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AAPVI National
Report on VSB Conference - Hanover Germany, July 14 – 18th 2008
XXXIV Kongress “Teilhabe Gestalten”
The conference title translates roughly into providing skills for participation and community involvement.
I attended the conference as the President of the Australian Association for Parents of the Vision Impaired and as the parent representative of ICEVI Pacific Region.
 Click Here to read the full details
Business Plan for September 2007 to September 2009
Purpose/Mission Statement
"To be an effective national self help group providing understanding, support and information to parents of vision impaired children."
AAPVI encourages and supports parents to support each other to improve the health, welfare, education and socializing opportunities for their children.
Click here to view the full Business Plan (.pdf 33kbs)
Parent feedback request (.pdf 12kbs)
AUSTRALIAN BLINDNESS FORUM
ABF UPDATE– JULY/AUGUST 2008 Contents of this ABF Update:
- ABF Recycled Equipment Website
- ABF Members' Forum
- Aussie Blind Kids Network
- CSTDA and Aids and Equipment
- Pension Review
- Advocacy Agencies Funding Boost
- Disability Discrimination System to be Improved
- Australian Compact
- Investigation into Access to Electronic Media for Hearing and Vision Impaired
- Information, Publications
- Continuing Professional Education Events
- Web Accessibility Workshops
- National Conferences
- NDS Events
- World Blind Union
- Other International Items
- Getting More Information on Issues in this Update
- Reproducing Information from this Update
- About Australian Blindness Forum
- About National Disability Services
1. ABF RECYCLED EQUIPMENT WEBSITE
Kevin Murfitt, Chair of the WBU Pacific-Oceania Sub-region, reports that the project is progressing well. Donated equipment has already been sent to Papua New Guinea , Fiji and Timor L'Este. A paper written by Kevin Murfitt and Andrew Daly on the pilot project will be included in the Best Practice Examples program of the WBU General Assembly in August 2008. In the meantime, the ABF urges all blindness organisations in Australia and New Zealand to help make the pilot scheme a success by adding their lists of available equipment to those already on the Equipment Register at http://www.rsb.org.au/wbu/index.html.
2. ABF MEMBERS' FORUM
The 2008 Members' Forum will be held on Thursday 16 October in Melbourne , immediately prior to the BCA Victoria Convention in Bendigo on 17 and 18 October. The Forum will include the ABF Annual General Meeting and a program based on ABF members' presentations of papers, submissions or reports on service development, the World Blind Union and ICEVI. Members have been invited to submit ideas for the program, which will be finalised shortly.
3. AUSSIE BLIND KIDS NETWORK
The Aussie Blind Kids Network, (http://abk.guidedogstas.com.au/index.php), part of the National Unified Lifeskills Model (NULM), established in October 2003 as an initiative of the ABF, will soon be launched for access by participating members. The central aim of the comprehensive network created for families is to maximise the age appropriate participation in the community of children and adolescents who are blind or vision impaired. The network will also be useful for educators, therapists, service providers and anyone else wishing to gain an understanding of how the lifeskills of child who is blind or vision impaired should be developed in order for them to live a successful, rewarding and age appropriate life.
4. CSTDA AND AIDS AND EQUIPMENT
Disability Ministers have agreed to deliver national consistency for the provision of aids and equipment, a commitment that NDS and the ABF had sought for some time (NDS Media Release at http://www.nds.org.au/national/Other/MediaReleases/MR-30May08.pdf ). NDS has invited a number of key people to meet at the end of August to discuss how such a strategy can benefit the disability sector.
5. PENSION REVIEW
The Australian Government announced an inquiry into measures to strengthen the financial security of seniors, carers and people with disability, part of a wider inquiry into Australia 's Future Tax System, with the release of the ‘Pension Review Background Paper' ( http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/seniors/pension_review/ ). The adequacy of the Disability Support Pension will be considered by this Review, as well as the effectiveness of supplementary payments such as the mobility allowance, carer allowance and carer payment. The NDS News Update of 19 August ( http://www.nds.org.au ) provides more information for NDS members, and details of the proposed public meetings are available at http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/internet/facsinternet.nsf/seniors/pension_review.htm . Written submissions are due by 26 September and should be emailed to pensionreview@nationalmailing.com.au.
