EAST WIND No. 14
EAST WIND No. 14
Official Newsletter of the World Blind Union-Asia Pacific
Please visit the World Blind Union-Asia Pacific website!
www.wbuap.org
Contents of this issue:
Greetings from the Editorial Team
To all Delegates, Honorary Life Members and Friends of the World Blind
Union-Asia Pacific (WBUAP):
News From the WBUAP Board & Policy Council
Call for Proposals – Presentation at Youth Forum of the WBUAP Mid-
Term Regional General Assembly 2014
The 12th World Blind Union Asia-Pacific massage seminar
5-7 May 2014, Golden Tulip Sovereign Hotel, Bangkok
The 2nd Thailand International Blind Music Festival
The 19th National Braille Reading and Writing Contest, the 1st
International Braille Reading and Writing Contest and the 6th Marathon
Braille Reading Contest
Review of the Communication Tools of the WBUAP: Outcome of a
Brainstorming Meeting
Innovative RSB project steals the limelight
RSB shares knowledge with job-readiness program
RSB develops adaptive technology training program
Contact details
Greetings from the Editorial
Team
This issue of East Wind contains
news from around the World Blind
Union Asia-Pacific (WBUAP) Region in
particular news from the WBUAP
Board and Policy Council and
information on the forthcoming
WBUAP Mid-Term General Assembly.
In addition, we have made some
recommendations to improve
communication tools in the region. Do
let us know what you feel about our
ideas.
We like to hear from you. Feel free
to contact anyone of us to share your
comments and feedback. Our contact
information can be found at the end of
this publication.
Happy reading.
Editorial Team
******
To all Delegates, Honorary Life
Members and Friends of the
World Blind Union-Asia Pacific
(WBUAP):
Dear All,
ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE
SECRETARY-GENERAL
Greetings to you from your Board
and Policy Council (BPC), and we
hope this issue finds you in good
health and high spirits.
Here is some information we want to
share with you, and some requests for
which we are asking for your co-
operation:
Country Reports:
One of the main highlights of the
Mid-Term Regional Assembly is the
presentation of Country Reports.
Realising this, your BPC will make
more time available for questions and
answers. Please start preparing your
reports but make them brief and
informative on your achievements,
successes and challenges. Send your
reports in electronic format to the
Secretary General at least 60 days
before the Assembly for circulation.
Revision of the Constitution:
As members were informed last
year, your BPC is revising the
Constitution of the WBUAP and will be
presenting it at the MRGA. We are
inviting you to join in the exercise by
submitting your amendments and
suggestions to reach the Secretary
General by the end of July. We will
collate your amendments into one
document to be circulated 45 days
before the Assembly. You can access
the Constitution on the WBUAP
website.
The Silent Auction:
In an effort to raise some funds for
WBUAP to carry out more activities,
Dr. Kevin Murfitt, Treasurer and Chair
of the Committee on Resource
Generation, will be organising a Silent
Auction during the Gala Dinner at the
MRGA. He is requesting all delegates
and members to bring along items of
cultural significance (useful or
decorative) and donate them to
WBUAP. Someone at the auction table
will record your bid, and the highest
bidder will get the item at the cut-off
time. Do help to make this event a
success. If you have ideas to help
WBUAP get more funds, do please
pass them on to us.
Delegates' Information Update:
It will be very much appreciated if
you will kindly update the information
of your delegates and have it sent to
the Secretary General without delay.
The details needed are: Names of
delegates, designation, organisations
they belong to, address, phone
numbers and emails.
Closing Date for Receiving
Proposals and Resolutions:
All proposals and resolutions to be
tabled at the MRGA should reach the
Secretary General at least 60 days
before the MRGA. We appeal to you to
send them to us before mid-
September.
Please help to circulate this
information to as many persons as
possible, and encourage them to
attend the MRGA - our great event of
the year.
Thank you.
