+++AUSTRALIAN BLINDNESS FORUM and NATIONAL DISABILITY SERVICES. ++ABF/NDS UPDATE MARCH 2009. [Contents begin] +01. More about the ABF. +02. NDS and Disability at the National Press Club. +03. New National Disability Agreement. +04. Employment. +05. Companion Card. +06. National Human Rights Consultation. +07. Audio Description (AD). +08. Teaching Students with Sensory Impairments – Strategies for Mainstream Teachers. +09. Information, Publications. +10. ABF Member Organisations. +11. Continuing Professional Education Events. +12. National Conferences. +13. NDS Events. +14. International: World Blind Union. +15. International: Louis Braille Bicentenary. +16. International: Other Items. +17. Feature Article: ReadHowYouWant. - Getting More Information on Issues in this Update. - Reproducing Information from this Update. - About Australian Blindness Forum. - About National Disability Services. [Update begins] +01. MORE ABOUT THE ABF. In the past month, the ABF has: - lodged a submission to the Inquiry into the Draft Disability (Access to Premises – Buildings) Standards - announced the WBUAP Onkyo Braille Essay Contest and formed a judging panel - held a Board of Directors’ meeting on 23 March - circulated the first Politician’s Newsletter, drawing on items from the January/February ABF/NDS Update - participated in the annual NDS National Policy meeting - participated in the meeting of the NDS National Committee on Children, Young People and Their Families - participated in the first meeting of the Access to Aviation Working Group and provided feedback on security staff training - obtained statistics on the low level of employment of people with vision loss (see item 4 below) - formed a reference group to consider the report on the 2007 Federal Election e-voting trial - reviewed the membership of the ABF Policy Subcommittees Over the twelve months to the end of January 2009, the ABF website http://www.australianblindnessforum.org.au received close to 11,000 hits, with the ABF/NDS Updates and ABF policies received the highest number. However, in just over two weeks, the page on Emergency Bushfire Information received 100 hits. +02. NDS AND DISABILITY AT THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB. Bill Shorten, Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children’s Services, will be the keynote speaker at a National Press Club Lunch in Canberra on 1 April 2009. NDS arranged the event and Chief Executive Ken Baker will speak briefly before Mr Shorten about the idea of a disability service entitlement. +03. NEW NATIONAL DISABILITY AGREEMENT. - More investment in research: Federal, State and Territory Disability Services Ministers will increase funding for research to $10 million over five years. The previous CSTDA set aside only $2 million for research. Ministers will consider how best to facilitate this research at their next meeting. NDS members can find out more from the NDS News Update of 11 March – go to http://www.nds.org.au. +04. EMPLOYMENT. The ABF has obtained more detailed statistics from DEEWR on the employment of people who are blind or vision impaired. Analysis of these confirms the inequitable rate of participation and supports the ABF’s intention to investigate nationally, strategies that could be implemented to increase participation rates in both DEN (Disability Employment Network) and FaHCSIA programs and increase the current job placement rate in DEN programs. FaHCSIA has appointed Jenny Pearson and Associates to undertake a review of the Consumer Training and Support (CT&S) Program, which was set up more than ten years ago to help people with disability participate in and better understand quality assurance processes in disability employment services. As part of the review process, focus groups will be conducted nationally and both supported employees and support staff will be able to provide further feedback by completing a survey distributed by FaHCSIA by Friday 24 April 2009. For more information, go to http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/newsletters/disability/2009/issue127.htm. +05. COMPANION CARD. The aim of the Companion Card is to allow people with profound disability, who require attendant care for the rest of their lives, to participate in community activities and events without discrimination. Companion Cards can be presented at participating organisations where cardholders will not be required to pay an admission fee for their companion who is providing attendant care. The scheme is well established in Western Australia (where it is