WBU E-BULLETIN - VOLUME 4, ISSUE 3, May 2010

WBU E-BULLETIN
VOLUME 4, ISSUE 3
May 2010

CONTACT US AT:
World Blind Union
1929 Bayview Avenue
Toronto Ontario Canada M4G 3E8
Telephone: 1-416-486-9698
Fax: 1-416-486-8107
Email: info@wbuoffice.org
Website: www.worldblindunion.org


TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE E-BULLETIN 3
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE 3
IMPROVING ACCESS AND USE OF TECHNOLOGY 4
VISION ALLIANCE - JOINT APPEAL FOR HAITI REHABILITATION 7
ICEVI CANCELS WORLD CONGRESS IN THAILAND 8
WBU CONGRATULATES 8
WBU COLLEAGUE FROM CHINA, MS. JIA YANG RECEIVES INTERNATIONAL AWARD FROM CHINESE PRESIDENT HU 9
WORLD BRAILLE CONFERENCE PLANNED FOR 2011 9
CHANGING COPYRIGHT REGIME IN INDIA 10
PHARMACEUTICAL LABELING TAKES A MAJOR STEP FORWARD 12
LABELING YOUR ENVIRONMENT - A TACTILE PROJECT OF THE EDUCATIONAL FACILITY BARTIMEUS 13
ANNOUNCEMENTS 13
EUROPEAN CONGRESS ON VISUAL IMPAIRMENT 13
ANNOUNCING TECHSHARE MOBILE 2010 - TECHNOLOGY
ON THE MOVE 14
UNIFEM-UNDP: “Making the MDGs Work Better for Women” 14
KICKI NORDSTROM APPOINTED TO WORLD BANK GPDD
COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE FOR WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES 15
RESOURCES 15
BRAILLE WITHOUT BORDERS PUBLISHED ITS 2009
ANNUAL REPORT 15
INTERNATIONAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF REHABILITATION IS AVAILABLE ONLINE NOW 15
LAUNCH OF UN HRBA Practitioner's Portal 16
LAUNCH OF CSO NET – CIVIL SOCIETY NETWORK 16
ILO COUNT UP IN VIDEO: AN AUDIO DESCRIPTION VERSION
IS AVAILABLE NOW 16
NEWS FROM THE REGIONS 16
AFRICA 17
EFA-VI NATIONAL TASK FORCE MEETING IN MOZAMBIQUE 17
ASIA-PACIFIC 18
SHANGHAI EXPO: BETTER CITY, BETTER LIFE--FOR THE
BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED 18
THE NIPPON FOUNDATION PROVIDES GRANT TO EXPAND
HIGHER EDUCATION INITIATIVE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA 18
ASIA 19
A HOLISTIC ACTION PLAN OF ABU 19
BLIND CHILDREN GET A RAW DEAL IN EDUCATION
FOR ALL (EFA) 20
LAUNCH OF THE RIGHT TO BOOKS FOR THE BLIND
CAMPAIGN IN INDIA 20
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA OPENS DOORS FOR MEDICAL STUDENT WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT 21
EUROPE 22
4TH EUROPEAN eACCESSIBILITY FORUM:
INCREASING HARMONIZATION 22
A REPORT ON THE EBU CONFERENCE 'MAKING THE UN CONVENTION WORK FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED WOMEN 22
RNIB'S DEVELOPED LOW VISION TOOL KIT 23
THE DANISH ASSOCIATION OF THE BLIND WILL HOST THE
9TH EBU GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN 2011 23
THE INTERGEN PROJECT 23
TELEFÓNICA ABILITY AWARDS 24
LATIN AMERICA 25
IBERO AMERICAN BRAILLE COUNCIL:
READING AND WRITING WORKSHOPS 25
ULAC ORGANIZES II FESTIVAL OF VISUALLY IMPAIRED
ARTISTS 25
CHILE: EARTHQUAKE AFFECTS THE SITUATION OF VISUALLY IMPAIRED PEOPLE 26
EL SALVADOR: WORKSHOPS TRAINS COACHES FOR
BLIND SPORT ACTIVITIES 26
NORTH AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 26
ACCESSIBLE TRANSPORTATION: NEW FORMATS ARE
AVAILABLE ONLINE NOW 26
NEW CCB WEBSITE IS ONLINE NOW 27
WBU OFFICERS 27
REGIONAL PRESIDENTS 28
WBU STAFF 28

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE E-BULLETIN
Contributions are welcome to the E-Bulletin. We thank those of you who have been providing us with content for the E-bulletins and encourage contributions from all regions. Our next deadline for content submission will be Monday, July 5th 2010 for our July 2010 issue of the E-bulletin. We will accept submissions in English, French, and Spanish, preferably in electronic format.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
By Maryanne Diamond

Our E-bulletin is once again packed with interesting and useful articles from around the globe. Thanks to everyone who takes the time to share information and provide updates on progress of many emerging and ongoing issues relevant to people who are blind or partially sighted.

The WBU Officers had a very productive meeting in Argentina at the end of March. We took the time to review our progress against our strategic plan. I can report that we have made good progress in some areas, need to gain momentum in others and made some changes to what is achievable in others. In the next issue of this E-bulletin, there will be an update from all strategic priority leaders on the progress of their work against the plan.