With best wishes,
(Ivan Ho Tuck Choy),
Secretary General,
World Blind Union-Asia Pacific
******
News From the WBUAP Board
& Policy Council
Hello Everyone,
Your Board and Policy Council met
in Bangkok from 3 - 4 May 2014, and
among some of the matters discussed
and decisions made were the
following:
1. The Mid-Term Regional General
Assembly:
As advised in the May Circular, the
Hong Kong Blind Union is the host and
the Assembly will run from 21 - 24
November 2014 at the Cyberport 3
convention site. The Youth and
Women's Fora will take place on the
afternoon of 21 November, and the
Welcome Reception in the evening.
The business sessions of the mid-term
regional assembly (MRGA) will begin
on 22 November, to be followed by the
various informative and useful
workshops, and, of course, the Gala
Dinner. Remember, Hong Kong is a
very busy port, so do not miss the
boat! Register immediately by visiting
the website www.wbuapga 2014.org or
email to enquiry@wbuapga2014.org
The organisers are also looking to
sponsor 30 youths with innovative
ideas for projects; so do not miss the
opportunity. Please read the article on
the WBUAP Mid Term General
Assembly for more information.
For those who are preparing their
country reports, please go to
http://wbuap.org/index/archives/749
to
access the template.
2. Seeing is Believing (SIB)
Project:
The Committee on Employment and
Economic Empowerment (CEEE),
headed by Mr. Andrew Daly, made an
application through the Royal Society
for the Blind for $180,000 from the
Seeing is Believing Fund of Standard
Chartered Bank. They were only
successful in securing a $60,000 grant
for a pilot project to run an Equipment
Loan Scheme. After some hard
decisions, Malaysia was chosen to run
the pilot project. If this should prove
successful, StanChart has indicated it
could consider giving another
$120,000 to start similar projects in
Thailand and Vietnam.
Arising from this Project, the
National Council for the Blind,
Malaysia (NCBM) running the SIB
Project, organised a Job Preparedness
Workshop from 24 - 26 June 2014. It
was conducted by Mr. Brian Dibbins,
an employment consultant of RSB with
long experience in this field. Due to
budgetary constraints, NCBM was only
able to invite some participants from
the ASEAN countries.
3. Support for NVDA:
The Committee on ICT and Assistive
Technologies, under the Chair of Mr.
Neil Jarvis, expressed its appreciation
to the staff of RSB and Dr. Frances
Gentle for having written the training
matterial on the Non-Visual Desktop
Application (NVDA) as a superb
example of a quality training resource.
CICTAT hoped this resource material
could be translated into other
languages so that more blind people in
this region will have access to ICT.
NVDA is free and open-source
screen reading software developed by
NV-'access, a not-for-profit
organisation run by Mr. Michael Curran
and Mr. James Teh of Australia.
NVDA is endorsed by WBU which, at
its 8th General Assembly in 2012,
collected over $40,000 and donated to
NV-'access to make PowerPoint
accessible using this software. This
task has been completed and it is
working very satisfactorily. To further
support the work of NV-'access, the
Nippon Foundation is this year
sponsoring the employment of an
administrator to allow the two software
developers to concentrate on their
research work. Also, the Thailand
Association of the Blind at their April
National Convention, donated $22,000
to NV-‘access to support its effort in
continuing to make this software free
and open-source.
Is your organisation promoting the
use of NVDA or are you still spending
huge sums of money to purchase
expensive screen-reader software?
For more information, read the article
on this subject appearing elsewhere in
the East Wind or contact Mr. Andrew
Daly at
adaly@rsb.org.au
concerning
the resource material.
4. Membership Matters:
As a result of several visits to
Beijing and Macau by Mr. Chong
Chan-Yau, the President of HKBU,
The Macau organisation of the Blind
has been admitted into WBU with one
delegate. This was made possible
when the China Association of the
Blind (CAB), under the leadership of
Mr. Li Weihong, its President, agreed
to give up another of its remaining six
votes. The other four votes were
previously given to Hong Kong and
Taiwan.