administered by NDS), Victoria and Tasmania and has just been launched in New South Wales (where it is also administered by NDS). Information on the first three schemes can be accessed via http://www.companioncard.org.au and on the NSW scheme via http://www.nds.org.au/nsw/companioncard.htm. +06. NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS CONSULTATION. Some workshops have already occurred during March with others yet to be held in April and/or May in Townsville, Palm Island, Adelaide, Sydney, Perth, Tasmania, Northern Territory and Victoria. For more detail, go to http://www.humanrights.gov.au/letstalkaboutrights/workshops.html. A new guide for young people, ‘Let’s talk about rights’ has been published to help them participate in the consultation. The guide explains what the consultation is about, and how children can make a submission about the human rights issues that they feel most strongly about. The guide is available at http://www.humanrights.gov.au/letstalkaboutrights/youth.html. +07. AUDIO DESCRIPTION (AD). - BCA Postcard Campaign on AD: The postcards are at the printer and will shortly be ready for distribution. The campaign needs to be concentrated for maximum effect, so it will be conducted only over the month of May. To find out more about AD, visit http://www.bca.org.au/news0812.htm#audio or phone BCA on 03 9654 1400 or email bca@bca.org.au. - AD in the UK is making steady progress on the DVD front with 47 per cent of the 100 top-selling DVDs released last year having audio description tracks. The BBC has announced that re-releases of its old programs through 2Entertain will include talking menus even if the programs themselves do not have AD. - Bollywood Project: Work undertaken in India to caption Bollywood movies is now reaching out to other disabilities including vision impairment. The most significant project in this area has been launched by RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People) with an audio description ‘Bollywood Project’. For more information, go to http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/publicwebsite/public_bollywood.hcsp. +08. TEACHING STUDENTS WITH SENSORY IMPAIRMENTS – STRATEGIES FOR MAINSTREAM TEACHERS. This project is the result of an international, collaborative effort among educators in the United States, Australia and New Zealand, who work with students with vision or hearing impairments. The aim of the website http://www.trinity.edu/org/sensoryimpairments/index.htm is to provide a resource for professionals, parents and university students involved in fully including students with sensory impairments in our educational systems. +09. INFORMATION, PUBLICATIONS. - Round Table Lifetime Achievement Award is for outstanding service to the Print Disability Sector, although the individual is expected to have had some connection with Round Table. For more information about this inaugural award, Round Table members can login to the website http://www.e-bility.com/roundtable/ or email RoundtableAdmn@bigpond.com. The closing date for nominations is 8 April 2009. - ADBC Beacon: The newsletter of the Australian DeafBlind Council is calling for contributions for its Autumn 2009 issue. Submissions should be sent to Mike Steer, RIDBC Renwick Centre by emailing mike.steer@ridbc.org.au or faxing to 02 9873 1614. For more information about ADBC, go to http://home.internex.net.au/~dba/. +10. ABF MEMBER ORGANISATIONS. - Guide Dogs Victoria has now been active for more than 50 years. As part of the celebrations, Max Walker launched the book ‘Fifty Tails from Fifty Years’. To find out more, go to http://www.guidedogsvictoria.com.au/. - Guide Dogs Tasmania has also been in existence for more than 50 years. For more information about the organisation, go to http://www.guidedogstas.com.au/pages/homepage. - Guide Dogs Queensland: Each year on April 29, International Guide Dogs Day, Guide Dogs Queensland (GDQ) acknowledges the achievement of those Queenslanders who have qualified with a Guide Dog in the preceding 12-month period. This year, GDQ celebrates the successful matching of seven clients. Officiating at the ceremony will be GDQ’s Patron, Her Excellency Ms Penelope Wensley, AO, Governor of Queensland. For more information, go to http://www.guidedogsqld.com.au/page/About_Us/News_and_Events/Whats_On/Intertnational_Guide_Dog_Day. - Vision Australia’s website has gained international recognition for being only one of two in the world to achieve the highest level of conformance (Level AAA) to the new Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0). For