One highlight was a very useful discussion to identify crucial decision points for negotiating “The Treaty for Improved Access for Blind, Visually Impaired and Other Reading Disabled Persons“ which will assist those of us who are present at the next meeting at WIPO of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR20) in Geneva during June. We strongly confirmed what is to be achieved can only be done through a treaty, not through guidelines or any other voluntary instrument.

I would like to acknowledge and thank the work of Abdel-Qader Suleiman from Jordan for his work with the translation of material on the website into Arabic language. This is a huge step forward as we work towards including all language groups in our work.

With Sarah Smith on board, work is progressing well towards our new upgraded website. The target date for its launch is the end of June.

Plans are well underway for the only face-to-face meeting of the Executive this term. It will be held in Melbourne, Australia during November. Registration forms are about to be circulated and it is essential for those who plan to attend to ensure they are currently financial and register early as there are very few countries where a visa is not required.

Happy reading!

IMPROVING ACCESS AND USE OF TECHNOLOGY
By Peter Osborne

Before giving you an update on progress we are making toward improving access to TV and film, affordable technology in developing countries, and access to mobile communications, I would like to introduce myself.

I am Head of International Development and Partnerships for the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), and I will be working with Stephen King, Chair of the WBU Technology Working Group, to deliver our challenging agenda for change. I will facilitate the work of the group, keeping us on track with this important agenda. Please contact me concerning any aspect of our work: pete.osborne@rnib.org.uk or +44 (0) 1773 375008.

Although the Working Group has not yet met, important work has continued around our key objectives. As is often the case with the development of new technology, work has been governed by contracts including confidentiality clauses which are designed to preserve intellectual property. Market-ready solutions require investment, and it is important for commercial organizations to realize a return on that investment. We want accessible solutions to have a long and positively developing life, so we need to work with the rigours of commercial product development.

There is so much happening in the world of technology that it is hard to keep track. Before outlining what we want to achieve, I want to mention some of the most exciting current developments.

We are on the verge of seeing talking digital television solutions delivered as commercial products. RNIB and its partners have worked tirelessly over the past 18 months not only to prove that digital television can be made to be accessible, but that commercial products can be brought to market. Audio description of DVDs and cinema is also gathering pace, noting the first release of an audio described Bollywood film. The next 6 months will see the unveiling of accessible digital television products.

It is impossible to ignore the continuous development of products designed to enable the reading of electronic books and magazines, and nor should we do so. The key format now being used by publishers promises great things for accessibility, and we are delighted that the Digital Accessible Information Consortium, developers of the standards for digital talking books and more, has been appointed as the maintenance agency for this standard.

Some book readers and electronic books have had text to speech disabled, but a series of challenges within the USA and strong lobbying throughout the world will force positive change. Apple's Ipad has significant accessibility features built in, fuelling the discussions with major technology companies around whether accessibility should be designed into products or available through third parties. Convincing more companies to take an inclusive approach to products will make them more affordable.

Draft project plans covering access to TV/cinema, affordable technology, and mobile communications will be considered by the committee over the next 2 months. There is so much we can do; we need to agree on what can be realistically achieved. We also need to globalize current developments so that we can all benefit from the exceptional work going on to deliver audio description in some countries, for example.

TV and Film
The project will seek to develop a sustained agenda for positive change, enabling audio description on TV, film and DVD services to be developed throughout the world through a push from national blindness organizations in their respective countries.

In addition we seek to deliver unified WBU accessibility user requirements to influence global TV manufacturing industries. We will look to develop a global understanding of accessible TV/film, sharing expertise and models which have been proven to work.

We want to achieve:
 An active international coalition of blindness organizations for promoting access to TV & film
 Comparative study of existing audio description writing standards
 Agreed WBU baseline guidelines on how audio description is written
 Up to date register of audio description developments around the world
 Agreed WBU guidelines on audio navigation for DVDs
 Toolkit for WBU member that allows them to campaign for audio description on TV, film and DVD in their own country
 Agreed and published WBU baseline user requirements on accessibility of digital TV, also promoted to the international TV manufacturers
 International ISO industry voluntary standard on technical delivery of text to speech output of menus and program guides

Affordable Technology
The project will promote the variety of assistive technology within a global context. There is very little or no access to affordable assistive technology in most developing countries, there are few initiatives to reduce the cost and improve access to reading technology. This project aims to address these issues and to provide a framework for sustainable affordable assistive technology in developing countries.

We want to achieve:
 Techshare India 2010, Techshare Africa 2011 in association with the Africa Forum, Techshare China 2012, promoting assistive technology
 A pan-Africa mobile accessibility alliance
 Mapping document which scopes the availability of affordable assistive technology in developing countries.
 Contributions towards two large scale initiative to bring low cost assistive technologies to market in Asia and Africa.

Mobile Communications
Recognizing that mobile technologies and services will continue to play an increasingly important role in society, and that less developed economies have most to gain from the revolution in such technologies and services, the WBU Technology Working Group will focus on delivering an agenda for positive change which will engage key partners in the industry.

We want to achieve:
 A precise challenge to industry delivered as a series of requirements for a minimum standard of accessibility
 Products which conform to the above standard
 Sustained development of accessible products and services delivered through partnership
 Industry commitment to developing a strategic plan for improved access to mobile technologies and services for blind and partially sighted people in at least one region, most probably Africa

VISION ALLIANCE - JOINT APPEAL FOR HAITI REHABILITATION
In response to the tragic earthquake in Haiti, the Vision Alliance consisting of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI) and the World Blind Union (WBU) is working together to develop and implement a thoughtful and well-coordinated response that respects and addresses a plan developed for Haiti by Haitians.