We welcome Mr. Albert Cheong,
President, and members of the Macau
People with Visually Impaired Right
Promotion Association (MPVIPA) into
the fold of WBU and WBUAP. Let us
get to know more about your
organisation, and let us work together
for the progress of the blind and
partially sighted in the region.
In the meantime, Dr. Kevin Murfitt
has reported that Tonga and Vanuatu
have applied to WBU for membership,
Kiribati is being encouraged to follow
suit, and Samoa is being helped to re-
activate their membership. Mr. Kua
Cheng Hock, a former president of
WBUAP, is also helping to sort out the
membership fee of Brunei. Attempts
are being made to visit North Korea to
encourage the blind people there to
form an organisation.
5. Sharing Joy with Neighbouring
Countries:
The Thailand Association of the
Blind (TAB) has been very active in the
region this year. In January they
hosted the 1st Thailand International
English Reading Competition at the
side-lines of their 19th National
Reading Competition. The participating
countries were Malaysia, Singapore
and Vietnam, and TAB sponsored
each contingent of 4 contestants and
an escort, including their airfares.
In April, TAB again organised the
2nd ASEAN Community Blind Forum
for the youths to exchange ideas. They
sponsored 15 participants from 6
countries - Laos, Vietnam, Philippines,
Singapore and Malaysia to the event.
TAB also organised a music festival
in early January and they received 105
applications. Due to the political unrest
in the country, TAB was only able to
accept 10 bands, but they hoped to
increase the participation next year. It
is the vision of Mr. Torpong Selanon,
President of TAB, that the music
festival should eventually encourage
blind singers and musicians to turn
their hobbies into enterprises.
6. Will This Dream Ever Come
True:
A Brainstorming Workshop was
organised by the Editorial Board to
review the present communication
tools used by the Region, particularly
with the WBUAP Website which was
set up with the financial assistance
from Danish International
Development Agency (DANIDA). The
Workshop was held in Kuala Lumpur
from 3 - 4 March 2014 and was funded
by the DANIDA Project. Some of the
recommendations put forward were:
a) That the WBUAP Website be re-
designed to provide clear text-based
information accessible by blind and
partially sighted users, with
complementary graphic contents for
sighted users. To this end, the tabs to
include new features, such as: About
Us, Our Stories, Activities and
Programmes in the Region, Tourism
and Travel in the Region, Funding
Applications, Individual Scholarships,
Writing Proposals, etc.
b) Introduce a mobile version of the
WBUAP Website that can be accessed
via mobile devices, such as smart
phones which are becoming more
common these days.
c) Set up an Internet Radio channel
to be integrated into the WBUAP
Website as a communication tool
across the Region. Information can be
streamed live or pre-recorded from
each country via the Internet for free or
via a paid server on a rotation basis.
Information can be uploaded onto the
Internet Radio with country-specific
contents in local languages using free
software. Each country will be
encouraged to take turns to produce
informative and relevant programmes
according to guidelines to be drawn
up.
It is hoped that with the introduction
of the Internet Radio station, every
country will have the opportunity to
showcase their services, tell their
success stories, conduct interviews
with leaders and promising youths,
promote their cultures and music. If
this dream can be realised, it will open
doors to many possibilities - training on
broadcasting, interest in journalism,
music promotion and audio description
of interesting tourist spots in each
other's country. Of course, there are
great hurdles to overcome, but we
must be brave to dream big to move
forward. What are your thoughts on
this Internet Radio proposition?
7. A New DANIDA Project:
Phase two of the three-year Project
which was begun in 2011 with Laos
and Mongolia had ended in December
2013. With some money left over for
minor activities, known as the No-Cost
Extension Fund, a meeting was
convened in Bangkok from 21 - 23
February to draft an application of
about $3 million for the third phase of
the Capacity Building of Organisations
of the Blind and Partially Sighted in the
Developing Countries of the WBUAP
Region. As recommended by WBUAP,
Myanmar will be included as the third
country apart from Mongolia and Laos.
Present at the meeting were
representatives from Myanmar,
Mongolia, Laos, Denmark and
WBUAP.
The application requires a huge
volume of documentation which must
go through the Disabled People's
Organisation in Denmark (which the
Danish Association of the Blind is a
member), and be assessed by external
consultants. If everything goes
according to plan, the application will
then go to DANIDA and the result
should be known around September
2014.
Prepared by:
(Ivan Ho Tuck Choy),
Secretary General, WBUAP.
******
Call for Proposals –
Presentation at Youth Forum
of the WBUAP Mid-Term
Regional General Assembly
2014
The Organizing Committee of the
WBUAP Mid-Term Regional General
Assembly 2014 is inviting vision
impaired young people in the Asia
Pacific region to attend and submit
innovative proposals for presentation
at the Youth Forum.
The Forum will be held on 21
November 2014 to mark the beginning
of the General Assembly. We are
pleased to invite Ms Sabriye
Tenberken, founder of a Training
Centre for blind people in Tibet and
Braille Without Borders to share with
us her extraordinary personal
experience. Moreover, there will be
presentations of outstanding projects
proposed by vision impaired young
people and a roundtable discussion to
brainstorm recommendations to
WBUAP and governments in the
region for promoting equal opportunity
and the building of an inclusive
society.
This is a great opportunity for young
people with vision impairment in the
region to exchange opinions and share
their innovative ideas and dreams. It
also serves as a platform to link up the
projects with the resources required as
potential funders will be invited to
attend the event. Writers of 30
outstanding proposals will be
sponsored to participate in the General
Assembly. Deadline for submission is
31 July 2014.
For further information or enquiries,
please feel free to contact Ms. Ashley
Wong at
enquiry@wbuapga2014.org
or visit
http://www.wbuapga2014.org/en_news_details.php?id=6
******
The 12th World Blind Union
Asia-Pacific massage seminar
5-7 May 2014, Golden Tulip
Sovereign Hotel, Bangkok
Bangkok has built up its profile in
hosting international meetings for the
blind for the second time in two years.
In November 2012, it successfully
hosted the 8th General Assembly of
the World Blind Union and the
International Council for Education of
People with Visual Impairment
Conference (WBU-ICEVI 2012),
attracting more than 1,000 delegates
hosted by Thailand Association of the
Blind led by senator Monthian Buntan.
During 5-7 May, 2014, it contributed
again to the meeting of the World Blind
Union Asia-Pacific by hosting the 12th
World Blind Union Asia-Pacific
massage seminar. Held under the
theme “Medical Massage for the
Blind”, the aim of the seminar was to
promote massage among the blind as
a sustainable profession for therapy
and treatment, to promote traditional
Thai massage internationally and
exchange knowledge about massage
among the blind from Asia-Pacific
countries as a part of a contribution to
better quality of life for the blind.
Hosted by the Foundation for the
Employment Promotion of the Blind
and co-hosted by Thailand
Association of the Blind, the event was
attended by around 300 vision
impaired persons involved in massage
from Asia-Pacific countries like China,
Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Myanmar,
Vietnam, Malaysia, Mongolia, the
Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and
Thailand. This was the first time that
participants from India attended this
seminar. The seminar comprised of
the dissemination of academic
knowledge exchanges and research in
massage therapy, massage business
models and treatment of physical
disease by massage, and exhibitions
on massage.
To give the seminar a touch of real
life, massage demonstrations by
massage therapists from Thailand,
China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan in the
treatment of specific areas of the body,
such as shoulder, joint, neck, arm,
spine were on offer as a means to
widen knowledge base about massage
among interested participants.
One key element that made this
seminar a real success was a troupe
of volunteers from a number of
volunteer organizations in Thailand.
They helped the blind delegates
throughout the seminar. The
volunteers assisted delegates from
Bangkok International Airport and Don
Muang airport, and around the
accommodation and seminar venue.
They accompanied the blind to site
visits and around the venue. A manual
on how to work efficiently with the blind
was produced and published for the
volunteers to study so that they could
assist the delegates effectively.
Mr. Pecharat Techavachara,
President of the Foundation for the
Employment Promotion of the Blind
and Chairman of the Local Organizing
Committee of the 12th WBUAP
Massage Seminar, said that, apart
from the spirit of volunteers in
Thailand, this seminar became
possible because of the full support
from relevant government agencies.
They were the National Office for
Empowerment of Persons with
Disabilities under the Ministry of Social
Development and Human Security, the
Department for Development of Thai
Traditional and Alternative Medicine
under the Ministry of Public Health and
the Thailand Convention and
Exhibition Bureau (TCEB).
Thailand was a core and key body in
establishing the World Blind Union
Asia-Pacific (WBUAP) under the World
Blind Union, whose mission is to raise
the awareness on the capabilities of
the blind and to advance their well-
being. Thailand was the host of the
first General Assembly of the World
Blind Union Asia-Pacific in 2001 where
the constitution of the organization was
drafted. It is also a country famed
internationally for traditional Thai
massage, which is found in spa
treatment services offered by leading
hotels in all major cities. Massage is
also a common profession of the blind
in Thailand who need to take the test
on technical know-how and practical
exercises to be certified for the job by
the Ministry of Public Health.
******
The Second Thailand
International Blind Music
Festival
Following the first Thailand
International Blind Music Festival held
in 2012, Thailand Association of the
Blind held the second Thailand
International Blind Music Festival
under the theme “Breathing in the
Dark”. The event was held between
14-15 December 2013 and 14
February 2014. During 14-15
December 2013, the event was held in
the Santichaiprakarn Park in Bangkok
whereas the event on 14 February
2014 was held in Chiang Mai province,
located in the northern part of the
country. Various blind musicians and
singers participated in the event, both
from Thailand and abroad. The
international bands taking part were:
Sebastiao Antunes from Portugal;
Fortissimo from Indonesia; Phalung
Chai from Lao and AYDD Show from
Cambodia. Besides, there were Thai
musicians and singers such as the
Ionion, CMBLIND BAND (a band from
Chiang Mai School for the Blind),
Lampang Blind Music and 555. At the
festival, apart from the concert, there
were also booths demonstrating
various activities of blind people such
as coffee-making, Thai blind massage
and fortune telling. The event drew
attention from the general public. We
are looking forward to holding the 3rd
Thailand International Blind Music
Festival which will show to the public
that we can create friendships without
borders through music.
******
The 19th National Braille
Reading and Writing Contest,
the first International Braille
Reading and Writing Contest
and the sixth Marathon Braille
Reading Contest
Between 17-19 January 2014, the
Thailand Association of the Blind
together with the Ratchasuda College,
Mahidol University held the 19th
National Braille Reading and Writing
Contest, the first International Braille
Reading and Writing Contest and the
sixth Marathon Braille Reading
Contest at the campus of Ratchasuda
College, Mahidol University. The event
started with the 19th National Braille
Reading and Writing Contest on 17
January 2014. There were 200
contestants from around the country,
both students and blind adults. There
were individual reading contests, team
reading and writing contests. The
winners of every contest received a
plaque from HRH Princess Maha
Chakri Sirindhorn. The aim of this
contest was to encourage blind people
to continually practice reading and
writing Braille.
The first International Braille
Reading and Writing Contest was held
on 18 January 2014. In this first year,
there were 25 contestants from four
countries; namely, Malaysia,
Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand.
There were individual reading and
writing contests for those under 25
years and those who are above 25
years old. Contestants from all four
countries performed excellently and
were able to win in either the reading
or writing contests.
