative elections in the country, hoping to rescue the social marginalization of the disabled.
Tagrid al Manharaui, 29, is an English teacher at a school for the blind and represents the moderate Islamist party Al Wasat for a district of the province of Beni Suef, some 120 kilometers south of Cairo. Her candidacy, to be decided in the second phase of the elections being held this week, opens the door for the blind and other disabled groups to have greater visibility in a society that has traditionally forgotten.
"I was motivated to present myself due to the marginalization by the previous regime of all social levels, especially the disabled," said Al Manharaui in an interview. She joined Al Wasat last September because the party was founded on the principles of "equality of opportunity and non discrimination."
Al Wasat, which won in the first phase of elections 4.3% of the vote, proposed to Al Manharaui a place on their list for the outstanding social work she had developed in recent years.
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It is not the first time the candidate receives an offer of this type, because the dissolved National Democratic Party of former President Hosni Mubarak also raised the possibility of representing the party.
"I refused completely because I disagreed with the party intellectually and in all its policies," said Tagrid al Manharauri, who pointed out that now she is presenting herself also to fight against the "big corruption" that characterized the old regime.
For Al Manharaui, her candidacy in this election is a message to all disabled people not to become discourage because of their condition; it is "not a defect."
"If elected in the Parliament I will encourage my fellow disabled compatriots to practice their full rights so the society will integrate them," she said. In this sense, the teacher expects that constituents collaborate with her as a human being who has all the rights and duties, regardless of her disability.
Despite the limited support her party, an ancient division of the Muslim Brotherhood, Al Manharaui was optimistic about her chances to win a seat as during her campaign she has received “tremendous support from people”.
Her political agenda includes the promotion of constitutional amendments to end the absolute power held by the President and that the Parliament has the right to ask for his actions.
Another aim is to promote reforms in agriculture, health and education because, in her opinion, "the policies of the former regime in these areas were a failure."
Tagrid al Manharauri said her priority will be the lower and middle classes, as well as the disabled, for whom she will work to increase their employment opportunities and rehabilitation.
Al Manharaui trust the capabilities of her party as well as her own to serve as deputy [parliamentarian] and represent ‘well’ all Egyptians.
"Of course I can," she said in a firm and decisive way. The blind female candidate noted that social work has helped her gain experience in activities similar to political work.
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Al Manharaui wants to work across the country, but does not hide her inclination to continue her fight in defense of certain groups: "Time to underestimate the disabled is over," she said.
Condensed Interview from GULF NEWS, DUBAI, ‘Friday’ Article on George Abraham, Indian social innovator by Shiva Kumar Thekkepat
"I never realized I was handicapped because my parents and friends never gave me a chance to think so," George Abraham explained for the reason he became the champion of blind cricket in India.
George Abraham lost his sight after he contracted meningitis when he was ten months old, and yet he grew up to play regular cricket with his friends until he was 12. In Grade 3, "a friend came from Mumbai and taught me to play cricket.'' He recalls. In many ways it was a turning point in his life because Abraham was completely bowled over by the game. "To this day I am a passionate cricket fan."
So much so that when he heard of blind cricket, he took up the cause (in 1998) to spread it all over India, even going on to organize the Blind Cricket World Cup. He is the founding Chairman of the World Blind Cricket Council (WBCC) and the Association for Cricket for the Blind in India (ACBI). His one regret? That he could not play blind cricket himself as he was too old by the time he heard of it.
He is a man with many dreams, and one of them is to reach out to every home in India with information related to life with blindness. The object is to share knowledge that is empowering. He hopes to do this through his new mission Project Eyeway.
It all began in 1989 when Abraham was working with an advertising firm after completing his Masters degree in Operations Research. As part of his work, he visited a school for the blind. "The experience was shocking and I suddenly realized how fortunate I was to be born in a social situation where I had been given the opportunity to be educated and do what I wanted to do," he says. "I found people with much better eyesight than what I had literally languishing in this particular school. I got the impression that there was no accountability - the attitude was ‘what will they be able to do? After all they are blind'.