The Vision Alliance will conduct an assessment in the near future and working with our Haitian colleagues will develop a long-term response. For weeks the impact of the earthquake in Haiti was on the front page of newspapers throughout the world. In recent weeks the situation in Haiti has taken a back seat to other news. Please do not forget that while Haiti is not on the front page everyday the situation there is still very grim and this is exactly the time that all of us should redouble our efforts to remember our colleagues in Haiti. A planning meeting of organizations involved in eye care, education, rehabilitation and advocacy is meeting in the Dominican Republic in mid-May and the WBU is involved in that meeting as is ICEVI.

ICEVI CANCELS WORLD CONGRESS IN THAILAND
The ICEVI recently announced the cancellation of its World Congress and General Assembly which had been scheduled to take place August 9 – 13 in Jontien, Thailand. The present fragile political situation in Thailand coupled with some travel warnings issued by several countries was the impetus for this cancellation. Please see the ICEVI website at: www.icevi.org for more information.

WBU CONGRATULATES
Larry Campbell, current ICEVI President, has been awarded with an honorary doctorate from the Salus University for his contribution at the international level in the area of disability. He played an important role in promoting education and technology for the visually impaired through his various assignments and professional engagements over a period of more than 35 years. As the International Director of Overbrook School for the Blind, USA, before his recent retirement, Larry was responsible for many blindness-related initiatives in Asia and Africa. The World Blind Union congratulates Mr. Campbell for this award and wishes him all the best for his upcoming projects and duties.

WBU COLLEAGUE FROM CHINA, MS. JIA YANG RECEIVES INTERNATIONAL AWARD FROM CHINESE PRESIDENT HU
On March 8th, in recognition of International Women’s Day, Ms. Jia Yang from China received a special recognition award, as one of the top ten women in China, from President Hu. Jia Yang is well known to the WBU as one of the delegates from China at the WBU General Assemblies and also representing China as a member of the CRPD Monitoring Committee. The WBU extends our heartfelt congratulations to Jia Yang on this tremendous recognition from her country.

WORLD BRAILLE CONFERENCE PLANNED FOR 2011
A World Braille Conference, entitled BRAILLE 21 is being planned for September 26 to October 2, 2011 by the WBU World Braille Council in partnership with the German Central Library for the Blind. More information about the conference can be found at www.braille21.net

Braille 21 will be held at the University of Leipzig, in their brand new central campus facilities. Lecture halls and workshop rooms are complete with modern technology and accessibility guaranteed.
Interpretation will be provided in the three official languages of the World Blind Union-English, French, and Spanish. Solutions can be found if other languages are required.

Braille Ambassadors are needed! The conference requires people who love braille and have had good experiences with it. They can be well-known but that is not a requirement. If interested, please forward the following information: photo, name, age, city and country, short vita or profession, and a slogan in this way:

 Braille is important because...
 Braille 21 is important because...

If your organization would like to support Braille 21, please contact Jenni Handschack at jenni.handschack@dzb.de

CHANGING COPYRIGHT REGIME IN INDIA
By Ketan Kothari, Programme Officer, South India Area Office, Sightsavers

India is a multilingual, multicultural country with over 100,000 books and other literature published annually. The very small percentage that is available in accessible formats is converted either by organizations working for people who have a print disability or the individuals themselves, at their own expense. This very grim situation adversely affects access to education for people with a print disability. For the past five years there has been an arduous struggle to change this situation.

The seeds of this movement in the early part of this century, vigorously pursuing this matter at all levels. At the end of 2005, the government of India proposed an amendment to the 1957 Indian Copyright Act. For the first time, it included an exception clause for people with a print disability. But the proposed clause was far from what was needed.

Since then the struggle to bring information access in India has actually begun. In April/May of 2006, a conglomerate of organizations was formed under the banner of Publication Access Coordination Committee (PACC), with Xavier's Resource Centre for the Visually Challenged, (XRCVC) Mumbai, leading the way. Almost all of the national organizations in the area of blindness joined; they submitted a well researched memorandum which contained the text of the needed and desired amendment.

Simultaneously, these organizations also kept in touch with the mainstream IP professionals to win them over to support the cause. But the amendments were put into 'cold storage' with no results. In 2007, a forum of DAISY book producers was established - DAISY Forum of India (DFI). There are now over 70 member organizations in this Forum. DFI began talks with publishers to convince them to make their publications available in accessible formats, or at least to grant permission to convert their publications into accessible formats.

Many publishers were apprehensive about the threat of piracy. It has taken a lot of convincing and demonstrations of the technology to convince some publishers to come on board. Today some of the leading names in the publishing world, such as Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, and Sage Publications, have come on board and have given DFI rights to convert their titles into accessible formats.

In 2008, another historical event took place – Bookshare came to India. This provided Indian readers with an opportunity to access many, many books that are available worldwide in DAISY format. DFI played a key role. The struggle to have the law amended continued. No efforts were spared to convince the government, but frequent changes in postings to the government Registrar of Copyright meant that the information explaining the need for change in the law had to be repeated again and again.

During this time the World Blind Union (WBU) launched the Global Right to Read Campaign in partnership with the DAISY Consortium, ICEVI and IFLA/Libraries Serving Persons with Print Disabilities Section. The purpose of the Campaign was to encourage greater access to published works for people with a print disability, and in particular to seek changes in copyright law at national and international levels.

