WBU E-BULLETIN VOLUME 8, ISSUE 4 - The New Work-plan 2013 to 2016, December 2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents CONTRIBUTIONS OF NEWS TO THE E-BULLETIN 1 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE 5 WBU’S NEW STRATEGIC PLAN 6 WORLD BLIND UNION: WORKPLAN SUMMARY 2013-2016 6 1. STRATEGIC PRIORITY 1: HUMAN RIGHTS AND REPRESENTATION 7 1.1. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1: REPRESENTING BLIND AND PARTIALLY SIGHTED PERSONS AT THE UNITED NATIONS AND RELEVANT UN AGENCIES AT THE GLOBAL AND REGIONAL LEVELS 8 INITIATIVES 8 1.2. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 2: ADVOCATING FOR AND PROMOTING THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF BLIND AND PARTIALLY SIGHTED PERSONS 8 INITIATIVES 8 1.3. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 3: ENGAGING WITH INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS TO PROMOTE THE NEEDS AND VIEWS OF BLIND AND PARTIALLY SIGHTED PERSONS 8 INITIATIVES 9 2. STRATEGIC PRIORITY 2: CAPACITY BUILDING 9 2.1. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1: IMPROVING EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR BLIND AND PARTIALLY SIGHTED PERSONS 9 INITIATIVES 9 2.2. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 2: DEVELOPING THE CAPACITY OF OUR MEMBERS 9 INITIATIVES 10 2.3. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 3: SUPPORTING OUR TARGET POPULATIONS FOR FULL INCLUSION 10 INITIATIVES 10 2.4. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 4: SUPPORTING OUR MEMBERS TO IMPLEMENT AND MONITOR THE CRPD AND OTHER UN INSTRUMENTS AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL. 10 INITIATIVES 11 2.5. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 5: IMPROVING ACCESS TO REHABILITATION SERVICES BY BLIND AND PARTIALLY SIGHTED PERSONS 11 INITIATIVES 11 3. STRTEGIC PRIORITY 3: ACCESSIBILITY 11 3.1. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1: IMPROVING ACCESS TO INFORMATION FOR BLIND AND PARTIALLY SIGHTED PERSONS 11 INITIATIVES 11 3.2. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 2: PROMOTING ACCESS TO LOW AND HIGH TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS FOR BLIND AND PARTIALLY SIGHTED PERSONS 12 INITIATIVES 12 3.3. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 3: PROMOTING FULL ACCESS TO THE ENVIRONMENT FOR BLIND AND PARTIALLY SIGHTED PERSONS INCLUDING SAFE AND INDEPENDENT TRAVEL AND ACCESS TO TRANSPORTATION 12 INITIATIVES 12 4. STRATEGIC PRIORITY 4: INFORMATION SHARING AND COLLABORATION 12 4.1. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1: DEVELOPING AND MAKING AVAILABLE A VARIETY OF RESOURCES TO OUR MEMBERS AND THE PUBLIC THROUGH A VARIETY OF COMMUNICATIONS CHANNELS. 13 INITIATIVES 13 4.2. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 2: DEVELOPING AND STRENGTHENING INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATION 13 INITIATIVES 13 4.3. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 3: PROMOTING AND ADVANCING THE USE OF BRAILLE THROUGH THE WORK OF THE WORLD BRAILLE COUNCIL 13 INITIATIVES 13 5. ENABLING PRIORITY: ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS 14 5.1. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1: SUPPORTING THE MEMBERS OF THE WBU TO OPTIMIZE THEIR REPRESENTATION OF BLIND AND PARTIALLY SIGHTED PERSONS. 14 INITIATIVES 14 5.2. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 2: OVERSEEING WBU FINANCIAL RESOURCES 14 INITIATIVES 14 5.3. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 3: DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING STRATEGIES TO GENERATE RESOURCES TO SUPPORT THE WORK OF THE WBU. 14 INITIATIVES 15 5.4. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 4: UNDERTAKING A REVIEW OF THE WBU STRUCTURE 15 INITIATIVES 15 5.5. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 5: MONITORING AND EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE WBU OPERATIONS TO SUPPORT ITS WORK 15 INITIATIVES 15 UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD 15 UPDATES FROM WORKING GROUPS 17 THE FULL WIPO MARRAKESH TREATY IS AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE UNDER THE RESOURCES SECTION AS WORD & PDF FORMATS. 17 WBU FAQ SHEETS ON UN AND HUMAN RIGHTS INSTRUMENTS 17 ANNOUNCEMENTS 17 BARCELONA2ROME CYCLING TOUR WBU FUNDRAISER 17 RESOURCES 18 EMPLOYMENT RESOURCE LINKS NEEDED: 18 WORLD BRAILLE USAGE 3RD EDITION 18 BOOKSHARE 18 HADLEY CONTINUING EDUCATION 18 AFB ELEARNING CENTRE 19 2014 IMPORTANT DATES/CONFERENCE NOTICES 19 NEWS FROM THE REGIONS 20 AFRICA 21 ASIA 21 ASIA-PACIFIC 21 EUROPE 21 LATIN AMERICA 21 NORTH AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN 21 WBU OFFICERS 21 REGIONAL PRESIDENTS 21 WBU STAFF 22 OUR PLATINUM SPONSORS 22 OUR DIAMOND SPONSORS 23 CONTRIBUTIONS OF NEWS TO THE E-BULLETIN We welcome stories and articles from those from the regions and by those members who wish to share their good news with the rest of the world. Our next deadline for content submission