East Wind No. 16 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: From the Editorial Team Progress Report on the Marrakesh Treaty Ratification Campaign in the Asia-Pacific Region Exerts from the speech by the Secretary General of WBUAP Recommendations of the workshop on working together to enhance job opportunities for people who are blind and vision impaired Campaign to remove drivers licence requirement from job criteria in Australia Braille codes standardisation workshops Promotion of NVDA in Malaysia An introductory walk to George Town’s heritage – a walk specially designed for people with vision impairment Upcoming events Editorial Team Contact Details In March, Singapore acceded to the treaty and has thereby set the From The Editorial Team standard for others to follow. Greetings from all of us in the Summary of Government Editorial Team! positions stated in the WIPO Regional Meeting in Singapore We have just passed the mid-year point and we hope that all of you are Cambodia: Copyright law of 2003, on track achieving your ‘personal’ or modelled on many other laws of that ‘official’ resolutions that you made at time; not a member of Berne the beginning of the year. If not, you still have another six months to work Convention or WCT. It needs to at it. make many amendments to national copyright legislation, and welcomes In this issue, we have news from support from WIPO and others. Malaysia and Myanmar and the latest update on the Marrakesh China: Actively seeking to revise Treaty. We also list some events you copyright law to ratify Marrakesh as may want to attend in the Asia- Pacific Region in the coming months. soon as possible. There are 10 million people who are vision We welcome any news and impaired in China; currently there are comments from our readers. Please gaps between Marrakesh and China send them to anyone of us in the copyright law. People who are blind Editorial Team. Our contact are the only beneficiaries under information can be found at the end of this publication. existing legislation. Happy reading. Fiji: Copyright Act 1996. Marrakesh means the Act requires urgent Wong Yoon Loong attention. There will be considerable Editor. legislative amendments needed. ****** Government prepared to work with Fiji Blind Association and others. Progress Report on the Indonesia: There was a 2014 Marrakesh Treaty Ratification amendment to the copyright law. The Campaign in the Asia-Pacific amendment addresses the Region requirements of Marrakesh, and there is a commitment to ensure it By Neil Jarvis complies. Necessary regulations are currently being prepared. There is a process for ratification in motion, rights as well. Note though that the hopefully in 2015. administration of the law is likely to be a challenge, but an appropriate Laos: Has an intellectual property intellectual property system will be law. They do not expect any problem developed in the near future. in ratifying the treaty but expect it will take time. Collaboration with UNDP Malaysia: 2012 saw an amendment WBUAP is being assisted through a to the copyright law. Officials are partnership with the UNDP AP currently studying the mechanism region and UNESCAP. UNDP is necessary to comply with Marrakesh. carrying out a mapping study on the This will take time. The 2012 readiness of countries in the region amendment included exceptions for to implement Marrakesh. people who are vision impaired and others. Regulations to implement In March, UNDP recruited Jonathan Band as a legal consultant to help Marrakesh will follow when ready. with the multi-country legal analysis/mapping process. Mongolia: Current copyright law includes exceptions for people who To support Jonathan’s preliminary are vision impaired. Government research, UNDP has already working on necessary amendments. compiled a list of copyright laws and related information for the target The intellectual property office has countries. prepared all documents of accession. Cabinet will discuss these We expect a report that is strong in the near future, then it will pass to both on advocacy and technical Parliament. Parliament will then be fronts, so that it could be used as a asked to adopt the law which will practical tool for facilitating the broad allow for accession later this year. spectrum of the ratification process. ****** Myanmar: The existing copyright law is the 1914 law. There is much work EXERTS FROM THE SPEECH to do to bring it up to date. A new law BY THE SECRETARY has been drafted. The new law will GENERAL OF WBUAP be in line with Marrakesh. The new draft law has been submitted to the (Given by Ivan Ho on the intellectual property office for official opening of the comment. It will later go to headquarters of Myanmar Parliament. This is regarded as not National Association of the just a matter of access, but of human Blind, 23 June 2015). I want to thank