The marathon Braille reading
contest took place following the
international Braille reading and writing
contest in the afternoon of 18 January.
The winner of this year’s marathon
Braille reading contest was a young
lady called Arphorn Chanthila who was
able to read Braille for 38 hours!
******
Review of the Communication
Tools of the WBUAP: Outcome
of a Brainstorming Meeting
WBUAP Editorial Board
As part of the capacity building of
organisations of the blind and vision
impaired (BVI) in developing countries
of the World Blind Union Asia-Pacific
(WBUAP) Region project, the WBUAP
Editorial Board (EB) met on 3 and 4
March 2014 at the offices of the
National Council for the Blind,
Malaysia to review the current
methods of communication used by
the WBUAP and to suggest better
ways in which information about the
WBUAP’s activities and other
blindness-related material can be
shared across the region. This
brainstorming meeting was financially
supported by the Danish Association
of the Blind (DAB), and the Danish
International Development Agency
(DANIDA), to whom the EB express
deep gratitude. At the meeting, the
WBUAP Secretary General and the
members of the EB reviewed the
region’s current communication tools
and developed recommendations to
improve the sharing of information for
BVI people, agencies for the blind and
other stakeholders interested in the
work of the WBUAP.
The following recommendations
were made, which are summarised
below.
The WBUAP Website
The EB believes that the WBUAP
website is a key communication tool,
but recommends that its content be
updated and its structure changed so
that it will appeal more widely to BVI
people in the Asia-Pacific region,
blindness sector organisations,
donors, other sponsors and
stakeholders and national and regional
government representatives. In order
to attract users to the website, its
content needs to be relevant and
timely, promoting current events and
information, and highlighting the work
of the WBUAP and its members. The
EB proposed that the website be
redesigned so that content can be
more easily found, and to ensure that it
complies with WCAG2 guidelines for
web accessibility.
Ideas proposed for new links and
content included:
• About us;
• Our stories;
• Programs and activities happening in the region;
• Tourism and travel in the region;
• Funding Applications, submissions, individual scholarships, writing proposals and other opportunities;
• Support services and Toolkits;
• Links to the websites of member organisations to form regional directory;
• Technology campaigns, services and projects;
• Employment-incorporating the WBUAP employment portal
• WBU- updates;
• Publications;
• Donate button;
• Radio Listen button;
• Social Media sharing buttons.
Country Information Liaison
Officers and WBUAP Editor
The EB recommends that these
positions be created in order to source
relevant information for the website
and other WBUAP publications, and to
manage the website’s content and
structure.
The EB recommends that a Country
Information Liaison Officer (CILO) be
appointed in each WBUAP member
country, on a voluntary basis, or with
some financial support to reimburse
them for the costs of carrying out their
role.
In relation to the WBUAP website, it
is recommended that each CILO be
responsible for collecting relevant
information from their country to be
uploaded on to the WBUAP website,
and to translate and distribute
information from the website in to the
language of their country so it can be
made available to more users.
It is proposed that the CILO acts as
a link between their country and the
WBUAP, giving feedback regarding
the website content.
The EB recommends the
appointment of a WBUAP Editor who
would be responsible for maintaining
and promoting the WBUAP website,
and uploading content sourced by the
CILOs, as well as reporting to the
WBUAP Board and Policy Council
regarding the website. The WBUAP
recommends that some payment be
offered to the holder of this position.
East Wind
Although the EB recommended that
the region’s website become its main
communication medium, it was
proposed that East Wind remain, with
its format changing to a smaller
newsletter which would be redesigned
as a publication to promote the work of
the WBUAP, and as a marketing and
sponsorship tool for its activities. The
EB recommended that East Wind be
published three times each year, and
be compiled by the WBUAP Editor, in
collaboration with the EB. Its content
would comprise a snapshot of current
WBUAP website content, and highlight
the most interesting developments and
projects. East Wind would be designed
to appeal to an audience outside the
blindness sector, including donors,
governments and NGOs. The
newsletter would also be promoted to
health and development workers, who
can disseminate its contents to BVI
people in remote communities, or who
have no access to the website or
material in other formats.