will be January 17, 2014. We accept submissions in English, French, and Spanish, preferably in electronic format. Please send in by the deadline date to: Marianne.mcquillan@wbuoffice.org PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Dear friends, In this bulletin we want to present the new work plan for WBU for the term. The Officers of WBU held their meeting in Sao Paulo, Brazil, at the beginning of October this year. The main point on the agenda was to finalize the work plan. The new plan is ambitious, but it is also realistic. One of the new objectives in the plan is rehabilitation. We know that the number of elderly people in the world will increase in the near future, and a consequence of this will be that the number of blind and partially sighted will also increase. Rehabilitation will therefore be of importance and we need to pay attention to this. The WIPO Treaty, which is a huge victory for us, needs to be followed up. To gain this treaty was the first step, but that is only the start of the work. To implement it and to advocate for ratification is the next step. There will be a meeting in London in February next year where representatives from all regions will attend. This meeting will be of huge importance for the work with the treaty in this term. We have also started the work with planning the next General Assembly in 2016. We have asked for bids for the next General Assembly, and I hope there will be several bids coming in. There are many action points and activities in the new plan. Hopefully, most of them will be carried out and we will achieve our goals. The challenge to reach what we have decided to do might be lack of resources. Therefore it is important that our members are supporting our work. There are still membership fees that are not paid, so I really hope that all our members will try to do their best. I also hope that some of our members can give some additional support. We have a sponsoring program, and my wish for the coming year is that more members can sponsors in this program. I know that you all face the same challenge to get enough funds, but I still hope that some of you also can contribute to the big project, to influence the global organizations to pay more attention to blindness and improve the situation for blind and partially sighted in the world. The CRPD and the WIPO Treaty are both examples which show that this work also improves the situation for visually impaired people on the grass roots level. I take this opportunity to wish you a relaxing holiday and all the best for the coming year! Arnt Holte WBU’S NEW STRATEGIC PLAN We are including in this newsletter the WBU work-plan summary for this current quadrennial 2013 to 2016. This plan holds the key to the priorities for the next 4-year cycle where we will focus our efforts in order to maximize results. We have made adjustments in our committees and working groups to reflect these priorities. This work-plan is also available in our 3 languages on our website under the Our Work section: http://www.worldblindunion.org/English/our-work/strategic-plan/Pages/default.aspx WORLD BLIND UNION: WORKPLAN SUMMARY 2013-2016 Prepared November 2013 INTRODUCTION The following pages contain a summary of the workplan that has been developed to operationalize the WBU Strategic Plan for the current quadrennial term, 2013-2016. The summary includes the Strategic Priorities, Strategic Objectives within each Priority Area, and the Initiatives to be undertaken to progress these objectives. This is a companion document to the more detailed workplan for ease of reference by our WBU members, supporters and members of the public who wish to learn more about our current priorities and initiatives. This summary workplan is available in English, French and Spanish. The full workplan is available in English to anyone who would like a copy of the full document and can be requested from the WBU office at: info@wbuoffice.org. The WBU Officers provide status updates to the workplan at each of their meetings and an annual report, reporting on our progress will be produced and distributed each year, with a full quadrennial report, documenting our progress, to be prepared prior to our General Assembly in 2016. VISION We work within a pyramid vision structure which reflects our Vision of what we would hope to achieve within a twenty year timeframe as well as our Vision for this strategic planning cycle which is four years. Our long term, twenty year Vision is: A community where people who are blind or partially sighted are empowered to participate on an equal basis in any aspect of life they choose. Our short term, four year Vision, has four ladders that together will move us towards the realization of our long term vision. These four Vision ladders are: 1. That WBU is recognized as the authentic voice representing blind and partially sighted persons at the international level 2. That our members at all levels have the capacity and capability to deliver their programs 3. That Blind and Partially Sighted Persons live in a world that is fully accessible to them 4. That the WBU is recognized as an international source of information in matters related to vision impairment WORKPLAN SUMMARY 1. STRATEGIC PRIORITY 1: HUMAN RIGHTS AND REPRESENTATION Priority Leader: Fredric Schroeder, WBU 1st Vice President, fschroeder@sks.com “Promoting full participation and equal opportunities for blind and partially sighted persons in all aspects of social, economic, political and cultural life and ensuring that their voice is heard at the global, regional and national levels in all matters affecting their lives.” 