In 2009 the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) took up the DFI initiative. They contacted the WBU Campaign and expressed the desire to associate the growing Indian movement with the global campaign. Government leaders in this area in India were informed that the amendments would be put forth in Parliament. Support was garnered from some eminent lawyers, which helped a great deal.

In late 2009 the movement gained momentum. The amendments were posted on the Internet and activities increased. However, the amendments as proposed by the government would create new difficulties. What eventually went to Parliament was not what was needed. Later, a platform ensued, resulting in the formation of the National Access Alliance of India (NAA).

NAA is made up of the six WBU Members in India: NFB, AICB, NAB, ICEVI, Sightsavers and DFI. All six members are working in harmony to bring about the required and desired copyright amendment. An advocacy strategy has been developed and the outlook for the necessary change in the law is coming closer to being a reality. The single goal is to have the Indian law amended so that those who have a print disability have access to current material published in India, without the additional expense that would result from licenses or royalties.

PHARMACEUTICAL LABELING TAKES A MAJOR STEP FORWARD
New European Standard for Braille on Packaging
After more than 4 years of deliberation and negotiation, the EBU expects that during 2010 a European standard will be adopted for braille on medicinal packing. This means that the industries involved will have more specified values and procedures to follow when providing information in braille on the outer packaging. This will include the name, strength and in some cases, the form of the medicine.

Dot Height and Readability Research

Another outcome of the standardization process is a piece of scientific research undertaken by the University of Birmingham (UK) and sponsored by blindness agencies and the pharma-packaging industry. The findings contributed to the requirements included in the standard. The research investigates the correlation between the height of braille dots and the readability of the information by braille users. The dependence between the height of dots and the degree of security with which the braille user could identify the product is described in a robust and useful way, as is the effect of braille on the readability of underlying printed information for sighted people.

The full research report is available online in two formats:

As a Word file at:
http://www.education2.bham.ac.uk/documents/research/VICTAR/Braille_Height.doc
As a PDF file at:
http://www.education2.bham.ac.uk/documents/research/VICTAR/Braille_Height.pdf
Additional information about a Braille symbol database and EBU guidance, used by different countries to mark packages, can be found at: http://ebu.rnib.org.uk

LABELING YOUR ENVIRONMENT - A TACTILE PROJECT OF THE EDUCATIONAL FACILITY BARTIMEUS
The educational facility Bartimeus from the Netherlands, in cooperation with its partners, developed a system based on Tag It Guide that allows to depict building structures, a campus or street maps and the likes in practically no time at all. Just by using a magnetic board and magnetic pieces, these structures can be built and by using RFID labels, he can connect the pieces with audio information. Bartimeus already uses this system to show students how their future school or the university is built.

This technology is particularly interesting for the area of orientation and mobility training. Dick Lunenborg, project manager of "Label Your Environment", works together with blind children and children with multiple disabilities to create those tactile learning materials. These include models of body parts and plants. More information about the project can be found at: www.bartimeus.nl

ANNOUNCEMENTS
EUROPEAN CONGRESS ON VISUAL IMPAIRMENT
The Spanish Association of Professionals of People with Visual Impairment will celebrate the First European Congress on Visual Impairment in Spain, named as "Rehabilitation and Attention of People with Visual Impairment". The conference will take place from 22nd- 24th October 2010 in Valladolid, Spain. The main objectives of the Congress are:

 To let the scientific community dedicated to visual impairment share their knowledge and main research interests
 To settle the basis for the future European Society of Professionals and Researchers dedicated to visual impairment
 To get an overview of the state of the art of the research and the rehabilitation procedures in Europe

For details on registration and other information please visit:
www.eurovisionrehab.com

ANNOUNCING TECHSHARE MOBILE 2010 - TECHNOLOGY ON THE MOVE
Mobile technology is moving forward at a very rapid pace, and there are many changes taking place in both the mainstream and specialist mobile ICT sectors. These changes include the development and roll out of new operating systems for mobile devices as well as the emergence of completely new categories of device. In addition, there are significant shifts taking place in terms of the application and uses of mobile technology at home, in education, and of course in employment.

Techshare is widely regarded as one of Europe's leading interactive conferences in the field of digital accessibility. The purpose of Techshare Mobile 2010 is to bring together key stakeholders and to share recent and future developments in digital mobile technology.

Organized by RNIB and sponsored by Vodafone, Research in Motion (RIM) and Intel, this exciting one day Techshare special event will be held on 15 June 2010 at the ICC, Birmingham. There is a fantastic range of speakers and in-depth workshops at the event, from keynotes in industry to specialists in the area of mobile technology for disabled people. For more information about rates, bursaries, the booking procedure, and the conference program, please visit: http://www.rnib.org.uk/techshare

UNIFEM-UNDP: “Making the MDGs Work Better for Women”
Jointly, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) published “Making the MDGs work better for women: implementing gender-responsive national development plans and programs.” The objective of this publication is to reconsider gender equality and empowerment of women as a precondition for achieving each of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), because as the publication demonstrates: “Where women are empowered we have seen better health and education outcomes for their children as well as more sustainable use of natural resources.”