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"The teaching, if you juxtapose it with children from a similar age group and background in normal schools, was definitely lagging. The curriculum was very simple; there was no real commitment to making the students independent. The general impression I got was that the people with vision impairment are lesser beings." This realization made Abraham see his disability in a different light. "I realized that if I had been born in another family, in another situation, in another section of community, I could very well have been one of these people, languishing," he says. "That disturbed me, angered me, and also shocked me. That's when my journey began."
Abraham began researching the problems faced by the blind. "I travelled around finding out what work was being done in the area of vision impairment," he relates. The more he learned, the more determined he became. And an idea slowly started forming. "There were two things I felt very strongly about at that time - one was, of course, blindness, and the other was cricket," he says. "That's how I connected the two - cricket for the blind. The simple reason was that cricket could be the platform which would provide the blind with the opportunity for developing as people. It would also provide the platform for the world to see blind people in non-stereotypical role."
Cricket for the blind became a national annual event in the country. Zonal, national and state tournaments were held and, as Abraham had predicted, the Blind Cricket World Cup was first held in 1998. It was called the Kanishka World Cup. Having made cricket accessible to the blind in India, Abraham then started looking for other ways to help them integrate into the mainstream.
"I started travelling around the country doing communications skills workshop because I feel you have to be a good communicator to make a mark in life, and of course the blind were just not considered worthy of being imparted such skills."
It was also a learning experience for Abraham because he was exposed to the realities about life with blindness in India. "This taught me that the real problem is not blindness, it is the way the people think... their mindset," reveals Abraham. "Being blind should not really stop you from doing things. What limits the capabilities of blind people is the thought that they will not be able to do anything because of their disability. The focus is entirely on what he cannot do and not on what he can do. Even what he can do is pre-determined by the fact that he is blind.
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The sum of his experiences was the SCORE Foundation which he launched in 2002, from which came Project Eyeway, a knowledge resource for living with blindness. "Our primary target audience were the blind people, but the sighted are also part of this agenda of teaching, and reaching out."
Project Eyeway began as a website, www.eyeway.org. "In 2005, we launched a weekly radio program called Eyeway-Yeh Hain Roshini Ka Karava (Caravan of light). The radio programs started generating interest, and incoming phone calls made them operate an Eyeway help desk.
"The help desk takes phone calls from visually impaired people and their parents who ask questions related to life with blindness," says Abraham. It could be to do with orientation and mobility, with careers, or just the handling of a mid-life crisis. "For instance, if someone loses their eyesight at the age of 35, both they and their family are shocked, shattered," says Abraham. "They need to talk to somebody who can talk sense and help him or her move forward step by step."
The motto on the Score Foundation website says it all: “The problem is not with the eye, it is with the mind.”This article was re-printed with permission from the original publisher. If interested in reproducing for any other publication, please contact Gulf News at: [email protected] To read the full article link here: http://gulfnews.com/life-style/people/change-in-sight-for-the-visually-impaired-1.738462
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Invitation to join the International Indigenous Network of People with Disabilities
The International Indigenous Network of People with Disabilities (IINPWD) is an email-based network where participants advocate and mediate for the voice of indigenous/first peoples with disabilities to be heard at all levels of the development and implementation of law and policy in relation to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. IINPWD welcome all respectful communications and posts on indigenous/first peoples and disability issues especially those that
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directly impact on indigenous/first peoples with disabilities. We hope you become a part of a growing and dynamic movement.Membership of the IINPWD is open to international, regional, national or local organizations, groups or networks of Indigenous people with disabilities, as well as to individual Indigenous people with disabilities. All who identify, as Indigenous people with a disability are welcome, irrespective of birthplace, disability, sexual identity, sexual orientation, gender identity or presentation, age, ethnicity, religious background, etc. The network also invites Indigenous people without disabilities and non Indigenous People to join in as allies of the IINPWD. For more information about joining the group, send an email to: [email protected].
