The Educator VOLUME XXIV, ISSUE 2 JANUARY 2012 nd In ge a nov len at al io h n C A Publication of The International Council for Education of ICEVI People with Visual Impairment PRINCIPAL OFFICERS FOUNDING INTERNATIONAL PRINCIPAL OFFICERS ORGANISATIONS PARTNER MEMBERS PRESIDENT SECOND VICE PRESIDENT American Foundation CBM Lord Low of Dalston Hans Welling Royal National Institute of for the Blind Catherine Naughton Visio, Nibelungenstrasse 124 Blind People Maureen Matheson Amersfoortsestraatweg 180 64625 Bensheim 105 Judd Street 11 Penn Plaza, Suite 300 1272 RR Huizen GERMANY London WC1H 9NE New York, NY 10001 THE NETHERLANDS [email protected] UNITED KINGDOM [email protected] USA [email protected] [email protected] TREASURER Norwegian Association of the IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Blind and Partially Sighted Nandini Rawal Perkins School for the Blind Lawrence F. Campbell (NABPS) Blind People’s Association 1, Center Street, Rockland Steven M. Rothstein Arnt Holte Jagdish Patel Chowk Maine 04841 175 North Beacon Street P.O. Box 5900 Surdas Marg, Vastrapur USA Watertown, MA 02472 Majorstua0308, Oslo Ahmedabad 380 015 [email protected] USA NORWAY INDIA [email protected] [email protected] FIRST VICE PRESIDENT [email protected] Prof. Jill Keeffe Royal National Institute Organización Nacional de Chief Executive Officer Ciegos Españoles Centre for Eye Research Australia of Blind People Mani, M.N.G. Ana Peláez University of Melbourne Lord Low of Dalston No.3, Professors’ Colony C/ Almansa, 66, 28039 Madrid Department of Ophthalmology 105 Judd Street S R K Vidyalaya Post SPAIN Locked Bag 8 London WC1H 9NE Coimbatore 641 020 [email protected] East Melbourne 8002 UNITED KINGDOM AUSTRALIA Tamil Nadu, INDIA [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Perkins School for the Blind Aubrey Webson REGIONAL CHAIRPERSONS INTERNATIONAL 175 North Beacon Street PRINCIPAL OFFICERS NON-GOVERNMENTAL Watertown, MA 02472 AFRICA NORTH AMERICA / ORGANISATIONS USA [email protected] Wilfred Maina CARIBBEAN African Braille Centre Deafblind International Kathleen M. Huebner Royal National Institute P.O. Box 27715 NCLVI Bernadette M. Kappen of Blind People 00506, Nairobi College of Education and 999, Pelham Parkway Bronx Pete Osborne KENYA Rehabilitation New York 10469 105 Judd Street [email protected] Salus University USA London WC1H 9NE 8360 Old York Road [email protected] UNITED KINGDOM EAST ASIA Elkins Park, PA 19027 [email protected] Suwimon Udompiriyasak USA World Blind Union Faculty of Education [email protected] Sightsavers Suan Dusit Rajabhat University Maryanne Diamond Adelaide Addo-Fening 295 Ratchasima Road PACIFIC 454, Glenferrie Rd. Grosvenor Hall, Bolnore Road Dusit Dist., Bangkok 10300 Frances Gentle Kooyong, Vic. 3144 Haywards Heath THAILAND The Renwick Centre AUSTRALIA West Sussex RH16 4BX [email protected] Royal Institute for Deaf and [email protected] UNITED KINGDOM Blind Children [email protected] EUROPE Private Bag 29 International Agency Hans Welling Parramatta, NSW 2124 for the Prevention of Union Francophone des Aveugles Visio, Amersfoortsestraatweg 180 AUSTRALIA Blindness 1272 RR Huizen Françoise MADRAY-LESIGNE [email protected] Christian Garms THE NETHERLANDS 5, rue Duroc, 75007 Paris Wilhelmstr. 31 [email protected] FRANCE WEST ASIA 64625 Bensheim [email protected] Bhushan Punani GERMANY LATIN AMERICA Blind People’s Association [email protected] Vision Australia Lucia Piccione Jagdish Patel Chowk Glenda Alexander Urquiza 2659 - 5001 Surdas Marg, Vastrapur 454 Glenferrie Rd Cordoba Ahmedabad 380 015 Visit us at : Kooyong, Vic. 3144 ARGENTINA INDIA AUSTRALIA [email protected] [email protected] www.icevi.org [email protected] Every C n : hild’ atio s R uc ig d ht E EFA-VI G lo ll b A al r C 2 Fo Ch am 015 on t il pai cati en dre gn on Edu rm n pai with Visual Im Education FAor ll children with VIisual mpairment (EFA-VI) Global Campaign The Education for All Children with Visual Impairment (EFA-VI) is a Global Campaign and programme of the International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI) acting in partnership with the World Blind Union (WBU) to ensure that all girls and boys with blindness and low vision enjoy the right to education. The Campaign, launched on July 16, 2006 is focusing on children in the developing world where currently it is estimated that less than ten-percent have access to education. Highlights of the Campaign -addresses three key Millennium Development Goals: -achieving universal primary education, -promoting gender equality and -developing global partnerships for development. -stresses the right to education as emphasised in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. -works within the framework of the general and special education systems. -focuses on awareness and demand creation for education of children with visual impairment. -stresses on the provision of appropriate support in educational settings. -capacity building of teachers and others, development of literature, production