The Report explores progress made as well as remaining challenges in meeting MDG3, which is about gender equality and women’s empowerment. Seven priorities have been identified as requiring immediate action in order to keep the MDG3 promise and a summary of the key recommendations put forward can be found in the online publication (http://www.unngls.org/spip.php?page=amdg10&id_article=2375)

KICKI NORDSTROM APPOINTED TO WORLD BANK GPDD COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE FOR WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES
Kicki Nordstrom a Past President of the WBU and former Chair of the WBU Women’s Committee was appointed by the International Disability Alliance (IDA) to represent them on the World Bank GPDD (Global Program on Disability & Development) Community of Practice for Women with Disabilities. The Community of Practice, organized by GPDD, brings together experts from a variety of sectors to share information, expertise and best practice in order to develop a body of knowledge related to development issues for women with disabilities. Congratulations and thanks to Kicki on being selected for this work.

RESOURCES
BRAILLE WITHOUT BORDERS PUBLISHED ITS 2009 ANNUAL REPORT
Braille Without Borders (BWB) is pleased to announce the release of its 2009 annual report. It informs about BWB's projects and activities in the last year. To read the entire report, please visit the following link at: http://www.braillewithoutborders.org/english/BWB_Report_2009.pdf


INTERNATIONAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF REHABILITATION IS AVAILABLE ONLINE NOW
A free online International Encyclopaedia of Rehabilitation, developed by the Center for International Rehabilitation Research Information & Exchange (CIRRIE) is now available. Currently, the encyclopaedia contains over 100 articles, and more will publish on a weekly basis. The documents are available in English, and most of them were translated into French and Spanish. The encyclopaedia can be found at: http://cirrie.buffalo.edu/encyclopedia/contents.php

LAUNCH OF UN HRBA Practitioner's Portal
The United Nations is pleased to introduce its HRBA Practitioner's Portal which is now available online at: www.hrbaportal.org

This accessible online platform brings together knowledge, practical experience and a wide range of resources on integrating Human Rights-Based Approach (HRBA) in development programming which the United Nations and its partners have accumulated during the last decade. Users can either browse through the resource database or search for specific topics such as relevant international standards, 'how-to guides', case-studies and learning materials on HRBA.

LAUNCH OF CSO NET – CIVIL SOCIETY NETWORK
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) has launched a knowledge-based, open networking platform called “CSO Net – the Civil Society Network” which is designed to facilitate interaction among civil society groups worldwide, Member States and UN system agencies.

The aim is to: share and promote best practices in the field of economic and social development; establish innovative and collaborative development solutions; facilitate partnerships among the users of the portal; and promote interactive discussions through online forums on issues of immediate relevance to the UN’s agenda. The portal can be accessed at http://www.un.org/ecosoc/csonet to explore ways that your organization can contribute to and engage effectively with the NGO Branch and the United Nations system as a whole.

ILO COUNT UP IN VIDEO: AN AUDIO DESCRIPTION VERSION IS AVAILABLE NOW
An audio description version of "Decent Work for People with Disabilities Count us in!" video is now accessible for persons with visual impairment. It can be found at:
http://www.youtube.com/ilotv#p/u/12/pFlG__NxHaY

NEWS FROM THE REGIONS
AFRICA
EFA-VI NATIONAL TASK FORCE MEETING IN MOZAMBIQUE
The EFA-VI National Task Force Meeting in Mozambique met in Maputo on February 19, 2010. All major stakeholder groups were represented at this meeting that was chaired by Dr. Agusto John, Honourable Deputy Minister for Education. The report of the NTF indicates that at this time almost 200 visually impaired children in Mozambique have access to any type of education.

Therefore, the EFA-VI NTF has decided to set up a model of inclusive education programme in order to reach more children with visual impairment. In Mozambique attention will be given to the training of special and general classroom teachers and provision of basic educational materials as Braille slates and canes for orientation and mobility. A complete plan of action for 2010 has been drawn-up and the implementation of activities will be monitored by the Regional Coordinator of EFA-VI.

ICEVI's newest International Partner Member, the Francophone Blind Union, is already working hard to expand the EFA-VI campaign to Francophone countries in Africa. Therefore, another EFA-VI meeting is planned to take place in Burkina Faso. Mrs. Francoise Madray-Lesigne, President of FBU and Mr. Andre Kowalski, visited Burkina Faso twice in the past few months and held a series of meetings with Government officials, representatives of international and inter-governmental organizations and appraised them the campaign plans. The ICEVI brochure and EFA-VI Campaign materials have been translated into French and shared with the officials.

As Burkina Faso is one of the Fast Track countries of the World Bank, the campaign wants to capitalize on the commitment of the Government for the general education for all, where the EFA-VI could be embedded as its integral part. Francoise will visit Burkina Faso in the near future to come up with a detailed plan for the implementation of the campaign and with this initiative.

ASIA-PACIFIC
SHANGHAI EXPO: BETTER CITY, BETTER LIFE--FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED
On Saturday, May 1, 2010 the Shanghai Expo opened its doors. This is the first time that the international expo takes place in China. Under the theme "better life for people", the Expo presents exhibitions about persons with disabilities. The China Blind Association presents three main projects:

 Blind football
 Guide dogs and their training
 Dialogue in the Dark: dark restaurant projects operating in several big cities in China

THE NIPPON FOUNDATION PROVIDES GRANT TO EXPAND HIGHER EDUCATION INITIATIVE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
In late March The Nippon Foundation (Japan) approved a grant of US $180,000 to support the first year of a two-year expansion of the work currently underway with ICEVI partners in Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam and to include Cambodia in this growing network to improve the situation of visually impaired students enrolled in university education. This program was initiated in Indonesia in 2006 and has gradually expanded to three additional ASEAN countries. During the current (2010-2012) phase the project is assisting students in overcoming the "access to information barrier" and "attitudinal barriers" that often results in an unwelcoming university environment.