The 2012 Summer Paralympic Games
The 2012 summer Paralympic games will be the fourteenth Paralympics and will take place between 29 August and 9 September 2012. The Games will be held in London, United Kingdom after the Olympic games using the same facilities. There will be 503 events in 21 different sports, with an expected 4,000 disabled athletes competing in these events. This is the highest level of disabled athletes ever expected to participate. Organizers say there will be 1.5 million tickets made available for the public to enjoy the events as spectators. Access the Paralympic sporting events schedule through this link: http://www.london2012.com/paralympic-schedule
2012 WBU MEMBERS CONFERENCE NOTICES
February 27 to 29: The 5th Asian Blind Union (ABU) General Assembly will be held at the Hotel City Park, Delhi, India. Mark down the following dates: Women’s Forum, Feb 27th; ABU regional conference (focused on the UNCRPD), Feb 28th; ABU General Assembly, Feb 29th. For information and registration, visit http://www.abu2012.abunion.org/
March 11 to 16: ULAC 8th General Assembly, in Mexico city. March 11 & 12, is the 5th Women’s Forum, from March 12, 13 & 14, are the Congress sessions. This year’s theme: Citizens Participation in Local Development = Total Inclusion. March 15 & 16 is the General Assembly. More information at: http://www.ulacdigital.org/mexico2012.htm
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May 15 to 18: IKK International Congress of War Blind, in Pretoria South Africa: www.ikk2012.org.za
September 17 to 20: IAPB 9th General Assembly, in Hyderabad, India. IAPB’s General Assembly is the premier global event for discussion of public health topics related to blindness prevention and visual impairment. The 9GA theme, Eye Health: Everyone’s Business, reflects the fact that equitable, sustainable eye health programmes are best realised with collaboration and partnership between private, public and non-profit sectors. More information at: www.9ga.iapb.org www.vision2020.org
November 2012 – WBU, ICEVI & AFUB GA’s Bangkok, ThailandNovember 8 & 9: AFUB 7th General Assembly, to be held just before the WBU/ICEVI meetings
November 10 & 11: WBU Diversity Forum November 12 to 16: WBU General AssemblyNovember 15 to 18: International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI) General Assembly.
The WBU/ICEVI GA website is: www.wbu-icevi2012.org. It is up and running and people can now start to register for the general assemblies.
RESOURCES
Maintaining A Healthy Diet Can Help Protect Vision from Age-related Macular Degeneration – from Prevent Blindness America
We’ve all heard the expression “eating with your eyes,” but many people may not be aware of the benefits of eating for your eyes. In addition to promoting overall health, a diet rich with sight-saving beta carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, zinc, omega-3 fatty acids and certain vitamins can also help guard against vision loss from eye disease, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
AMD diminishes central vision and currently affects the vision of more than 2 million Americans, ages 50 and older and is a leading cause of blindness. AMD is a progressive disease that if left untreated, can result in severe vision loss and even blindness. The exact cause of AMD is unknown, but risk factors for the disease include age, race, smoking, family history as well as those with cardiovascular disease and hypertension.
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A wide variety of foods including lentils, grapes, carrots, bell peppers, broccoli, spinach, sweet potatoes, kale, certain kinds of fish, turkey and some kinds of nuts, have been shown to aid eye health. Although there are a variety of available over-the-counter supplements designed for vision and eye health, a doctor should always be consulted before use.
Foods that contain refined starches and are high in sugar can be damaging to vision. A study by Tufts University showed that high-glycemic foods cause a dramatic rise in blood sugar, which over time, may damage the retina and capillaries in the eye by promoting oxidative stress and inflammation. Soda and sugary drinks, candy, baked goods, some cereals, white rice, foods made with white flour, such as white bread and pasta, should be avoided.According to the University of Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary, more than one serving per week of beef, pork, or lamb as a main dish is associated with a 35 percent increased risk of macular degeneration as compared with less than three servings per month. Additionally, one serving per day of high-fat dairy food, such as whole milk, ice cream, hard cheese, or butter, also increases the risk of macular degeneration progression.
“We all know that watching what we eat can lead to overall health benefits such as lower cholesterol and a reduction of calories, but maintaining a healthy diet, day after day, can be very challenging,” said Hugh R. Parry, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness America. “Prevent Blindness America hopes to encourage the public to remember that everything we put in our mouths can affect our eyes!”