6. ADVOCACY AGENCIES FUNDING BOOST
Organisations representing people with disability are to receive an additional $1.1 million to help them strengthen their voice. Nine peak bodies (listed at http://www.facs.gov.au/internet/facsinternet.nsf/disabilities/representation-peak_bodies.htm ) have shared $270,000 to invest in staff training, IT upgrades and/or research and an extra $257,000 for services such as interpreters, hearing loops, Braille material, attendant carers and venue hire. Sixty-two disability advocacy agencies also received one-off funding each of $10,000 to buy goods and services such as IT and communication equipment or staff and management training. To read Parliamentary Secretary Bill Shorten's media release, go to http://www.billshorten.fahcsia.gov.au/Internet/billshorten.nsf/content/speak_out_20aug08.htm .
7. DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION SYSTEM TO BE IMPROVED
The Australian Government has announced that it intends to strengthen the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA), as recommended by the Productivity Commission in 2004. Key amendments will clarify the obligation of employers, service providers and others to remove discriminatory barriers for people with disability. As a first step, the Acting Disability Discrimination Commissioner, Graeme Innes AM, has been permanently appointed as the Disability Discrimination Commissioner in addition to his current role of Human Rights Commissioner. For more information, read the Attorney-General's announcement by clicking here and, for NDS members, the NDS News Update of 25 July at http://www.nds.org.au .
- Guide to community grants: Organisations seeking supplementary financial assistance are advised to check the guide which provides links to sources of Commonwealth, State and Territory financial assistance to community groups, as well as links to non-government and commercial organisations that provide grants – go to the Parliament of Australia Parliamentary Library website at http://www.aph.gov.au/library/intguide/sp/spgrants.htm.
- Australia 2020 Summit: The final report of the Summit is now available at http://www.australia2020.gov.au/final_report/index.cfm. This report is intended to provide a record of the Summit and recommendations on each of the discussion areas for consideration by the Australian Government. It is based on ideas put forward by participants during the Summit discussion sessions, outcomes from preliminary Summit events and ideas generated from public submissions received prior to the Summit.
- Superannuation: The Australian Taxation Office, in conjunction with Vision Australia, has released the publication ‘Super – what you need to know’ in a number of alternative formats. The publication contains a broad overview of superannuation and information on the steps needed to make the most of superannuation at different life stages. You can phone 1300 720 092 to order the publication as an audio CD, e-text on CD or Brailled version. Or you can visit the ATO website at http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.asp?doc=/content/00113198.htm for an MP3 audio file, e-text file or HTML version.
- Building access resources: The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) is currently working with the Australian Building Codes Board (and with a range of industry, community and government bodies) to develop a Disability Discrimination Act Disability Standard on Access to Premises. HREOC has published two new resources on its website – ‘The Good, the bad and the ugly’ (updated version at http://www.hreoc.gov.au/disability_rights/buildings/good.htm) and ‘Guidelines on access to buildings and services’ (http://www.hreoc.gov.au/disability_rights/buildings/guidelines.htm).
8. AUSTRALIAN COMPACT
The Australian Government wants to develop a compact with the not-for-profit sector. From the perspective of non-government organisations, a compact could provide an opportunity to deal with important high-level concerns about the non-government sector's relationship with government around issues of identity and control, accountability and funding. ACOSS has been commissioned to undertake consultations with the community sector. Written submissions are due by 17 September and should be emailed to AustralianCompact@fahcsia.gov.au . More information is on the ACOSS website at http://acoss.org.au/Events.aspx?displayID=99&articleID=4696 , and NDS members can read the NDS News Update of 12 August at http://www.nds.org.au .
9. INVESTIGATION INTO ACCESS TO ELECTRONIC MEDIA FOR HEARING AND VISION IMPAIRED
NDS, in conjunction with the ABF, lodged a submission in June to this investigation. To read the submission, visit the website of the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy here.
