September 30th, 2011 WBU e-Notice

Here is our two-page notice of current breaking news and events.

 Remember, members who have brief announcements to share can send them to: Marianne.mcquillan@wbuoffice.org. We would love to hear from you and spread your good news to others.

 World Sight Day this year is Thursday, October 13th. To see what kind of activities are planned for this day check out the Vision2020 WSD 2011 website: http://www.vision2020.org/main.cfm?Type=NI&objectid=4522

 White Cane Safety Day is October 15th. This date has been commemorated in America since 1964 to acknowledge the independence achieved through the use of this tool. To learn more about the history follow this NFB link: http://www.nfb.org/nfb/White_Cane_Safety_Day.asp

 Many of the keynotes speeches and papers from the Africa forum are now available in English and French on the Perkins website. Follow the link to read Kevin Carey’s lecture or Kudakwashe Dube’s opening remarks: http://www.perkins.org/idp/africa-forum/papers/

 There have been many books written about 9/11 and its heroes. There is a book that has received many great reviews about a guide dog, Thunder Dog, who lead her master to safety amid the rubble of a collapsing building: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/in-memory-of-a-remarkable-guide-dog.html

 We have come across a website called Radio for the Blind that offers access to many radio stations from around the world. To try it out you can access the website here: http://www.blindradio.com/

 American jazz guitarist Jeff Golub continues to perform despite recently becoming blind. http://www.examiner.com/smooth-contemporary-jazz-in-national/guitarist-jeff-golub-suddenly-goes-blind

 Contest reminder for a new name for e-Bulletin (WBU newsletter) is October 14th. Send your ideas to: Marianne.mcquillan@wbuoffice.org. You can also send your stories and articles for this publication.

 The UN office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is conducting a Thematic Study on Participation of Persons with Disabilities in Political and Public Life. To learn more go to: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Disability/Pages/ParticipationPoliticalAndPublicLife.aspx Deadline for submissions is October 15th.

2011 Conference notices:

Oct. 4 to 8: European Blind Union’s 9th General Assembly 2011, in Fredericia, Denmark. To learn more:
http://www.euroblind.org/projects-and-activities/events/upcoming-events/nr/3

Oct. 10 to 13: Disabled Peoples’ International (DPI) 8th World Assembly, to be held in Durban, South Africa. Visit their website to learn more: http://www.dpi.org/

2012 Conference notices:

February 13 to 17: The International Mobility Conference will take place in Palmerston North, New Zealand website: www.imc14.com

March 26 & 27: 28th Annual Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability & Diversity "Living to Our Complete Potential" Honolulu, Hawaii, USA www.pacrim.hawaii.edu ; prinfo@hawaii.edu
www.facebook.com/PacRimHawaii

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 will take place in Hyderabad, India. For details go to: http://9ga.iapb.org/

November 10 to 16: WBU’s General Assembly will take place in Bangkok, Thailand. There will be overlapping sessions with the ICEVI (International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment).