WBU E-BULLETIN
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 3
July 2012
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:
Website: www.worldblindunion.org
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE E-BULLETIN 3
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE 3
WBU THANKS OUR SUPPORTERS 4
SOCIAL MEDIA UPDATE 5
WBU 2012 GENERAL ASSEMBLY UPDATES 5
FEATURE STORY 7
UPDATES FROM WORKING GROUPS 10
Joint World Blind Union and the AMD Alliance International Campaign Brief 10
WBU Employment Resource Bank project update 11
Right 2 Read Campaign: WIPO update 12
DISABILITY UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD 12
Beijing Declaration on Disability-inclusive
Development 12
Blind Canadian Women Wins Right to Accessible Government Websites. 16
Disability Included in the Rio+20 Outcome Document 17
The Zero Project Envisions a World without Barriers 18
ANNOUNCEMENTS 19
Braille Without Boarders 19
Cooperating for Inclusion in Europe 19
International Age-Related Macular Degeneration Awareness Week 2012 - this year’s theme:
For the Sake of Sight 19
Touch of Genius Prize for Innovation is open for 2012 20
New Online Graduate Course: Global Disability-
a surgical care mandate- Sept-Dec 2012 at the
University of British Columbia 20
Bookshare Summer Contest for
American Student Members 20
New Hadley Entrepreneurship Modules Emphasize Networking and Technology 21
Creative Contest Launched: “Show Me Inclusion”
in Europe 23
The 2012 London Summer Paralympic Games 23
European survey on training and usage of
Assistive Technologies 24
RESOURCES 24
WBU 2011 Annual Report is now available to download 24
CBM’s New Resource: Inclusion Made Easy is designed
for program staff in international development organizations. 24
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) launches new Guide on Business and Human Rights 25
New Report from the International Labour
Organization: 'The ILO at Work' 25
New Book with Stories of Blindness Featured: 25
New Working Paper from Leonard Cheshire Disability 26
2012 SOME WBU MEMBER’S CONFERENCE NOTICES 26
NEWS FROM THE REGIONS 27
AFRICA 27
ASIA 27
ASIA-PACIFIC 28
Proclaiming a New Asia-Pacific Decade 2013 – 2022 29
The WBUAP Quadrennial General Assembly 29
President of the Korean Blind Union Appointed
Senator 29
EUROPE 29
WIPO Name and Shame Map 29
International Guide Dog Day Celebrated in Israel 29
Blindness Advocate Receives Award on
Queen’s Diamond Jubilee 30
LATIN AMERICA 31
NORTH AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 31
WBU OFFICERS 32
REGIONAL PRESIDENTS 32
WBU STAFF 33
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE E-BULLETIN
Contributions are welcome to the e-Bulletin. We thank those of you who have been providing us with stories and updates for the quarterly newsletters and encourage members to provide articles and updates. If we do not hear from you, we cannot report on your success. Our next deadline for content submission will be Friday September 28, 2012 for our next issue of the e-Bulletin. We accept submissions in English, French, and Spanish, preferably in electronic format. Please send submissions to Marianne at
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Welcome to the July issue of the e-bulletin which is another information packed issue.
If you are planning to participate in the general assembly this year, it is time to register and make travel plans to be there. The program is almost complete, social program and local logistics are progressing well. For those who will be supported by the WBU to attend, you will have been notified. We are delighted that we are able to support such a large number of people this year. We appreciate the support of Abilis Foundation, CBM, NAPB, DAB, SFB and others who have made this possible. An update on the planning and information on how to register are contained in this issue
A number of international events have taken place where we played a part in ensuring disability was included in their outcomes. Reports on these events as well as important outcomes for accessibility and inclusion are found in this bulletin
The 2011 WBU Annual report has been prepared and distributed. We are now working on the quadrennial report which will be made available for the general assembly later this year.
Thank you to those regions that provide us with material for the e-bulletin. I know there is a great deal of good work taking place in every region. I also know readers are very interested to learn what is happening around the world by WBU members. I urge all regions to provide updates for each issue.