10. INFORMATION, PUBLICATIONS
- New AFDO CEO: Lesley Hall will start as CEO of the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations on 16 September. Lesley has been involved in disability advocacy for many years as a systemic and individual advocate in Victoria and as part of the Victorian Disability Advocacy Committee.
- Vision Australia 's Dickinson Literary Award is open to all Australian writers who are blind or have low vision. There are seven categories, each of which has a first prize of a Vision Australia Equipment Solution's voucher to the value of $500. Categories for fiction and non-fiction are separated into Adults 25 and Over; Young Adults 16-24; Youth Under 16 and Open for All Ages. Entries will open on 1 October 2008 and Australian citizens who are ‘legally' blind are invited to make submissions by 31 December. More information is at http://www.visionaustralia.org/literaryaward/ .
- Accessible Cinema: Deafness Forum Australia ( http://www.deafnessforum.org.au/ ) has passed on the Minister for Ageing's announcement that the Australian Government will provide funding of $350,000 to assist independent cinemas to improve access to their films. The Independent Cinemas Association of Australia, Media Access Australia and the Department of Health and Ageing will work together to select 12 cinema locations nationally – this will bring the number of Australian accessible cinemas to 22.
- National Relay Service (NRS) outreach services will continue to be delivered by WestWood Spice until 30 June 2011. The outreach component of the NRS includes a telephone/TTY accessed helpdesk, a website, personalised training for potential users, community and professional outreach events, media advertising and printed, video and DVD resources. To read Minister Stephen Conroy's media release, go to http://www.minister.dbcde.gov.au/media/media_releases/2008/064 .
- Producing and Using DAISY Format Assessment Materials : Round Table on Information Access for People with Print Disabilities requests input to assist its working party in preparing guidelines for the production and use of DAISY format examination papers. Round Table is currently updating guidelines for the preparation, production and completion of examinations and other assessment tasks as they relate to students with vision impairment in schools, TAFE colleges, universities and private training organisations. The guidelines are designed to minimise (if not eliminate) the level of disadvantage experienced by students with vision impairment when completing their study or training programs. Round Table hopes to receive responses from as many students, educators and accessible format producers as possible. Anyone wishing to contribute should contact Sondra Wibberley by Friday 5 September 2008 by emailing Swibberl@laurel.ocs.mq.edu.au .
11. CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION EVENTS
A range of CPE events are scheduled for 1 September to 3 December including:
- Supporting Children with Vision Impairment, A Pathway Analysis Approach: 11 November 2008 : Aimed at parents and professionals alike, this workshop will use the experience of Scotland to identify the multiple agencies involved with children with visual impairment and how a single source of information could be developed in Australia (as is now the case in Scotland). Participants will be able to draw and produce a pathway analysis for their own service delivery context through an understanding of how agencies collaborate to provide single shared assessments. There will be ample opportunities for discussion with colleagues and the presenter.
For the full schedule of education events, visit http://www.ridbc.org.au/renwick/courses/continuinged_calendar.asp .
12. WEB ACCESSIBILITY WORKSHOPS
To keep up-to-date with the range of workshops conducted by Accessible Information Solutions of Vision Australia , visit http://www.visionaustralia.org.au/info.aspx?page=539 .
13. NATIONAL CONFERENCES
- ARATA National Conference: Australian Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology
Association will hold its 2008 conference in Adelaide from 22 to 24 September. The conference will explore some of the challenges faced with getting assistive technology to the people who need it and demonstrating its value to the community at large. To register, go to http://www.e-bility.com/arata/conf.php#register .
- AFDO first national conference postponed : ‘ Policy About Us, For Us! A Practical Revolution in the Lives of People with Disabilities' which was to be held in Melbourne on 9 and 10 October this year has been postponed – read the AFDO release at http://www.afdo.org.au/node/229 .
14. NDS EVENTS
- Accommodation and Social Participation Conference ‘ Home and Community:
Overcoming Exclusion ', focusing on policy and service delivery issues, will be held on 25 and 26 September 2008 at the Hilton Sydney. The conference brochure and online registration form are available at http://www.nds.org.au/national/default.htm .
- CEO Meeting 2008 will be held in Canberra on 1 and 2 December – more detail will be provided later.