Other healthy habits can lead to healthy vision. The risk of eye disease and vision loss can be lowered by:
Avoiding trans fats Quitting smoking Controlling blood pressure and cholesterol Exercising regularly Visiting an eye care professional on a regular basis
In conjunction with February as Age-related Macular Degeneration Awareness Month, Prevent Blindness America offers a dedicated online resource for patients and caretakers to learn more about the disease. The website, preventblindness.org/amd, offers a variety of tools and information on everything from risk factors, treatment options, and
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even a downloadable Amsler Grid, (a tool that can help identify vision abnormalities linked to AMD).
NEWS FROM THE REGIONS
AFRICA Intervention of Francoise Madray-Lesigne, President of the Francophone Union of the Blind, at the (WIPO) committee meeting, in Geneva.
I am the President of the Francophone Union of the Blind and I represent 8,500 000 persons with visual impairments in French-speaking countries in Africa. Under this position I wish to address this forum. Due to the fact that I was born in France I could overcome my blindness barrier and have a full education and carry out a successful university career. Had I been born in French-speaking Africa however, these opportunities that shaped my life would not have manifested in the same way.
I would like you to understand Madame and other delegates, that visually impaired French-speaking Africans do not have access to 5% of all published documents, not do they have access to even 2% or 1% of such documents. The reality is that they only have access to 0,00001% of all published documents – which means practically no books or other publications are available in an accessible format in this part of the world.
Blind Africans are thirsty for reading and knowledge to be made available to them in order to progress in school and on to university. But the lack of educational books is immense, the need is urgent, and we hope that the work of this committee can forward our desires to have the right to read.
I am in full agreement with the intervention of my colleague of the RNIB (Royal National Institute for the Blind – UK): only a treaty that effectively allows cross-boarder exchanges of accessible documents for visually handicapped persons will make it possible to transfer throughout Africa books in Braille, and audio formats produced in other French speaking countries like France, Belgium, Switzerland and Canada.
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I will conclude with an anecdote from a few years ago from a time when I was in Tunisia. They have an excellent and well-organized program to assist the visually impaired. I attended a specialized elementary school in the suburbs of Tunis where I met with a French class of 35 pupils, boys and girls aged 11 and 12. While speaking with the children I ask them: “If I were a fairy and could wave a magic wand to provide you the realization of your dreams, what is it that you would ask for?” I expected very diverse answers, but the resounding chorus from all 35 children was: We would like more books in Braille Madam!”
Ladies and gentlemen, I hope that you will hear the hopeful voices of these children. They constitute our future, and you cannot expect culture to flourish where there is a lack of access to books. Allow me to particularly address this request to the representatives of my own country, France, the birthplace of Louis Braille, whose work allowed me to become what I am.
I thank you for giving me the time to speak. ASIA The All India Confederation of the Blind marked the Louis Braille Day with a number of important events. The most salient of these was the inauguration of the fourth high speed Braille embosser which will significantly help in enhancing the availability of Braille books for the blind in the country. Now, the AICB Braille press is in a position to print as many as 32,000 Braille pages per day, a capacity not available any where in the country. Blind, men, women and students in India can now look forward to receiving more educational and general reading materials in Braille, something which was also indicated by the publication of as many as three mainstream magazines in Braille from this month by this Organization. These magazines are Grihshobha in Hindi, Gujarati and Kannada, Mangayar Malar in Tamil and Charchaughi in Marathi.