Maryanne Diamond
WBU THANKS OUR SUPPORTERS
The day-to-day work, priorities, special projects, and the work of conducting the General Assembly, undertaken by the Table Officers, Volunteers, committees and staff of the World Blind Union cannot happen merely from the funds generated from the membership fees. In order to accomplish so much and be accountable to the needs of our members, the WBU relies on additional support that comes from our generous members who sponsor this work through making additional financial contributions, as well as these gifts we receive some funds from foundations. We are grateful for these contributions, and thank our sponsors and donors for this extra support.
The 2011 WBU Annual Report spells out the ongoing work and accomplishments that members and supporters made possible last year. This is now available to download from our website. We continue to work on the priorities members spelled out at the last general assembly in 2008 and will report on these in November 2012 at the WBU General Assembly in Bangkok, Thailand, where members will also get to decide which current priorities will be carried forward over the next four years, and which new directions we need to follow in order to meet the needs of our members and advance our goals of inclusion and opportunities for blind and partially sighted individuals around the world.
We hope we can continue to rely on members to support the World Blind Union in various ways: paying membership fees on time, providing additional sponsorship support, and providing volunteer support for the various committees and working groups that conduct the project work. The Resource Generation working group (RGWG) is working on ways to raise funds for the work and projects of the World Blind Union that would come from sources other than members. We will share news of any successes we may have towards this goal, and of any workshops the RGWG may organize. In the meantime, we again thank those special members who made extra financial gifts to the World Blind Union over the last few years, and wish to let them know how much we appreciate their efforts to sustain our vital work.
SOCIAL MEDIA UPDATE
WBU now has a Twitter account: www.twitter.com Our username or handle: @blindunion Members and others can now follow us to get updates on the WBU/ICEVI General Assemblies, the WBU Employment website, and up-to-date news on the outcomes of the WIPO meetings, as well as news from our working groups and committees. Please note that due to the way social media is conducted, WBU will not be able to provide translation services for posts on our social media accounts.
WBU 2012 GENERAL ASSEMBLY UPDATES
We have sent via email the documents the delegates will need for the WBU GA. If you have not received these forms, they can be downloaded at our website under the General Assembly section, document page. These documents are NOT on the event registration website, only on the main WBU website. See the website link below to access the documents needed by delegates for the general assembly.
http://www.worldblindunion.org/English/general-assembly/Pages/Forms.aspx
Online registration for the WBU/ICEVI GA will remain open until September 30th, 2012. Please remember that online registration can only be done in English. To register in other languages you may request a manual registration form from: or send an email request to the WBU office and we will forward the manual registration form to you. The General Assembly event website is: www.wbu-icevi2012.org
Constitution documents needed for the assembly are on the World Blind Union website only; link here: http://www.worldblindunion.org/English/general-assembly/Pages/Constitution-materials-for-WBU-2012-GA.aspx
For the Star Alliance discount on airfares to Bangkok you need to go to: http://www.staralliance.com/en/business-solutions/conventions-plus/delegates/ scroll down the webpage and in the centre you will come to the box where the WBU/ICEVI convention code needs to be added in order to access the discounted fares. This box is marked Delegates Login. You will need to enter our convention code TG04S12 in order to proceed to the flight search page. Details are listed on the event website: http://www.wbu-icevi2012.org/Star-Alliance.html
The Technology Exhibition will run from November 12 to 16. The exhibition will be open from noon until 8 PM daily and is open to the registered participants and the general public. There will be many diverse exhibits featuring the latest innovations with demonstrations. The early bird rate for exhibition reservation is expanded until July 31, 2012 only. For any interested organizations please feel free to contact:
Special Dinners for Membership Organizations at the GA:
Local and international organizations will have the opportunity to host their own dinner and invite their members during the week of the General Assembly. The details for this will be announced soon and then groups will be able to make their reservation and let their members know when and where to meet for dinner.
Registered participants are invited to attend the Welcome Reception on November 11, 2012 in National dress (costume). The Gala Dinner will be on November 16, 2012 in semi-formal dress. These dinners are your opportunity to experience Thai culture, music and food. Please don’t miss out.
International Blind Music Festival
From November 12 to 15, TAB will host the International Blind Music Festival at Benjasiri Park, next to Imperial Queen's Park Hotel. Blind participants, who are musical, may have the opportunity to perform publicly on stage at the festival. Please contact TAB and let us know about your musical skills: by August 15, 2012.