Radio Stream
The EB has recommended a radio
stream to provide audio programs from
the WBUAP website. It is proposed
that the CILOs coordinate the
preparation of programs from their
country’s website content, which can
be broadcast over the radio stream in
their own language. Each country’s
radio programs can also be made
available by the CILO in formats such
as CD, or local radio broadcast for BVI
people without access to the internet.
The EB has submitted these
recommendations for approval by the
WBUAP Board and Policy Council and
to the WBUAP Capacity-Building
project donors. In proposing these
changes, we hope that the
communication mediums in the
WBUAP region becomes more
relevant to BVIs and other
stakeholders. We also hope that, while
trying to use the WBUAP website as
our main communication tool, BVIs
and others without internet access will
also be able to stay informed about
WBUAP activities. The EB will report
back to readers of East Wind with
further developments to this project.
******
Innovative RSB project steals
the limelight
The Royal Society for the Blind
(RSB) on behalf of the World Blind
Union Asia-Pacific Committee on
Employment, Economic and
Empowerment (WBUAP CEEE) has
secured funding for a landmark
scheme that will change the lives for
the people of Malaysia who are blind
or vision impaired and struggling with
employment.
The WBUAP CEEE was successful
in receiving a grant from the Seeing is
Believing Innovation fund for their
Malaysian Adaptive Equipment Loan
Scheme proposal after identifying a
need for people who are blind or vision
impaired in the Asia Pacific region the
chance to access equipment that will
help them in obtaining and retaining
employment.
“By developing an adaptive
technology loan pool, people who are
blind or vision impaired will be
provided with the opportunity to learn
skills and then demonstrate that ability
to future employers, ultimately
benefiting them not only in a financial,
but also a social sense,” says RSB
Executive Director and WBUAP CEEE
chairman, Andrew Daly.
“We identified that people who are
blind or vision impaired in many Asia
Pacific countries are prevented from
employment due to the cost of
accessing specialist adaptive
technology like electronic magnifiers,
Braille PDA’s and computer-screen
magnification,” explains Andrew of the
project that will be first rolled out in
Malaysia.
By enabling people to become “job
ready” and exposing them to
equipment training and loans and then
subsequent work experience and
trials, chances for securing meaningful
and sustainable employment are
greatly increased, adds Andrew.
“We have seen the benefits of such
a system here at the RSB through
RSB Employment Services who work
closely with the RSB Adaptive
Technology Centre to assist people
who are blind or vision impaired in all
manners of gaining and retaining
employment.”
The landmark project aims to begin
rollout in the latter half of 2014 in
Malaysia and based on a successful
outcome, a rollout in other areas of the
Asia Pacific region where countries are
struggling to place people who are
blind or vision impaired in employment
will also be targeted.
******
RSB shares knowledge with
job-readiness program
Continuing its vision to help people
who are blind or vision impaired in the
WBUAP Region find sustainable
employment, the Royal Society for the
Blind (RSB) on behalf of the World
Blind Union-Asia Pacific Committee on
Employment & Economic
Empowerment (CEEE), ON 24 - 26
June, sent an employment consultant
to Malaysia to conduct a job-readiness
program.
Brian Dibbins conducted an
intensive three-day workshop for
employment personnel in Malaysia &
from some ASEAN countries to equip
them with the necessary skills they
would need to help increase the rate of
employment for their clients.
"The aim of my trip," says Brian "is
to make sure that the participants in
the Job-Readiness Program are
prepared and confident to be able to
conduct similar workshops for their
blind and vision-impaired clients". "This
unique program," he went on to say
"was designed and adapted from the
practices that the RSB Employment
Services use to place BVI's in
meaningful and sustainable
employment."