1.1. Strategic Objective 1: Representing Blind and Partially Sighted Persons at the United Nations and relevant UN Agencies at the global and regional levels Objective Leader: Fredric Schroeder, fschroeder@sks.com INITIATIVES • Ensuring adequate representation of blind and partially sighted persons in UN agencies at the global level • Ensuring adequate representation of Blind/Partially sighted persons in UN agencies at the regional level through regional bodies • Influencing the post MDG process in favour of the perspectives of Blind/Partially sighted persons 1.2. Strategic Objective 2: Advocating for and promoting the human rights of blind and partially sighted persons Objective Leader: TBC INITIATIVES • Develop an Advocacy and Human Rights Committee to coordinate and monitor WBU’s human rights and advocacy issues • Advocate for access to mainstream programs for the blind and partially sighted persons • Develop a strategy to provide advocacy support in situations of serious human rights abuses or where blind persons are particularly vulnerable 1.3. Strategic Objective 3: Engaging with international development organizations to promote the needs and views of blind and partially sighted persons Objective Leader: Charles Mossop, charles.mossop@cnib.ca INITIATIVES • Identifying the working group, and the setting of a framework, goals and timelines for the completion of the Objective • Research for the Resource Manual • Preparation of draft 1 of the Resource Manual • Preparation of the final draft of the Resource Manual 2. STRATEGIC PRIORITY 2: CAPACITY BUILDING Priority Leaders: Enrique Pérez, WBU 2nd Vice President, umc@once.es Rina Prasarani, WBU Secretary General, rinalamsyah@gmail.com “Strengthening the capabilities and capacity of the WBU regional structures and member organisations through optimizing strategic partnerships” 2.1. Strategic Objective 1: Improving employment opportunities for blind and partially sighted persons Objective Leader: Maryanne Diamond, maryanne.diamond@visionaustralia.org INITIATIVES • Promote Project Aspiro and keep content current • Encourage employment of persons who are blind and partially sighted at the national level (Resolution 3 from 8th GA) • Work with Regional Employment Committees to Encourage Massage/ Physiotherapy where appropriate (resolution adopted at 8th GA) • Identify opportunities to work with organizations at the international level to improve employment for persons who are blind or have low vision 2.2. Strategic Objective 2: Developing the capacity of our members Objective Leader: Enrique Pérez, umc@once.es INITIATIVES • Foster and strengthen the cooperation and partnership between organizations involved in international development and the WBU Development Committee Chairperson: John Heilbrunn • Analyse and promote relevant CRPD Articles (Article 32) and other UN instruments that can enhance development opportunities for WBU members. • Compilation, development and dissemination of good practice information related to capacity building • Examine the impact of mainstreaming and the cross-disability approaches to development • Development of a fund to facilitate the election, participation and operations of Table Officers from Developing Countries (As per resolution approved by 2012 General Assembly) • Follow up on the implementation of the Disaster and Emergency Preparedness Policy Statement adopted by the WBU in 2011. 2.3. Strategic Objective 3: Supporting our target populations for full inclusion Objective Leader: Rina Prasarani, rinalamsyah@gmail.com INITIATIVES • Developing and implementing a strategy for youth engagement and leadership • Development of an Elderly persons strategy to build on work began during last term and to ensure that our work and that of our members also reflects the needs of older persons with vision loss • Facilitate networks for specific target groups such as: women, youth, children/parents, older persons, low vision persons, indigenous persons; • Monitor engagement and involvement of diverse populations in WBU work and structures 2.4. Strategic Objective 4: Supporting our members to implement and monitor the CRPD and other UN instruments at the National level. Objective Leader: Fredric Schroeder, fschroeder@sks.com INITIATIVES • Ensuring effective