+++AUSTRALIAN BLINDNESS FORUM and NATIONAL DISABILITY SERVICES . ++ABF UPDATE MARCH 2008. [Contents begin] +01. ABF Policies. +02. ABF Recycled Equipment Website. +03. COAG Meeting. +04. National Advocacy Reforms. +05. National Disability Awards 2008. +06. National Commissioner for Children Bill. +07. Australia 2020 Summit. +08. National Unified Lifeskills Model (NULM). +09. Review of Accessible Public Transport Standards. +10. Information, Publications. +11. Continuing Professional Education Events. +12. Web Accessibility Workshops. +13. National Conferences. +14. World Blind Union. +15. Other International Items. +16. National Disability Services (NDS). +About Australian Blindness Forum +About National Disability Services [Contents end] [Update begins] +01. ABF POLICIES. On 12 March 2008, the ABF Board adopted a number of policies, developed after extensive consultation through Policy Subcommittees, on Access to Equipment; Access to Information; Braille Literacy and Numeracy; Employment; and National Vision Loss Rehabilitation Services Plan. On 18 March, the package of adopted policies was presented to the Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children’s Services, Bill Shorten, in the joint names of National Disability Services and ABF. The one remaining policy on Education and Children’s Services will be forwarded to Mr Shorten separately. All ABF members have received a copy of the package of adopted policies and the draft Education and Children’s Services policy. +02. ABF RECYCLED EQUIPMENT WEBSITE. In the ABF Update February 2008, it was reported that Australia’s delegates to the World Blind Union (WBU) Asia-Pacific Regional Assembly in China last August received endorsement for a surplus equipment exchange scheme to be piloted in the Pacific-Oceania Region. The website was launched in November 2007. 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 website Equipment Register at http://www.rsb.org.au/wbu/index.html. +03. COAG MEETING. The Prime Minister’s communiqué following the meeting of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) on 26 March included an announcement on Productivity, Education, Skills and Early Childhood. ‘For the first time, all governments have agreed on a common framework for reform of education, a key step in the Education Revolution. COAG has endorsed a comprehensive set of the aspirations, outcomes, progress measures and future policy directions in the key areas of early childhood, schooling and skills and workforce development that will guide education systems across the nation, building on the initiatives currently underway across States and Territories. COAG also agreed to four additional high-level targets that it will use to measure the achievement of reform in Indigenous educational attainment and the vocational education and training sector. COAG also committed to several key strategies to strengthen early childhood education and care, roll out the computers in schools and the trade training centres programs and provide additional training places under Skilling Australia. As an early priority, COAG has agreed to the development of a national partnership agreement focused on the particular educational needs of low socio-economic status school communities …[which] will form part of the national education funding agreement to be introduced at the beginning of 2009.’ +04. NATIONAL ADVOCACY REFORMS. The Federal Government has extended the implementation timetable for reforms to the National Disability Advocacy Program (NDAP) and, as promised pre-election, has dropped plans to open up the program to competitive tendering. Under the revised 4-year timetable, organisations must be certified against Disability Advocacy Standards and Key Performance Indicators by June 2012. Organisations that achieve QA certification will be offered 3-year funding agreements beginning 1 July 2012. The QA process will be similar to that which applies to disability employment standards, with certification provided by JAS-ANZ-accredited auditing bodies. For more information, NDS members can access the NDS News Update of 17 March. FaHCSIA is seeking feedback on Draft Advocacy Standards and KPIs by 2 May 2008. For FaHCSIA background information and contacts, go to http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/internet/facsinternet.nsf/disabilities/representation-ndap.htm. +05. NATIONAL DISABILITY AWARDS 2008. Nominations are now open for these awards, which were inaugurated last year to acknowledge the achievements and contributions individuals with disability make to the Australian community, as well as recognise individuals who have contributed to the disability sector. People can be nominated in one of five categories: Community Contribution; Young Community Contribution; Inclusion; Go Getter and Personal Achievement. Nominations close 9 May. For more information, phone 1800 440 385 or go to http://www.idpwd.com.au or NDS members can read NDS News Update of 18 March at http://www.nds.org.au. +06. NATIONAL COMMISSIONER FOR CHILDREN BILL. Democrats Queensland Senator, Andrew Bartlett, has introduced a Bill to Parliament to establish an independent National Commissioner for Children. He said that the Bill aims to ‘build community support for the new Labor Government to act on this much-needed reform, in accordance with its 2007 National Platform.’ The Bill is similar to the Labor Party’s A Better Future for Our Kids Bill 2003 which was introduced into the House of Representatives, but was not debated and subsequently lapsed. In 2004, the NDS National Committee on Children, Young People and Their Families favourably considered the need for a national Commissioner. Many community groups have called for the establishment of that role, including the current Coalition of Organisations Committed to the Safety and Wellbeing of Australia’s Children, coordinated by Families Australia, of which NDS is a member. NDS members can read the NDS News Update of 19 March at http://www.nds.org.au. +07. AUSTRALIA 2020 SUMMIT. Recently announced by Prime Minister Rudd, the Summit will be held at Parliament House in Canberra on 19 and 20 April 2008. It will bring together 1,000 leading Australians ‘to tackle the long term challenges confronting Australia’s future … which require … responses from the nation beyond the usual three year electoral cycle’. An open invitation has also been extended to all Australian individuals, schools, groups and organisations to contribute submissions for consideration at the Summit. Ten critical areas have been identified as requiring a long term policy response and the names of the 1000 people chosen to participate have been released. For more information, go to the Australia 2020 Summit website at http://www.australia2020.gov.au/index.cfm. +08. NATIONAL UNIFIED LIFESKILLS MODEL (NULM). The national parent summit planned for April 2008 has been postponed. For more information, email Errol Ingram at errol@nulm.org. +09. REVIEW OF ACCESSIBLE PUBLIC TRANSPORT STANDARDS. The Draft Report on the Review of the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport is available for public comment on the review website http://www.ddatransportreview.com.au. The Allen Consulting Group is seeking comments from stakeholders on the Draft Report up to 5.00pm on Monday 31 March 2008. If you have any difficulties accessing the Draft Report, phone Sharon Kennard on 02 6204 6500. +10. INFORMATION, PUBLICATIONS. - My Vision Works, an exhibition of art by people who are blind, will be held at the Foyer Gallery, Gasworks Arts Park in Albert Park, Melbourne from 22 April to 12 May (opening night 23 April 6pm to 8pm). For more information, contact Madeleine Popper at madeleine@ronpopper.com.au, phone the Foyer Gallery on 03 8606 4200 or visit the website at http://www.gasworks.org.au/whats_on/visual-arts.php. - Macular Degeneration Awareness Week will be held from 25 to 31 May this year. For more information, go to http://www.mdfoundation.com.au/page3323837.aspx. - Australia’s biggest youth event: National Youth Week will be held between 5 and 13 April 2008. The new website http://www.youthweek.com will have information on ways for young people to join activities, win prizes, enter competitions and have a say on issues that affect them. To read the media release of Minister for Youth, Kate Ellis, go to http://mediacentre.dewr.gov.au/mediacentre/AllReleases/2008/January/Australiasbiggestyoutheventonline.htm, and to read about the competitions, go to http://mediacentre.dewr.gov.au/mediacentre/AllReleases/2008/January/NationalYouthWeek2008Competitionsopen.htm. The 2020 Youth Summit will be held in Parliament House, Canberra on 12 and 13 April 2008, the weekend preceding the Australia 2020 Summit in Canberra. One hundred young Australians aged 15-24 will be invited to contribute their insights and ideas on solutions to the long term policy challenges facing Australia. For more information, visit http://www.australia2020.gov.au/youth/index.cfm. - BCA National Parenting Group: BCA plans to establish a national parenting group specifically for parents or soon-to-be parents who are blind or vision impaired. Run over teleconference, the goal will be to share experiences and tips on child-raising. If anyone is interested in joining the group, or to help get it moving, please email Jessica Zammit at Jessica.zammit@bca.org.au. +11. CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION EVENTS. The RIDBC Renwick Centre Professional Education (CPE) program offers the following events during April, May and June 2008: - Improving the Outcomes of Hearing Impaired Students in Mainstream Schools – 9 April. - Vision Impairment: An Ophthalmological