"We covered techniques for
effectively delivering a program for job
search to small groups, as well as
various placement activities such as
skills assessment, identifying
appropriate support services and
developing action plans that will lead
to employment."
The invaluable hands-on training
program was run in conjunction with
the Malaysian Adaptive Equipment
Loan Scheme project, recently
secured by the RSB on behalf of the
WBUAP CEEE from the Seeing is
Believing Innovation fund.
"It was exciting to be able to be a
part of this project and to share my
experience as an employment
consultant to assist in this program,"
says Brian who has been an
employment consultant at the RSB for
seven years. "It was great to be able to
package up and share all that RSB
Employment Services do when placing
clients in employment and to be able
to share that with professionals who
may not have all of that knowledge
and experience."
The Committee on Employment in
the National Council for the Blind,
Malaysia (NCBM), which is
administering the pilot Adaptive
Equipment Loan Scheme in
collaboration with WBUAP CEEE,
expresses its deep gratitude to the
Management of RSB for agreeing to
send Brian Dibbins to conduct the
Workshop. They also express their
sincere thanks to Brian for imparting
his valuable knowledge on the subject,
and for his assurance that he will
continue to give his assistance when
called upon to do so.
******
RSB develops adaptive
technology training program
Recognising the need for a training
program to assist people in the use of
a new screen-reading program, Royal
Society for the Blind (RSB) Adaptive
Technology staff worked with the
International Council for the Education
of People with Visual Impairment
(ICEVI) to develop an industry-
endorsed training program.
NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA)
is a screen-reading program that reads
text on a computer screen out loud,
enabling people who are blind or vision
impaired to use a computer. The open-
source software can also convert text
to Braille and unlike many other screen
readers on the market, is free, allowing
more people to have access to the life-
changing technology.
NVDA is an impressive development
in the realms of adaptive technology
and is incredibly popular in developing
countries, more so than in Australia
where the screen-reader of choice is
overwhelmingly JAWS. However, it
doesn’t come without its challenges,
specifically in terms of users requiring
sufficient training to be able to
confidently use the program.
But who trains the trainers that pass
on this knowledge and train computer
users who are blind or vision impaired
living in developing countries? That’s
where the RSB Adaptive Technology
Service stepped in.
“Frances Gentle who is the Pacific
Chairperson at the International
Council for the Education of People
with Visual Impairment identified that
NVDA could be distributed throughout
Australia and Asia, however, there
needed to be a program to teach the
program to the teachers,” explains
RSB Low Vision Centre Coordinator,
Andrew Davies.
“From there, RSB Adaptive
Technology staff developed the NVDA
training program that has become
available to organisations in the Asia
Pacific region, which will ultimately
help people who are blind or vision
impaired use the program to its full
extent, delivering them the best
outcomes to help them connect with
the world around them.”
******
Contact Details
Chief Editor
Wong Yoon Loong
National Council for the Blind
Malaysia
94B Jalan Tun Sambanthan
Brickfields
50470 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia.
E-mail:
wongyl@pd.jaring.my
wongyl@pd.jaring.my
Dr. Issavara Sirirungruang
Ratchasuda College, Mahidol
University
111 Moo 6, Phuttamonthon 4 Road,
Salaya, Nakhon Pathom 73170,
Thailand.
E-mail: isvrss@gmail.com,
issavara.sir@mahidol.ac.th
issavara.sir@mahidol.ac.th
Helen Freris
c/o International Social Service
Australia
Level 2
313/315 Flinders Lane
Melbourne VIC 3000
Email:
hfreris@tpg.com.au
hfreris@tpg.com.au
Diana Swanson
The Royal Society for the Blind (RSB)
of South Australia
Knapman House
230 Pirie Street
Adelaide, South Australia 5000
E-mail:
dswanson@rsb.org.au
dswanson@rsb.org.au
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