implementation of CRPD at the national level through appropriate monitoring mechanism • Enhancing access to information through the promotion of WIPO Treaty • Promoting Universal Postal Union Convention to improve access to postal services • Engaging selected human rights treaty bodies for influencing their actions and processes 2.5. Strategic Objective 5: Improving access to rehabilitation services by blind and partially sighted persons Objective Leader: Carl Augusto, AFB, caugusto@afb.net INITIATIVES • Develop WBU position statement/policy paper on CBR guidelines • Define the rehab issues facing newly blind persons, and determine the extent to which blind persons have access to rehab at the country level 3. STRTEGIC PRIORITY 3: ACCESSIBILITY Priority Leader: Ajai Kumar Mittal, WBU Treasurer, akmittal@rediffmail.com , mittal24ak@yahoo.co.in “Working towards a world that is fully accessible to blind and partially sighted persons” 3.1. Strategic Objective 1: Improving Access to Information for blind and partially sighted persons Objective Leader: Maryanne Diamond, maryanne.diamond@visionaustralia.org INITIATIVES • Achieving a WIPO Treaty for the print Disability community • Ratifying the WIPO treaty • Operationalizing the treaty • Advocate for increasing accessible information for persons who are blind or partially sighted 3.2. Strategic Objective 2: Promoting access to low and high technology solutions for blind and partially sighted persons Objective Leader: Kevin Carey, kevin.carey@rnib.org.uk INITIATIVES • Institute and consolidate access to television through audio description • Institute and consolidate access to mobile telecommunications through text-to-speech technology. • Investigate and influence the regulatory framework for access to financial services. • Influence the design of core technologies that affect such lifestyle activities as travel, shopping, managing money and reading • Develop an alternative format production toolkit for developing countries including braille, modified print and simple architecture for text-to-speech • Transform access to braille through the development of low cost refreshable braille displays 3.3. Strategic Objective 3: Promoting full access to the environment for blind and partially sighted persons including safe and independent travel and access to transportation Objective Leader: Martine Abel-Williamson, Martine.Abel@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz INITIATIVES • Silent car strategy • Air travel issues strategy • Barrier free/ universal design strategy • Strategy on shared spaces 4. STRATEGIC PRIORITY 4: INFORMATION SHARING AND COLLABORATION Priority Leader: Maryanne Diamond, WBU Past President, maryanne.diamond@visionaustralia.org “Serving as an international information and resource focal point on matters in respect of blind and partially sighted persons and enhancing our ability to achieve our priorities through collaboration with others.” 4.1. Strategic Objective 1: Developing and making available a variety of resources to our members and the public through a variety of communications channels. Objective Leader: Penny Hartin, penny.hartin@wbuoffice.org INITIATIVES • Updating and improving the WBU website • Updating and development of WBU position statements and resource papers • Utilize social media to reach more audiences • Update methods for communicating with members, others 4.2. Strategic Objective 2: Developing and strengthening international partnerships and collaboration Objective Leader: Maryanne Diamond, maryanne.diamond@visionaustralia.org INITIATIVES • Fostering and enhancing existing partnerships and collaborations • Identify new partnerships and develop plans of collaboration 4.3. Strategic Objective 3: Promoting and advancing the use of braille through the work of the World Braille Council Objective Leader: Pete Osborne, Pete.Osborne@rnib.org.uk INITIATIVES • To Preserve Our Braille Heritage • To support the continued development of affordable Braille technologies to transform the use of Braille throughout the world • To further develop International Braille Music Notation • To further consolidate Braille codes where possible 5. ENABLING PRIORITY: ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS Priority Leader: Arnt Holte, WBU President, Arnt.Holte@blindeforbundet.no “Ensuring the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of the WBU” 5.1. Strategic Objective 1: Supporting the members of the WBU to optimize their representation of blind and partially sighted persons. Objective Leader: Rina Prasarani, rinalamsyah@gmai.com INITIATIVES • Develop and implement strategies to work with members that are having difficulty fulfilling WBU membership requirements • Monitor revised application process as modified in Constitutional amendments • Develop strategy to identify potential members in countries that currently are not members of the WBU • Maintaining regular communications with WBU members 5.2. Strategic