FEATURE STORY
Being Visually Impaired Does Not Exclude Chef Christine Ha from Television Competition - interview done in June 2012
On an American reality television show that started in May, Christine Ha has navigated through a series of challenges while competing on MasterChef on the FOX Television Network. On MasterChef, the top 100 home chef contestants from around the United States face off to become the next MasterChef. The winner of this reality television show takes home $250,000, a trophy, and the privilege of writing his or her own cookbook.
Here is the catch—Christine Ha is not just a great cook, well spoken, and bright. She happens to be visually impaired due to an autoimmune disorder called nueromyelitis optica (NMO). Ms. Ha has been a very positive presence on reality television, which does not always present people in the best light.
MasterChef has been very diligent about explaining specific aspects and challenges that Christine Ha faces during the competition. On the show, contestants compete and are judged by three professionals—Chef Gordon Ramsey, food critic Joe Bastianich, and Chef Graham Elliot—all known for being tough judges of food and culinary talent.
Christine Ha has been writing about food via her own blog, theblindcook.com (provides a direct link to her blog) and the blog is ultimately what led to the producers of MasterChef discovering her. She is currently completing her Masters of Fine Arts in writing at the University of Houston, which is one of the top ranked programs for writing in the country. She took time off from completing her thesis to compete on MasterChef, and intends to finish her program.
Christine Ha took the time to answer some questions for the American Foundation for the Blind’s CareerConnect about her life and experiences on MasterChef.
Q & A with Christine Ha of MasterChef Season 3
AFB CareerConnect: Where did you grow up?
Christine Ha: Houston, Texas, U.S.A.
AFB CareerConnect: Your neuromyelitis optica (NMO) — when were you diagnosed with this condition?
Christine Ha: in 2003
AFB CareerConnect: How has your loss of sight changed your life?
Christine Ha: It's changed it dramatically. I went from a job as a software consultant using my business degree to a creative writing degree. I am now doing something I find much more fulfilling and effective. It has made me realize what's truly important to me, and that is the ability to connect with others whether through food or words.
AFB CareerConnect: Did you receive training for blindness skills such as orientation and mobility, independent living skills, braille, or any others?
Christine Ha: Yes, all of the above
AFB CareerConnect: Who provided the training for you?
Christine Ha: DARS (Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services) and the Lighthouse; both in Houston.
AFB CareerConnect: What are your career goals, post-graduate school?
Christine Ha: I would like to get a literary agent and land a book publishing deal whether for my memoir or fiction. Simultaneously, I'd like to pursue my culinary dreams of opening up an ice cream shop and, eventually, a gastropub. Both would use locally sourced, organic ingredients to produce creative flavors and dishes. I guess you could say I'm quite the overachiever.
AFB CareerConnect: What types of assistive technology or tools do you use?
Christine Ha: I love Apple products for their built-in screen reader, VoiceOver. I also use JAWS and I have an Amigo portable CCTV to read short text. (Too much reading from it gives me a headache.) In the kitchen, I have a talking thermometer, talking food scale, and a liquid level indicator, among other equipment. All of my appliances are marked with raised bumps.
AFB CareerConnect: How did you develop your interest in cooking, and what caused you begin writing about it?
Christine Ha: When I went off to college as an undergraduate, I had to learn to cook so I wouldn't starve. After a lot of recipe following and experimenting, I realized I could once in a while create something not only edible but delicious. Cooking for one is difficult portion-wise, so I'd always invite friends over to eat. It was also then that I realized I very much enjoyed feeding other people. It sort of snowballed ever since. I did not grow up with a passion for cooking. My mother was a very good home cook, but I took it for granted. She passed away when I was 14 and left me no recipes. I've been trying to recreate her recipes ever since.
AFB CareerConnect: Were you excited or nervous about being on MasterChef?
Christine Ha: Very much of both!
AFB CareerConnect: How has your experience been so far [up to the point you can share]?
Christine Ha: It's intense, nerve-wracking, and amazing all at the same time. I tend to compare it to pledging for a sorority or fraternity—you never know what's going to happen next, you're completely taken out of your comfort zone and thrown into wild combat with a bunch of people you barely know, and you're doing something—in this case, it's cooking—to with all your heart and soul to move on and up.