15. WORLD BLIND UNION (WBU)
- WBU General Assembly 2008 : Many congratulations to Maryanne Diamond on her unopposed election as WBU President for the next four years. The Australian Government has committed almost $350,000 to assist Maryanne to carry out her role during that period. For more information, read Parliamentary Secretary Bill Shorten's media release ‘Aussie Diamond sparkles on world disability stage' at http://www.billshorten.fahcsia.gov.au/Internet/billshorten.nsf/content/aussie_diamond_20aug08.htm . Maryanne reports that the seventh General Assembly was very successful and proceedings will soon be available on the WBU website at http://www.worldblindunion.org/en/ . During the Assembly, Australia 's Country Report was presented by the Chair of the Pacific-Oceania Sub-region, Kevin Murfitt, to the Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting.
- Listening to the Children Congress: Around 20 young people from 18 countries took part in the First International Congress for Blind and Partially Sighted Children in Spain on 16 and 17 June. A declaration was published at the end of the congress, which can be read in the congress report in the WBU E-Bulletin of July 2008 (which will be posted to http://www.worldblindunion.org/en/home847b.html?id=43&nivel=2 ).
- Universal Postal Union , at the completion of its Congress in Geneva on 12 August, stated that the incoming UPU Postal Operations Council – the body responsible for studying technical and operational aspects of postal services – will, at its October session at UPU headquarters in Berne , consider some 260 other proposals to amend the Letter Post and Parcel Post Regulations. It is anticipated that this process will include the proposals relating to improvements of the Postal Concessions for the Blind Program.
- RoboBraille is an email-based translation service capable of translating documents to and from contracted Braille and to synthetic speech. Users submit documents (eg, text files, Word documents, HTML pages) as email attachments. The translated results are returned to the user via email, typically within a matter of minutes. The service is available free of charge to all non-commercial users. For more information, visit http://www.robobraille.org .
16. OTHER INTERNATIONAL ITEMS
- UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD): The Australian Government ratified the Convention on 18 July, making Australia one of the first western countries to do so. Australia can now participate in the inaugural election of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which will oversee the Convention's implementation. To read the Attorney-General's media release, go here.
The Harvard Project on Disability has published a Handbook to provide a clear explanation of the CRPD for people with developmental disability, their organisations and advocates – it is available at http://www.hpod.org/pdf/we-have-humna-rights.pdf .
- International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3 December this year will have the theme ‘Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Dignity and justice for all of us'. For more information in Australia , go here.
- AusAID Disability Strategy Consultation Paper ‘Development of a Disability Stragtegy for Australia's AID Program: In response to the Australian Government's commitment to ensuring that the benefits of development reach those who are most excluded, AusAID has identified people with disability as a priority for Australia's aid program. NDS lodged a submission on the consultation paper, which NDS members can read at http://www.nds.org.au .
- World Health Organisation: A WHO Task Force on Disability has been established with representation from each regional office and cluster within WHO headquarters. This initiative follows the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and aims to raise the profile of disability at WHO.
WHO Press has developed and published a large print version of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) – go to http://www.who.int/bookorders/anglais/detart1.jsp?sesslan=1&codlan=1&codcol=15&codcch=4088 – and there are plans to develop a Braille version.
The World Health Organisation Bulletin will publish a special issue on Child Injuries, Violence and Disability in May 2009. A call has gone out for related articles for submission by 1 September 2008 – see http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/media/news/whobulletin/en/index.html .
- New focus on disability studies and research: A new centre, the Disability Studies and Research Centre (DSARC), has been established at the University of NSW to focus on applied Australian Asia Pacific cross-disciplinary research with a critical, social perspective approach. The centre is aligned with the Social Policy Research Centre, the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and the Faculty of Law at UNSW. During the year, DSARC will host forums, seminars and conferences. For more information, contact DSARC dsarc@unsw.edu.au .