Braille Without Boarders changed the name of the International Institute for Social Entrepreneurs (IISE) to Kanthari. This may not make much sense outside the Indian state of Kerala, but to those living in Kerala (where the institute is based) they understand the irony of such a new name. The kanthari is a small, but extremely spicy hot chilli which grows wild in many areas of Kerala. In Malayalam
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(Kerala’s local language) those who have the courage to stand up for themselves are often called “Kanthari”. With the new name of the IISE we want to create a new symbol for all those who have the courage to initiate change in society. Anyone who cooks understands that by adding just one small spicy chilli can change the flavour of the entire dish, so we hope the same will be said of our institute with the new name! To read BWB’s achievements of 2011 link here to read their report: http://www.braillewithoutborders.org/ENGLISH/Annual_Report_2011.pdf
ASIA-PACIFIC
Asia-Pacific Disability Champions AwardUnited Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) welcomes nomination for the Asia-Pacific Disability Champions Award. The Award is give to those who have worked in the field of disability rights and earned respect in countries in the region. The Champions will be recognized at a special ceremony to be held in conjunction with the High-level Intergovernmental Meeting on the Final Review of the Implementation of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 2003-2012. This will take place from 29 October to 2 November 2012, in Inchon, Republic of Korea. The Champions will have the opportunity to participate in a special regional advocacy campaign in the post-2012 era. The deadline for the receipt of nominations is 30 April 2012. Please see the details and help spread the word to encourage nominations: www.escapdisabilityaward.net
Make the Right Real! campaign
ESCAP has also launched the "Make the Right Real!" campaign to accelerate the ratification and the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Please visit the following site and pledge the support by your click, and spread the word of "Make the Right Real!.": http://www.maketherightreal.net
EUROPE
ONCE & the ONCE Foundation co-operate with the blind in Haiti For much of the media, the memories of the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12th 2010 may have faded. As we get on with our day to day lives, we may have forgotten the desperate
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situation many people in Haiti still suffer on a daily basis, especially those who have a disability or acquired a disability as a result of the earthquake - as a consequence of the poverty and disorder caused by the post-trauma chaos from which the country is yet to recover.
We are sure, however, that the collective efforts we, those of us who form part of the ONCE and ONCE Foundation family, made immediately following the earthquake to assist blind people in Haiti through a joint co-operation project with the Haitian Society of the Blind (SHAA - Société Haïtienne d'Aide aux Aveugles), will not be easily forgotten.
Following a visit to the country to witness firsthand the varied needs of our Haitian colleagues, the final project, with a total budget of 125 551 Euros, was adopted in November 2010. The project consists mainly in providing equipment and material for four programmes: Education (slates and styluses, abacuses, Perkins braillers, braille paper, an Impacto brailler, braille displays, ruled page notebooks, geometry sets and Braillín dolls); Rehabilitation (different types of canes, cane repair kits, talking watches and magnifiers); Leisure time and recreation (goalball and showdown balls, ludo, noughts and crosses and chess); and Office Reconstruction (computers, printers, tables and chairs, portable dividers and various items of office furniture). Local conditions on the ground in Haiti and the problems we had to ensure the aid we had promised the Haitian Society of the Blind through our Foundation for Latin America (FOAL) was properly delivered led us to take a cautious approach and establish a two-stage project-delivery strategy. Both stages have now been completed following difficulties in clearing customs and securing duty-exempt status from the Haitian Ministry of Finance. SHAA now has the equipment and material we sent to replace what was destroyed in the earthquake and distribute the aid for, among others, education and rehabilitation, thanks to the donations and solidarity shown by ONCE and ONCE Foundation members and employees. The first batch of aid - worth 5 304 Euros - went out in February of this year, although unfortunately it did not reach its destination until June. Once we had sorted out the problems with custom clearance, the second shipment was sent in September, and SHAA confirmed it had received it in October. The second shipment includes all the remaining equipment, plus spare parts donated by CIDAT (ONCE’s Centre for Research, Development and Application in Adapted Devices for the Visually Impaired). Almost 3 tonnes of equipment and implements in
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total worth 89 305 Euros. The rest of the money raised, having paid off shipping and administrative fees, amounts to 30 901 Euros. It will be used locally to buy office furniture and material.
At these difficult times of severe financial and economic downturn worldwide, ONCE calls on all its partner organisations to remain committed to international co-operation and to providing immediate aid for blind and partially sighted people caught up in natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies.