Objective 2: Overseeing WBU financial resources Objective Leader: A.K. Mittal, akmittal@rediffmail.com, mittal24ak@yahoo.co.in INITIATIVES • Preparation and Review of Financial Documents • Managing the Membership Fee Process • Review and development of financial policies and procedures • Monitoring the financial health of WBU 5.3. Strategic Objective 3: Developing and implementing strategies to generate resources to support the work of the WBU. Objective Leader: Arnt Holte, Arnt.Holte@blindeforbundet.no INITIATIVES • Engage WBU members to help generate the resources required to meet WBU’s financial obligations and implement our priority projects • Fundraising from member countries • Develop & provide fund development workshops to build capacity of members • Creating fund development templates to use for securing support 5.4. Strategic Objective 4: Undertaking a review of the WBU structure Objective Leader: Arnt Holte, Arnt.Holte@blindeforbundet.no INITIATIVES • Review and analyze present WBU structure at international and regional levels • Identification of Options and preparation of recommendation for EXCO meeting • Develop and implement plan for taking structure recommendation to the General Assembly in 2016 5.5. Strategic Objective 5: Monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the WBU operations to support its work Objective Leader: Arnt Holte, Arnt.Holte@blindeforbundet.no INITIATIVES • Plan and implement the 9th General Assembly to be held in 2016 • Management of WBU staff and WBU office operations • Managing and monitoring the Strategic Planning Process • Review and development of policies and procedures for effective operations End of the strategic work plan. UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD As you know, there was a super typhoon, Typhoon Haiyan that devastated a huge area of the Philippines. WBU Asia-Pacific Region President, Michiko Tabata has been in regular contact with Randy Weisser of the organization, Resources for the Blind in Manila to get updates of the blind people most affected by this natural disaster. Randy let us know his group has been to the affected area to assess the short-term and long-term needs of the families and schools. His reports are available to read (in English only) on our website under the News section: http://www.worldblindunion.org/English/news/Pages/How-Typhoon-Haiyan-affected-disabled-people.aspx People wishing to help can support Resources for the Blind by making direct donations: www.blind.org.ph We Thank Our Friends As the year draws to an end we would be remiss if we did not thank all our members and people within these organizations who volunteer their time and talents to make the work of the WBU a reality, and who have helped us accomplish so much. We appreciate all who sit on our committees and working groups and value those who lend their expertise to make these groups provide results that improve the lives of millions of blind and visually impaired people all over the world. We have accomplished a lot in most of our priority areas such as technology, ensuring new electronics are made with accessibility features built in. We also advocate to make disability a recognized concern for the new UN post 2015 development goals. A huge task that took almost a decade of people’s time finally came to fruition: the international copyright treaty for books, now known as the Marrakesh Treaty is an international legal decree that when implemented will ensure greater access to books for millions of people. Focusing on the Right to Work campaign, partnering with CNIB and with financial backing from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, we created a website called Project Aspiro: http://projectaspiro.com/en/Pages/default.aspx to assist those who have the desire to further their skills and access resources to make the job-hunt a smoother process. As the recognized Voice of the Blind, we make our Table officers, region presidents and other experts available to the UN and its various departments so that the current world issues being faced are dealt with keeping the needs of blind and disabled persons in mind in shaping policies and programs. The work of implementing the articles in the UN CRPD is a constant task. With the generous financial support of CBM, we have been able to make an expert, Dr. Victor Cordeiro, available to our members to help them navigate this charter in order to understand each of the rights in order to effectively act on each article of the document. With these new skills plans can be implemented at the local government levels that will vastly improve the lives of millions of disabled citizens. We have much to be proud of and therefore, we are thankful to our members who support the WBU by paying their fees in full and on time, and we appreciate those special member organizations that provide even greater support with financial contributions made to WBU in addition to their membership