Perspective – 11 April. - Important Factors in Auditory-Verbal Therapy Decision Making – 22 and 23 April. - Educational Programs for Children with Low Vision – 24 April. - Basic Orientation and Mobility Skills – 14 May. - The Auditory System and Hearing Impairment – 14 May. - Cultural Factors in Service Implementation – 21 May. - Supporting Children with Vision Impairment: A Pathway Analysis Approach – 4 June. For further details on these courses, go to the CPE online calendar at http://www.ridbc.org.au/renwick/courses/continuinged_calendar.asp. For more information about the CPE program, contact the Coordinator, Dr Reg Fardell, phone 02 9872 0302, email reg.fardell@ridbc.org.au. +12. WEB ACCESSIBILITY WORKSHOPS. For up-to-date information on the workshops run across Australia on Web Accessibility Benefits and Issues, Web Accessibility Techniques and Writing for the Web, visit Vision Australia’s website at http://www.visionaustralia.org.au/info.aspx?page=519. +13. NATIONAL CONFERENCES. - Access Across Australia Conference: Technology Connects Families to Services will be held on 7 April 2008 at Renwick Centre, Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children in Sydney. This inaugural conference will feature RIDBC Teleschool and will benefit anyone interested in utilising distance service delivery and disseminating support to a wider segment of the population. This includes practitioners working in health, education, training, rehabilitation and disabilities. For more information or to register for the conference, visit http://www.ridbc.org.au/services/teleschool_conference.asp. Register to attend as soon as possible as the early bird fee closes on 1 April. - ACOSS National Conference, ‘Taking steps for a fair go for all social inclusion policies and practices’, will be held in Melbourne on 9 and 10 April. A focus on disability is included in the program. For more information, go to http://www.acoss.org.au/Events.aspx?displayID=1. - 2008 National Conference of the Round Table on Information Access for People with Print Disabilities will be held in Melbourne on 11 to 14 April, immediately after the Fourth General Assembly of the International Council on English Braille on 6 to 10 April. More information and the call for papers (closing date for submission of abstracts was 5 October 2007) are available at http://www.e-bility.com/roundtable/. - 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 read the call for papers, go to http://www.e-bility.com/arata/conf_abstracts.php. - 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. The Call for Papers closed on 29 February 2008. For more information, phone Jessica Bosnakis of All Occasions Management on 08 8354 2285 or email Jessica@aomevents.com. +14. WORLD BLIND UNION (WBU). - WBU General Assembly 2008: The Swiss Federation of the Blind and Visually Impaired will host the Seventh WBU General Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland from 15 to 23 August. Registration for the General Assembly and Women’s Forum is open until 31 March. More information about the General Assembly and the Women’s Forum is available at http://www.wbu2008.ch/e/ or by emailing wbu2008@kuoni.ch. - New date for International Congress for Blind and Partially Sighted Children: The conference, ‘Listening to the Children’, will now be held from 16 to 20 June 2008 in Pontevedra, Spain. The congress aims to provide a forum for a group of teenagers who are blind or partially sighted from around the world to reflect on their current status and to make their demands and needs known to decision and policy makers. For more information, go to http://www.worldblindunion.org/appdocumentos/ingles/Listening%20to%20the%20Children%20article.doc (although you’ll notice that the old March date is still shown there). +15. OTHER INTERNATIONAL ITEMS. - United Nations: NDS has responded to the Australian Government’s request for comment on the implications of ratifying the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. NDS has recommended that the Government commit further to strengthening the rights and freedoms of persons with disabilities by ratifying the Convention but pointed out that all governments across Australia would need to undertake extensive reviews and reforms of legislation, regulations, policies, design standards and, importantly, disability service funding levels. To read the response, NDS members can access the News Update of 14 March at http://www.nds.org.au. - ILO Advocacy Kit: The International Labour Organisation (ILO) will this month produce an advocacy kit on decent work for people with disabilities. It will provide all interested stakeholders with elements needed to manage campaigns to promote a more inclusive workplace. A special message by Academy Award winner, Marlee Matlin, can be accessed at