LATIN AMERICA
160TH Anniversary of Louis Braille’s passing calendarThe Venezuelan Federation of Blind Organizations (FEVIC) and the Venezuelan Braille Council have started the publication of this document written by Marcial Rossell. It presents day by day a historical view or the main events of Louis Braille’s life and those of the world in general, combined with reflections and quotations of well-known blind leaders and writers and considerations about the Braille System. It is accompanied by a glossary of difficult vocabulary. It is a well-conceived dossier that will constitute an important reference material in any library. More information and requests: [email protected]
ASAERCA Congress 2012ASAERCA, Argentine association devoted to the study of education and rehabilitation of visually impaired persons, is a forty year old organization that has set as its principal goal the professional improvement of those who work in this field.
Its main activity is a biennial conference where teachers rehabilitation instructors and other experts and parents meet to share information and experiences. The 21st Congress will take place on October 5-7, 2012 in San Luis (Argentina). This year subject will be The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - Present Situation and Future Possibilities. It will cover the following areas: Education, Employment, Quality of life and self-determination, Legal framework and Social vulnerability.
FOAL calls for Rehabilitation ProjectsThe ONCE Foundation for Latin American Blind Persons has issued an invitation addressed to the 19 countries in the region to submit
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rehabilitation projects for the promotion of independence and autonomy of visually impaired people. The deadline is May 31st, 2012. For more information visit: http://www.foal.es/FOAL/es/Convocatorias/Convocatoria+Específica+para+Proyectos+de+Rehabilitación.htm
NORTH AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
The National Federation of the Blind (NFB USA) will host the 5th Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium, "Disability Identity in the Disability Rights Movement," from April 19-20. The symposium will address the impact of disability identity on the right of the disabled to live in the world. The National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute is located at 200 East Wells Street, in Baltimore, Maryland.
Dr. tenBroek introduced the concept that civil rights should apply to disabled Americans in his seminal article The Right to Live in the World: The Disabled in the Law of Torts, 54 CAL. L. REV. 841 (1966). From this article, Dr, tenBroek developed the model white cane law, which was the framework for the civil rights provisions of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which, in turn, was the model for the civil rights provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act. That blind and other disabled people have been able to gain a substantial measure of participation in American life is largely due to Dr. tenBroek’s thought and energy. To learn more and to register go to NFB website: http://www.nfb.org/nfb/Law_Symposium.asp
WBU OFFICERSMs. Maryanne Diamond, [email protected]. Arnt Holte, 1st Vice [email protected]. Frances Candiru, 2nd Vice [email protected]. Enrique Pérez, Secretary [email protected]. A. K. Mittal, [email protected]. William Rowland, Immediate Past [email protected]
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REGIONAL PRESIDENTSAFRICA (AFUB)
Mr. Mohammed [email protected]
ASIA (ABU)Mr. Ahmad Mohammed Mousa [email protected]
ASIA PACIFIC (WBU-AP)Mr. Dato` Kulasegaran [email protected]
EUROPE (EBU)Wolfgang Angerman, Germany
[email protected] AMERICA (ULAC)
Dr. Guillermo [email protected]
NORTH AMERICA/CARIBBEAN (WBU-NA/C)Mr. Carl [email protected]
WBU STAFFDr. Penny Hartin, Chief Executive [email protected]. Ianina Rodriguez, Administrative Assistant [email protected] McQuillan, Manager, Fund Development & [email protected]
EMAIL COMMUNICATION WITH WBU OFFICE
We are aware that some of our members have been experiencing some difficulties sending email messages to us at the WBU Office. As most of you know, our email accounts are housed on CNIB’s email servers. CNIB uses very strong SPAM filters to protect all of us from viruses, but it means that sometimes mail is sent back and we are unaware of it. We have an alternate email address which you can use if you think we might not be receiving your email messages. Please contact us at: [email protected]. All of us at the WBU office try to be very prompt at responding to messages, so if you do not receive a reply within a couple of days, it is possible that we did not receive it. If that happens, please check to ensure that you have included a subject in the subject line as blank subject lines are always considered spam,
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and resend it to the alternate address: [email protected] It also helps to identify your organization in the subject line so your email is not perceived as spam.
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