fees. We also have a small cadre of individuals and foundations that choose to support the work of WBU, knowing we advance human rights all over the world. Without this additional financial support, we may not be able to be as effective as we have been in all of these fields. We will be focusing more in this area to increase support from foundations and organizations outside our membership base. UPDATES FROM WORKING GROUPS The full WIPO Marrakesh Treaty is available on our website under the Resources section as Word & PDF formats. http://www.worldblindunion.org/English/resources/Pages/WIPO-Marrakesh-Treaty-2013.aspx WBU FAQ Sheets on UN and Human Rights Instruments They will soon be located on the WBU website under Our Work section on the CRPD page. These will be up to read and use in 2014. ANNOUNCEMENTS Barcelona2Rome Cycling Tour WBU Fundraiser We are grateful to John Watkins and his team of dedicated cyclists who managed to ride from Barcelona Spain, to Rome Italy (a distance of 1,100 miles) over a three-week period from September 14 finishing on October 4. They did so in support of the World Blind Union’s Right to Read (R2R) campaign. The R2R was established to combat the book famine faced by people with limited vision around the world. We are also grateful to our local members, ONCE in Spain and Unione Italiana Ciechi, and the wonderful staff who helped John and his team gain local media attention. You can still donate to this event and help John make his fundraising goal by visiting the Barcelona2Rome website http://barcelona2rome.com/. RESOURCES Employment resource links needed: WBU asks all of our members who have employment resources information or an employment section on their websites, to send these links to Marianne McQuillan (Marianne.mcquillan@wbuoffice.org) so she can add these to our WBU website as part of our Right to Work campaign. This will help blind and visually impaired people in their search for information to help them gain the skills and knowledge needed to become employed. World Braille Usage 3rd Edition It is available to read or download from our website, under the Braille section in Resources: http://www.worldblindunion.org/English/resources/Pages/Braille-Information.aspx or it can also be accessed on the Perkins website: http://www.perkins.org/assets/downloads/worldbrailleusage/world-braille-usage-third-edition.pdf Bookshare Bookshare has been a great partner in our Right 2 Read campaign and CEO, Jim Fruchterman was in Morocco during the Marrakesh Treaty negotiations. Once the treaty is signed and ratified in the USA, Bookshare will be able to provide even more of their inventory to thousands more blind men, women and children around the world. https://www.bookshare.org/ Hadley Continuing Education What are your education goals for 2014? Willing to try an on-line course? If you like the idea of distance learning, look at Hadley School for the Blind’s website to see the adult continuing education (ACE) courses they offer and consider learning Braille. Hadley courses are free to blind or visually impaired men and women, and parents of blind children. Here is the link to their catalogue to learn more: http://www.hadley.edu/ACE-CourseListing.asp AFB eLearning Centre The AFB eLearning Center; as a long-time leader in the arena of professional development for vision loss specialists, AFB is now offering webinars on cutting-edge topics from some of the most reputable names in the field. Busy professionals in the blindness and low vision fields can access this familiar resource with a new look and even more robust offerings. All webinars and online courses are accessible and user-friendly. To explore AFB's ever-growing collection of eLearning offerings, visit eLearn.afb.org or email eLearning@afb.net 2014 IMPORTANT DATES/CONFERENCE NOTICES January 4th – World Braille Day – held on this day to honour Louis Braille, this day focuses on the need for braille as a tool that enables blind people to gain the skills of reading and writing in order to learn and connect to the world. Be sure to let us know how your school or organization will be celebrating this important day. February 27 to March 1st AFB Leadership Conference in NYC The 2014 American Foundation for the Blind’s at the Brooklyn Bridge Marriott. Conference attendees can join colleagues new and old for three days of informative and thought-provoking sessions led by leaders in the field. Visit www.afb.org/afblc for the latest information on this conference that draws hundreds of professionals from across the country and around the world. March 31st to April 4th, 2014 -the next Low Vision Conference will be in Melbourne, Australia. Website to register or learn more about this conference: http://www.vision2014.org/ May 5 to 7th 2014 - The Foundation for Employment Promotion of the Blind and the Thailand Association of the Blind invites you to the 12th WBU-AP Massage Seminar in Bangkok. The theme of the seminar is “Medical Massage for the Blind”. You will have opportunity to meet and exchange your experiences with experts and specialists in the field of massage from more than ten countries. Please visit the website www.wbuapseminar2014.org for more information. July 4 to 8th 2014- The Lions International Conference will be held in Toronto, Canada. WBU along with the Vision Alliance (ICEVI & IAPB) intend to have an active presence during this event by hosting a Vision Alliance information booth and providing a keynote speaker(s), and holding workshops pertaining to our key priorities for the 1000+ Lions who will attend from all around the world. Let us know if you are a Lion and/or would like to help us with this important initiative. Please contact Penny.Hartin@wbuoffice.org as planning for this will begin early in 2014. July 30 to August 3rd - AER International Conference 2014, in San Antonio, Texas, and will draw participants from around the world for an intense educational experience for professionals who work with those who are blind and visually impaired. Sessions on assistive technology, education, aging & blindness, low vision, vision rehabilitation therapy, multiple disabilities, and much more will be presented. Visit www.aerbvi.org regularly for updates. October 12 -17th - 6TH IDP AFRICA FORUM - The Institutional Development Program (IDP) is pleased to announce the 6th Africa Forum will be held in Kampala, Uganda. It will focus on a new development agenda for African blindness services beyond the UN Millennium Development Goals. This is a joint programs generously sponsored by Sightsavers, Perkins International and the WBU, along with NAPB & CNIB. Details will be provided on the website: http://www.perkins.org/idp/ later in 2014. October 19- 22nd - The 1st World Summit of Destinations for All -aims to establish an international strategy to develop inclusive tourism. The event will take place in Montreal, Canada at the Palais des congrès. Tourism for all is not only a question of human rights, but it is also a target market that investors should consider. For more information link to their website: www.destinationspourtous2014.com NEWS FROM THE REGIONS Our regions are the bridge between the international level of work and the local level. Policies and treaties constructed at global levels are then carried out by our members in their own countries. Most of the regions have their own websites where they post updates of their work, member activities, and upcoming events in their area. AFRICA http://www.afub-uafa.org/ ASIA http://www.abunion.org ASIA-PACIFIC http://wbuap.org/index/ EUROPE http://www.euroblind.org/ LATIN AMERICA http://ulacdigital.org/ Hosted the latest meeting of the WBU tale officers… NORTH AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN (No website available, updates will be provided in the January edition) WBU OFFICERS Mr. Arnt Holte, President arnt.holte@blindeforbundet.no Dr. Frederic K. Schroeder, 1st Vice President fschroeder@sks.com Mr. Enrique Pérez, 2nd Vice President EPB@once.es Mrs. Rina Prasarani, Secretary General rinalamsyah@gmail.co Mr. A. K. Mittal, Treasurer akmittal@rediffmail.com Ms. Maryanne Diamond, Immediate Past President maryanne.diamond@visionaustralia.org REGIONAL PRESIDENTS AFRICA (AFUB) Mr. Jace Nair jace@sancb.org.za ASIA (ABU) Mr. Santosh Kumar Rungta santoshkumar.rungta@gmail.com ASIA PACIFIC (WBU-AP) Ms. Michiko Tabata tabacchi@par.odn.ne.jp EUROPE (EBU) Mr. Wolfgang Angerman w.angermann@dbsv.org LATIN AMERICA (ULAC) Mr. Volmir Raimondi presidencia@ulacdigital.org NORTH AMERICA/CARIBBEAN (WBU-NA/C) Mr. Charles Mossop charles.mossop@cnib.ca WBU STAFF Dr. Penny Hartin, Chief Executive Officer penny.hartin@wbuoffice.org Ms. Marianne McQuillan, Manager, Fund Development & Communications Marianne.mcquillan@wbuoffice.org Ms. Ianina Rodriguez, Administrative Assistant Ianina.rodriguez@wbuoffice.org Dr. Victor Cordeiro, Advocacy Coordinator adco.wbu@gmail.com The World Blind Union is registered in Canada as a charitable organization in order to raise funds for our work. Donations from individuals or groups are always appreciated and can be made via the “Donate Now” button on our website: www.worldblindunion.org. The members listed below provide funds, beyond their membership fees to support the work of the World Blind Union. We are grateful to these members for their valued contributions. OUR PLATINUM SPONSORS  Royal National Institute of Blind Persons (RNIB) www.rnib.org  Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) http://www.cnib.ca  Organizacion Nacional de Ciegos Españoles (ONCE) http://www.once.es  Vision Australia http://www.visionaustralia.org.au/  Sightsavers International http://www.sightsavers.org OUR DIAMOND SPONSORS  Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind  Norwegian Association of the Blind and Partially Sighted (NABP)  Swiss Federation of the Blind and Sight Impaired (SFB)  National Industries for the Blind (NIB)