the President and privileges accorded to them but, at members of the Executive Council of the same time, requiring disabled the Myanmar National Association of people to assume the responsibilities of citizenship. the Blind (MNAB) for inviting my wife and I to witness this happy and (c) Consequent to the signing of the auspicious occasion, the official CRPD disabled peoples’ opening of your headquarters which organisations (DPOs), including you can now call your home, and a MNAB, were invited by the place from where you can operate Government to contribute in-puts in more effectively in carrying out the the drafting of the National Law on Disabilities. This Law, I note with work of MNAB. great satisfaction, was signed by the President of Myanmar on 5 June and Let me also hasten to congratulate was announced the following day. the Government of Myanmar and the Similar to what is happening in other MNAB for some of the following countries, the PWD Act will be the outstanding achievements made in foundation stone on which all recent years. There are too many to legislation and policies affecting the mention, but I will list a few of them: disabled in the country will be influenced. I salute all stakeholders (a) The successful registration of on this fantastic document. MNAB as the national organisation co-ordinating the work for people (d) In the field of education, the who are blind and partially sighted, Government, working with MNAB working hand in hand with the and other organisations serving the Government and with other disability BPS, has made tremendous strides organisations to achieve national in bringing literacy to the BPS. With objectives. MNAB has made steady assistive equipment, such as progress in setting up massage computers with speech screen centres, thereby creating readers and other devices, BPS are employment for BPS masseurs. able to enroll into institutions of MNAB has continued strengthening higher learning, and they are able to its organisational structure, and on 6 perform tasks which until now they June opened another branch in were prevented from undertaking. Sagaing. There are several BPS among us who are graduates, and there are (b) The signing of the UN people who have been to Japan, Convention on the Rights of Persons Malaysia and other countries to learn with Disabilities (UNCRPD) by the ICT, acquire advanced skills in Government of Myanmar. This massage and other aspects of action, as most people will know, is a rehabilitation. With the milestone step taken by the implementation of the UNCRPD and Government in acknowledging and the PWD Act, I believe more BPS recognising the rights of disabled will be able to receive education as people to live as equal citizens of the country, enjoying all the rights and advocated by the UN and other RECOMMENDATIONS OF bodies in calling for Education for All. THE WORKSHOP ON Despite the progress made, I would WORKING TOGETHER TO like to Appeal to the Government: ENHANCE JOB education and ICT skills will mean OPPORTUNITIES FOR nothing much to anyone who wants to live an independent and PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND productive life if there are no AND VISION IMPAIRED prospects for him or her to get employment. Now that foreign The workshop on strengthening investments are coming fast into the interaction with people who are country and international blind and vision impaired persons conglomerates are setting up their to enhance their job opportunities businesses here, I am very confident was attended by 20 participants job opportunities will definitely be representing the Government, created. I fervently hope the BPS will institutions of higher learning and be able to enjoy the fruits of progress the National Council for the Blind as equal citizens. Malaysia (NCBM). Here, I appeal most sincerely to the OBJECTIVES: Government to show a good 1. Encourage and help to facilitate example to the private sector by blind and vision-impaired (BVI) job- giving employment opportunities to seekers to apply for Government the BPS who have the qualifications employment in achieving the goal of and the skills to take up the jobs. the Policy on the 1 Percent Job And to MNAB, I urge the leaders to Quota for the Disabled as continue introducing new services announced by the Government in the and to upgrade existing ones to 1990s. equip your members with the necessary skills to face the 2. Collaborate with the Government challenges that lie ahead. It will not and institutions of higher learning in be easy, but with determination and meeting the special requirements of hard work, you will reap the fruits of the BVI's in employment by providing your struggle. assistive equipment and training on its use, career counselling and In closing, let me again congratulate blindness-specific skills all of you for the tremendous enhancements.