- FamilyConnect: The American Foundation for the Blind and the National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments (NAPVI) ( http://www.spedex.com/napvi ) recently launched FamilyConnect ( http://www.familyconnect.org/parentsitehome.asp ), an online, multimedia community for parents and guardians of children with vision impairment. FamilyConnect aims to give parents access to message boards where they can talk to other parents, compelling videos featuring real-life families, parenting articles, a blog, a glossary of more than 30 eye conditions, and links to local (American) resources). Australia has formed a chapter of NAPVI, Australian Association for Parents of Vision Impaired (AAPVI, http://www.aapvi.org.au/national/contacts.html ).
- Art Beyond Sight Awareness: October 2008 celebrates an international initiative that calls public attention to the need for and benefits of making art and visual culture accessible to people with vision loss and other disabilities. Art Education for the Blind coordinates this annual awareness month ( http://www.artbeyondsight.org ).
- ADDC will host its 2008 international conference, ‘Disability, Disadvantage and Development in the Pacific and Asia' in Canberra on 29 and 30 September. Themes to be explored include social impact (education, access to services, gender); economic impacts (work opportunities); international conventions and other legal instruments and the relationship between disability, disadvantage and poverty. Participant numbers are capped, so register early. For the latest information, go here, or email Paul Deany, ADDC Convenor at pdeany@cbmi.org.au or Neva Wendt of Australian Council for International Development at nwendt@acfid.asn.au .
- World Sight Day: The theme of the 2008 day on Thursday 9 October is ‘Eyes on the future – vision and ageing'. Planning is well underway and the Vision 2020 Australia website http://www.vision2020australia.org.au/news-events-world-sight-day.cfm will be updated as activities develop.
- Braille 1809 to 2009 – the writing with 6 dots and its future : Under the sponsorship of UNESCO, World Blind Union, French National Committee for the Social Promotion of Blind and Partially Sighted People, this international conference will be held in Paris from 4 to 8 January 2009 to celebrate the 200 th anniversary of Louis Braille's birth. A call for papers closed on 31 January 2008. For more information, email ch.coudert@avh.asso.fr or Catherine Munoz-Smith at the WBU office at caterine.munoz-smith@wbuoffice.org .
A list of ideas for promoting the bicentenary throughout the coming months in Australia is available from the RIDBC Renwick Centre by emailing mike.steer@ridbc.org.au .
National Braille Press, a non-profit printing house in the US , has secured the domain name http://www.louisbraillebicentennial.com for 2008 and 2009.
A prototype of the first US coin with readable Braille characters – a silver dollar commemorating the two-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille – has been unveiled (information from National Federation of the Blind http://nfb.org provided by Vision Australia ).
- SPEVI Biennial Conference: The 2009 Biennial Conference of the South Pacific Educators in Vision Impairment will be held from 6 to 9 January 2009 in Adelaide . The theme of ‘Challenges and Choices' will focus on vision impairment, adaptive technology, early intervention and partnerships. For more information, go to http://www.e-bility.com/spevi/conf09.php or phone Jessica Bosnakis of All Occasions Management on 08 8354 2285 or email Jessica@aomevents.com .
Getting more information on issues in this Update:
Unless otherwise stated, please contact Margaret Verick at margaret.verick@nds.org.au , phone 02 6283 3214.
Reproducing information from this Update:
Anyone may reproduce any of the information in this Update – just acknowledge this source.
ABOUT AUSTRALIAN BLINDNESS FORUM
http://www.australianblindnessforum.org.au
Australian Blindness Forum (ABF) was first formed as an unincorporated body in 1992, funded only by its members. In April 2007, the ABF became an Australian public company limited by guarantee, funded by its members and governed by a board of directors. The purpose of the ABF is to operate as a peak body representing the blindness sector for the benefit of people who are blind or vision impaired. The Project Officer (Australian Blindness Forum) is located at the ABF registered office, 33 Thesiger Court, Deakin ACT 2600 – c ontact Margaret Verick , email margaret.verick@nds.org.au , phone 02 6283 3214.
ABOUT NATIONAL DISABILTY SERVICES
http://www.nds.org.au
National Disability Services (NDS) is the national industry association for disability services, representing over 600 not-for-profit organisations. Collectively, NDS's members operate several thousand services for Australians with all types of disability. NDS's members range in size from small support groups to large multi-service organisations, and are located in every State and Territory across Australia .
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