Recently, the availability of relatively inexpensive and portable "netbook computers", combined with the free open-source NVDA screenreader are providing a "technology lifeline" to visually impaired students with which they can overcome the "information access barrier". To create a more welcoming university environment ICEVI and its local partners are working on the development of training and training materials for use with university administrators, faculty and the non-disabled student body.

While these efforts are underway, the project is simultaneously working toward the broader goal of having measurable impact on the public policies that all too often place disabled students at a distinct disadvantage. The main objective of the project is that all disabled students entering universities in the region have full access to the same rights and services afforded to non-disabled students.

ASIA
A HOLISTIC ACTION PLAN OF ABU
In its Executive Meeting held in Sana'a, Yemen, on 6-7th March, 2010, the Asian Blind Union approved a comprehensive plan of action for the year 2010. The plan includes key activities covering the following four main strategic areas of the Asian Blind Union:

1. Capacity building and human resource development
2. Strengthening the affiliates
3. Women empowerment
4. Information dissemination

Some of the key actions will be:

 Implementation of two computer skills training course for visually impaired people and teachers
 Strengthening the inclusive/special education human resource; teachers teaching in special schools of Middle East countries will be oriented in the areas of visual impairment and mental retardation during a workshop in Jordan.
 Focus on strengthening organizational management and advocacy human resource in South Asia; A three month training programme in rehabilitation and management of associations will be held in New Delhi, India. In addition, a three day advocacy workshop is planned to be held in Karachi, Pakistan in June, 2010.
 Organizing two workshops on UNCRPD in order to sensitize government officials and disability activists; The first workshop will be held in Sri Lanka. Another workshop on UNCRPD will take place in Tajikistan.
 The organization would also continue its quarterly newsletter titled "progress". This year, the ABU Newsletter will also be available in Braille to our readers. Also, attempts will be made to provide the Arabic and Russian translation of the Newsletter.

BLIND CHILDREN GET A RAW DEAL IN EDUCATION FOR ALL (EFA)
The Education Committee of the Asian Blind Union has conducted a research study which shows that visually impaired children, studying in government schools under EFA Scheme, have extremely poor reading, writing, and arithmetic skills. "The purpose of the study was to ascertain the levels of efficiency gained by visually impaired children in SSA schools in basic literacy and arithmetic skills with the help of carefully designed and administered tests and to collect other related information." states Mr. A.K. Mittal, Chair of the ABU Education Committee. The study had a sample of 200 visually impaired students of classes 4 and 5 from 10 Indian states. Among the sample, 122 children used Braille and 78 large print for their studies.

The emerging data presented a grim reality about the various tall claims being made regarding the success of inclusive education in the country. The average national marks scored in Braille reading and writing ranged from just 20 to 23%, while in arithmetic the range nationally was 10% to 31%. The position regarding reading and writing large print for children with low vision was no better with marks ranging from 22% to 31%.

The study also brought out that there is a general shortage of textbooks in Braille and large print. The participating schools had hardly any special devices for children with low vision. Another aspect is that a large number of specialized teachers are not qualified enough to teach blind children.

LAUNCH OF THE RIGHT TO BOOKS FOR THE BLIND CAMPAIGN IN INDIA
The National Federation of the Blind and the All India Confederation of the Blind launched a national campaign to ensure the accessibility of all print books for visually impaired at the same time and at the same cost at which these are available to their sighted counterparts. The campaign was launched on 29th January, 2010 on the eve of the World Book Fair. A declaration and a national appeal were issued by the office bearers of the two organizations in a joint press conference held at the India International Centre in New Delhi. One of the main objectives of the campaign is to provide more books in alternate formats such as Braille, Audio, and large print. Another major aspect of the initiative focuses on copyright exceptions to ensure an increasing number of accessible books.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA OPENS DOORS FOR MEDICAL STUDENT WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT
A recent judgment of the Supreme Court of India appears to have opened new opportunities for the visually impaired. A young student, Nitin Mantri, had dreamt of becoming a Doctor from his early years: not an uncommon dream among the youngsters. What made the dream of Nitin so special was the fact that he was visually impaired. Due to his visual impairment, there were strong chances of his denied admission to a Medical College.

The inspiring stories of blind and low vision doctors are not absent from our memory. One immediately recalls the name of Late Salma Maqbool of Pakistan, who not only was a successful practicing doctor, but was an important leader in the blindness field.

Despite knowing that the road may be difficult for him, Nitin persisted with his dream and tried to seek admission in a medical college. He scored much higher percentage of marks than the cut off percentage, yet he was denied admission. He was admitted only after the High Court of Madhya Pradesh intervened.

Social, administrative, and political prejudices cannot be easily set aside. His institution as well as the Government of his State appealed in the Supreme Court of India. After 9 months of toil, Nitin obtained the judgment in his favour: “There are no rules to bar a visually impaired student from studying medicine”, the Supreme Court ruled.

The ruling is important not just for Nitin Mantrie but for the entire visual impairment sector. Its significance rests in two respects. Firstly, it has opened new avenues of study and employment for the visually impaired. The Supreme Court of India judgment can be cited as an example by individuals and blindness organizations in other countries to obtain similar facilities in their respective countries. The UNCRPD already advocates the principle of “Reasonable Accommodation”. This principle can help us in opening up new opportunities in the areas of education and employment.