of assistive devices and operational research are important elements. Indicators of success Gincreased enrolment rates Greduced dropout rates, Gimproved access to support services, and Geducational achievement for children with visual impairment, on par with non-disabled children. Global Campaign on Education For All Children with Visual Impairment (EFA-VI) Tajikistan Palestine Pakistan The Dominican Nepal Republic Mali Bangladesh Laos Guatemala Honduras El salvador Burkina Faso Cambodia Nicaragua Ethiopia Ghana Vietnam Sri Lanka Uganda Kenya Ecuador Rwanda Peru Papua New Guinea Malawi Fiji Bolivia Mozambique Paraguay Chile Existing Focus Countries Proposed Focus Countries Editor W. Aubrey Webson CONTENTS Director, Perkins International Perkins School for the Blind 1. Message from the President 02 175 North Beacon Street Watertown 2. Message from the Editor 04 MA 02472 USA 3. ICEVI Strategic Update 05 Associate Editor 4. EFA-VI Global Campaign - Current Status 06 M.N.G. Mani CEO, ICEVI 5. ICEVI-WBU Statement on EFA Initiatives 07 Editorial Committee 6. News from World Blind Union 09 - Maryanne Diamond W. Aubrey Webson Lord Low of Dalston M.N.G. Mani 7. World Braille Council Report 10 - J.K. Kaul, A.K. Mittal and Diane P. Wormsley Designing and Printing 8. Revitalizing Braille: Excerpts from the Keynote 12 ICEVI Secretariat Address at Braille 21 World Congress, 2011 No.3, Professors’ Colony - Judith M. Dixon S.R.K. Vidyalaya Post Coimbatore – 641 020 Tamil Nadu, INDIA 9. Braille and Education for the Future: 16 Phone : 91-422-2469104 Asking Hard Questions Fax : 91-422-2693414 - Kevin Carey e-mail : [email protected] 10. Books for Children Who Struggle with Braille 18 - Marion Ripley Our International Partners 11. The Proposed WBU Copyright Treaty: 22 How It Would Help End the Book Famine - Maryanne Diamond 12. Setting Up a Braille Authority: 26 Some Questions to Consider - Mary Schnackenberg 13. New Regional Coordinator for 30 EFA-VI Global Campaign 14. Refreshable Braille: The Future of Reading 31 - Pete Osborne Guest Editor : Pete Osborne, Royal National Institute of Blind People 105 Judd Street, London WC1H 9NE, United Kingdom e-mail : [email protected] Message from The President 2012 has got off to a flying start, with no shortage of be held. November 17th will be an EFA-VI strategic things to do. In the week immediately following the planning day for ICEVI, WBU, our international New Year, I visited Hanoi with Dr. Mani to see our partners and global agencies, and on Sunday 18 EFA-VI (Education for All Visually Impaired November we will hold our own General Assembly. Children) campaign in action and also our higher education project which is supporting visually Further detail about the strategic planning day will impaired students to pursue their studies from a follow, but a Joint Days Programme Committee has resource base. We had an animated discussion with made good progress with identifying topics of the students, who demonstrated an impressive mutual interest to both organisations to be featured degree of self-confidence and, we thought, during the two days of joint sessions. There will be leadership potential for the future. Vietnam, as one plenary sessions on the right to read, access to of the first off the mark, has been blazing a trail for technology and employment. Francis Gurry, EFA-VI for the last five years. Vietnam was chosen Director-General of the World Intellectual Property as a focus country because it possessed a number of Organisation (WIPO) will be the keynote speaker the characteristics which had been identified as for the first, Karen Wolffe for the third and there most likely to make for success. These included are almost too many to choose from to lead the government commitment and good collaboration technology session. Keynotes will be followed by with a strong organisation of the blind, and the panel discussion with scope for interventions from Vietnam Association of the Blind and the the floor. government have been demonstrating that this was a shrewd prescription. I was encouraged by the Topics identified for parallel sessions with a panel of work I saw, in particular by the enthusiasm of the speakers are: students, and it was clear that ICEVI was adding o Early intervention value through the provision of accessible textbooks o Promoting braille literacy in a way which was much appreciated. o Multiple disability and vision impairment From Hanoi we went on to Bangkok for a two-day o CBR - WHO Guidelines and the World Disability meeting of the International Organising Committee Report which is planning the joint assemblies of ICEVI and o Voices of youth and parents WBU taking place in Bangkok from 10-18 November. We went through every aspect of the o Employment - preparing people, finding jobs and event to make sure that everything was in place staying employed down to the last detail. As you will recall, WBU’s o Technology to read, travel, learn, shop, socialise Assembly and associated meetings will run from and watch TV, etc.