http://www.ilo.org/global/About_the_ILO/Media_and_public_information/Broadcast_materials/Video_News_Release/lang--en/WCMS_088117/index.htm. - Twenty-first Century Communications Video Accessibility Act: The US House of Representatives has released a draft bill which proposes to amend the Communications Act – the main statute that impacts the telephone and video programming industries – to add new consumer protections that will ensure people with disability do not get left out or left behind as telephones and television programming increasingly rely on digital and Internet Protocol (IP) technologies. For more information, contact Deafness Forum Australia, http://www.deafnessforum.org.au/. - 24th Annual Pacific Rim Conference on Disabilities has been rescheduled to 14 and 15 April 2008 in Honolulu, Hawaii – go to http://www.pacrim.hawaii.edu/ for more information. - International Guide Dog Day on Wednesday 30 April this year celebrates the important role guide dogs (and seeing eye dogs) play in helping people who are blind or vision impaired to achieve safe and independent travel. Links to guide dog associations are on the website at http://www.guidedogsaustralia.com/. - Vision 2008, the 9th international conference on low vision, will be held in Montreal, Canada from 7 to 11 July 2008 – go to http://www.vision2008.ca. - International Conference on Diverse Abilities & Innovative Supports, ‘Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Community’, will be held in Hawaii on 11 to 13 August 2008. A call for papers will close on Friday 7 March 2008. For more information, go to http://www.craconferences.com. - Australian Disability and Development Consortium (ADDC) will host its 2008 international conference, ‘Disability, Disadvantage and Development’ in Canberra on 29 to 30 September. The 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. Visit http://www.addc.org.au for updates 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. ADDC reports that the Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance, Bob McMullan, said that disability is a key area of interest for AusAID, and Labor will develop a disability policy to mainstream disability into the aid program. For more information, visit http://www.addc.org.au/newsevents.html. - Mobility International USA (MIUSA) is currently accepting applications from emerging and established women leaders with disabilities, including from the Oceania/Pacific region, to attend the fourth International Women’s Institute on Leadership and Disability (WILD) from 12 August to 2 September 2008 in the USA. The WILD program will include workshops, site visits and practical activities on priority issues for women with disabilities. Applications close on Friday 4 April 2008. For more information, contact Mobility International USA WILD 2008 by emailing womenleaders@miusa.org or visit http://www.miusa.org/admin/wild-2008. - 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 200th 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. +16. NATIONAL DISABILITY SERVICES (NDS). - Inaugural Children’s Conference: The first national conference on children and young people with disability and their families, Every Child Matters, will be co-hosted by NDS and Families Australia in Melbourne this year. It will identify issues, share solutions, celebrate successes and help services to better respond to needs across four themes: family wellbeing; one community; our voice; policy, practices and priorities. The conference on 14 and 15 May 2008 falls within National Families Week and ends on International Day of Families. The program and registration form are on the NDS website at http://www.nds.org.au/conferences/CYF2008/home.htm. Note: early bird registration has been extended and will now close on 1 April. - Accommodation and Social Participation Conference: NDS is pleased to release advance notice of the 2008 Conference, Home & Community: Overcoming Exclusion. This event, focusing on policy and service delivery issues affecting accommodation and social participation, will be held on 25–26 September 2008 at the Hilton Sydney. A Call for Papers has been issued and closes on 28 April. For more information, contact Philippa Angley, phone 03 8341 4302, email philippa.angley@nds.org.au. +ABOUT AUSTRALIAN BLINDNESS FORUM ABN 47 125 036 857. Australian Blindness Forum (ABF) was first formed as an unincorporated body in 1992, funded only by its members. On 23 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’s registered office, 33 Thesiger Court, Deakin ACT 2600 – contact Margaret Verick, phone 02 6283 3214, email margaret.verick@nds.org.au. +ABOUT NATIONAL DISABILTY SERVICES ABN 52 008 445 485. 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. Anyone who wishes to reproduce any of the information in this ABF Update may do so, just acknowledge this source. [Update ends]