Secondly, the case in reference brings an important message to all of us. That is that given the will and determination, the most difficult doors can also open. So finally it is clear: the cure to our problems lies only with us.

EUROPE
4TH EUROPEAN eACCESSIBILITY FORUM: INCREASING HARMONIZATION
The primary purpose of the 4th European eAccessibility Forum, held April 12 in Paris, France, was to provide all participants with an opportunity to learn about information access in the digital domain and to discuss the issues with experts in the field. Speakers included specialists from organisations representing consumers of accessible information, research organisations, public national and European institutions, and, European and international for-profit companies.
Plenary papers, workshops and demonstrations were presented. Romain Deltour, Software Architect for the DAISY Consortium, attended the Forum and has provided an overview of the day-long event so that those unable to be there will nonetheless benefit from the information exchange that took place. The proceedings will be available on the BrailleNet website in the near future at: www.braillenet.org

A REPORT ON THE EBU CONFERENCE 'MAKING THE UN CONVENTION WORK FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED WOMEN
The EBU women's conference took place from 26 to 28 of March in Larnaca, Cyprus. The event was hosted by The Pancyprian Organization of the Blind (POB). Fifty four participants from 19 EBU member organizations attended the conference, who presented their views on the selected topics from the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability.

Many young, high-motivated, and capable women joined the meetings at the conference. This is a very positive sign regarding future work! They shared their experiences and suggestions to meet the challenges of everyday life. Eight interactive sessions with workshops and round table discussions on different issues were offered to the participants. As a result of the conference, a Declaration was formulated which will be presented to the EBU board.

RNIB'S DEVELOPED LOW VISION TOOL KIT
The Royal National Institute of the Blind People (RNIB), with support from the Welsh General Assembly, has recently developed a new publication, The Low Vision ToolKit. RNIB, in cooperation with ICEVI, is now working to make a more "international version" of this ToolKit available. This publication can be of real assistance to those in developing countries working on the EFA-VI programme and needing clear and well organized materials to support the training of specialist and regular classroom teachers in the area of Low Vision. Copies of the Low Vision ToolKit will be available shortly.

THE DANISH ASSOCIATION OF THE BLIND WILL HOST THE 9TH EBU GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN 2011
The EBU board has confirmed the bid submitted by the Danish Association of the Blind (DAB) to stand as host for the ninth EBU General Assembly in 2011. The Assembly, with adjacent diversity events, will take place over the first week of October 2011 in Fredericia in the central part of Denmark, where DAB, amongst other facilities, runs its training and holiday centre, Fuglsangcentret.

DAB is already working to assure that they will offer an accessible framework, very well planned and designed for visually impaired persons and with accommodation, exhibition, professional, and leisure facilities that should satisfy all visitors, delegates, guides or otherwise interested stakeholders.

Organizing this event will also be one of the ways in which DAB will celebrate their 100 year anniversary in 2011 and attract interest and attention within the national and international community.

THE INTERGEN PROJECT
The INTERGEN PROJECT is designed and conducted by the European Blind Union (EBU) in collaboration with five partners from the EBU network: the German Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted (DBSV), the Italian Union of the Blind and Partially Sighted (UIC), the Italian Institute for Research, Training and Rehabilitation (IRIFOR), the Turkish Federation of the Blind, and the Turkish Six Dots Foundation. The project is funded by the Education and Culture DG of the European Commission.

This project aims to foster intergenerational exchange of experience. The ambition is twofold: (1) To make up for the lack of independence affecting a great many blind and partially sighted persons; and, (2) To alleviate their isolation and loneliness.

Practice workshops with junior and senior visually impaired participants and professional trainers were held by partner organizations in Germany, Italy, and Turkey last year. Video extracts from some of these workshops can be seen on the INTERGEN website: http://www.intergenerations.eu/video. The site is also regularly updated with new reports, news and information.

Among the objectives of the project are the creation of a guide on how to organize and moderate intergenerational workshops, and a handbook compiling different daily life management skills. At the recent steering group meeting in Rome the work already completed on the handbook was presented and ideas for its development and completion were put forward.

The INTERGEN model is currently under completion. Once it is validated by the consortium, it will be tried at workshops to be held in Germany, Italy, and Turkey with new participants. Later the model will be translated into German, Italian, and Turkish, and will be disseminated at European, national and local levels.

The ultimate success of the project will depend on it being disseminated as widely as possible both through the EBU network and other channels, allowing it to become a real ‘working model’ which can be adapted to different circumstances and integrated in different structures. Partners will also be in charge of promoting the model by supporting one training centre for VI youth or a local retirement home to hold an INTERGEN workshop.
TELEFÓNICA ABILITY AWARDS
Visually impaired social entrepreneur and founder of disability organization "Kanchi", Caroline Casey, has joined Ireland’s Ambassador to Spain, Justin Harman and César Alierta, Chairman of Telefónica, to launch the Telefónica Ability Awards in Spain, the first country outside of Ireland licensed to run the awards program based on the original O2 Ability Awards model created and operational in Ireland since 2005. The expansion to Spain marks the first franchise of the Ability Awards internationally and is an historic achievement for Kanchi, highlighting the strength and innovation of Irish social entrepreneurship.

The Telefónica Ability Awards will recognize organizations throughout Spain for best practice in the inclusion of people with disabilities as employees, customers and members of the community. The auditing and benchmark templates created in Ireland will be used to assess organizations that enter the program in Spain . Kanchi is currently in negotiations with several pan-European organizations to establish the Ability Awards program in countries throughout Europe and beyond. The application process in Spain opens in May 2010 with the first Awards taking place in November 2010.

LATIN AMERICA
IBERO AMERICAN BRAILLE COUNCIL: READING AND WRITING WORKSHOPS
In March 2010, Braille workshops took place at the AECID Centre (Agencia Española de Cooperación para el Desarrollo) in Montevideo, Uruguay. The workshops were about research, modernization and diffusion of reading and writing system. Representatives of the Spanish and Latin American Braille Commission attended the event. Several recommendations to the Latin American Braille Council were put together, such as technical groups on Grade 2 Braille, tactile materials adaptation, science, music code, informatics, transcription and adaptation of texts.

ULAC ORGANIZES II FESTIVAL OF VISUALLY IMPAIRED ARTISTS
ULAC will be organizing the II Latin American Festival of Visually Impaired artists. The event will take place in the Dominican Republic in September 2010. The main goal of this event is to promote culture through the artistic expression of blind and partially sighted people. National winners of each country will qualify for this event. For more information about this event, please visit ULAC's website at: www.ulacdigital.org
CHILE: EARTHQUAKE AFFECTS THE SITUATION OF VISUALLY IMPAIRED PEOPLE
The situation in Chile after the earthquake in February has seriously affected the organizations providing services for visually impaired people. The Corporation of Aid for the Visually Impaired (COALIVI), based in Concepción, has suffered serious structural damages. According to technical reports, it will be necessary to demolish one of their buildings and renovate most part of the main structure. The institution relies on solidarity with this cause.

Contact information:
Tel: +56-41-212-5302
E-mail: direccion@coalivi.cl
Website: www.colalivi.cl
EL SALVADOR: WORKSHOPS TRAINS COACHES FOR BLIND SPORT ACTIVITIES
Training sessions for coaches working with visually impaired people took place in El Salvador from 22-26 March 2010. This initiative of the Paralympics Committee of El Salvador was supported by IBSA, ULAC, FOAL and The Paralympics Committees of Spain and Brazil in an effort to ensure the participation of renowned specialists in different sports for the blind. It is important to highlight the participation of coaches from various Central American countries which are interested in promoting adaptive sport for the blind.

NORTH AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
ACCESSIBLE TRANSPORTATION: NEW FORMATS ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE NOW
The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) has posted some new formats for accessibility and has re-issued a code of practice on their website.

CTA's popular travel guide for persons with disabilities, Take Charge of Your Travel, is now available as an audio book, to listen to while you pack or in the terminal. They have also updated the DAISY talking book format of Take Charge and the Reservation Checklist for Persons with Disabilities to version 4.0, which can be downloaded from their site.

In addition, they have launched a revised version of the Code of
Practice: Aircraft Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities. The Air Code now includes the Agency's two implementation guides, Space for Service Dogs Onboard Large Aircraft and Tactile Row Markers Onboard Large Aircraft. The Air Code is available on-line and has been recorded in DAISY 4.0 and is available on request in print, in braille, and as a CD with a variety of formats.

The following new formats are available online at:

 Take Charge of Your Travel (www.cta.gc.ca/eng/take-charge)
 Reservation Checklist for Persons with Disabilities (http://www.otc-cta.gc.ca/doc.php?did=2214&lang=eng)
 Code of Practice: Aircraft Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities (http://www.otc-cta.gc.ca/doc.php?sid=1012&lang=eng)
NEW CCB WEBSITE IS ONLINE NOW
The Canadian Council For The Blind (CCB) has launched its new website at the same address at www.ccbnational.net CCB will be updating the new site more frequently with news, stories and events, and it is their intention to make the site a useful resource for members.

WBU OFFICERS
Ms. Maryanne Diamond, President
maryanne.diamond@visionaustralia.org
Mr. Arnt Holte, 1st Vice President
arnt.holte@blindeforbundet.no
Ms. Frances Candiru, 2nd Vice President
aiykko@gmail.com
Mr. Enrique Pérez, Secretary General
umc@once.es
Mr. A. K. Mittal, Treasurer
akmittal@rediffmail.com
Dr. William Rowland, Immediate Past President
rowland@sancb.org.za

REGIONAL PRESIDENTS
AFRICA (AFUB)
Mr. Mohammed Ez-zaoui
med.ezzaoui@gmail.com
ASIA (ABU)
Mr. Ahmad Mohammed Mousa Allouzi
fabjo@index.com.jo
ASIA PACIFIC (WBU-AP)
Mr. Chuji Sashida
sashida.chuji@jeed.or.jp
EUROPE (EBU)
Lord Colin Low
Colin.Low@rnib.org.uk
LATIN AMERICA (ULAC)
Dr. Guillermo Moreno
dr_guillermo_moreno@hotmail.com
NORTH AMERICA/CARIBBEAN (WBU-NA/C)
Mr. Carl Augusto
caugusto@afb.net
WBU STAFF
Dr. Penny Hartin, Chief Executive Officer
penny.hartin@wbuoffice.org
Ms. Sarah Smith, Manager Fund Development & Communications
sarah.smith@wbuoffice.org
Ms. Ianina Rodriguez, Administrative Assistant ianina.rodriguez@wbuoffice.org