more information, go to http://www.visionaustralia.org.au/info.aspx?page=823&news=870. Vision Australia Dickinson Literary Award winners have been announced. With more than 80 entries across six categories, the standard of writing was exceptional. Please visit http://www.visionaustralia.org/literaryaward to read the winning entries, or to obtain other information about the Award. Vision Australia Audio Books, launched in 2008, has already established a reputation as a producer of an exciting range of Australian audio books. The catalogue includes best sellers such as the Underbelly series, children's books, sporting favourites like Grandstand and Kerry O'Keeffe's hilarious Unstitched, as well as popular programs from ABC Radio and TV. New titles for April 2009 include: > The House at Salvation Creek by Susan Duncan > Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities by John Silvester & Andrew Rule > Self Love. Accepting Yourself and Loving Others by Stephanie Dowrick > Would You Like Attitude With That? By Justin Herald > The Remarkable Secret of Aurelie Bonhoffen by Deborah Abela For more information, visit http://www.visionaustralia.org or call 1300 84 74 66. ‘Living in a Sensory World’, the exciting exhibition developed by Vision Australia in partnership with Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum, is also supported by Visions of Australia, an Australian Government program supporting touring exhibitions by providing funding assistance for the development and touring of cultural material across the country. Today, Australians who are blind or have low vision participate in every aspect of community life, thanks to developments in education and training, technology, legislation and social change over the past 140 years. Visiting the exhibition provides visitors an understanding of the world of the blind and low vision community and their achievements. It features objects from Vision Australia’s heritage collection, compelling accounts and examples of new technologies that are increasing the independence of thousands of Australians. The exhibition will run in the Powerhouse Museum’s Australian Communities Gallery throughout 2009. After its year-long run there, it will tour regional areas. For more information, please visit http://www.visionaustralia.org or call Vision Australia on 1300 84 74 66. +11. CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION EVENTS. There is a comprehensive 2009 program on offer from RIDBC Renwick Centre. To find out more about courses in hearing impairment, Braille, vision impairment, multiple disability and special offers, go to http://www.ridbc.org.au/renwick/courses/continuinged_calendar.asp. +12. NATIONAL CONFERENCES. - VISCON Conference for Teachers of the Vision Impaired: RIDBC Renwick Centre has passed on information about this conference that will be held in Sydney on 2 and 3 April 2009. For more information, go to http://www.ridbc.org.au/renwick/pdf/VisconProgram.pdf, and to register, go to http://www.ridbc.org.au/renwick/courses/continuinged_register.asp. - AFDO first national conference: ‘Policy About Us, For Us! A Practical Revolution in the Lives of People with Disabilities’ will be held in Melbourne on 28 and 29 May 2009. Go to http://www.afdo.org.au/node/229 to register for conference updates. - Round Table Conference will be held at the Citigate Central Motel in Sydney from 30 May to 2 June. The conference aims centre on the changing face of service delivery while continuing to provide service in today’s context. For more information, go to http://www.e-bility.com/roundtable/ or contact Tammy Axelsen, RT Administration Officer at RoundTableAdmn@bigpond.com. - Disability Studies Conference: The Disability Studies and Research Centre will host a conference at the University of New South Wales on 26 and 27 June 2009. To find out or more about the conference, go to http://www.hotelnetwork.com.au/conferences/conferences/disability_studies. +13. NDS EVENTS. - Building Workforce Capacity – Satisfaction, Safety and Skills, the NDS National Workforce and OHS Conference, will be held in Hobart on 4 and 5 May. More information is at http://www.nds.org.au/national/default.htm. - Shining Through – Creating sustainable employment in a turbulent world: This international conference, incorporating the NDS 2009 National Employment Forum and the Workability International Conference, will be held in Sydney on 6 to 9 September. The Call for Papers closes on 31 March – for more information, go to http://www.nds.org.au/conferences/EF2009/CallForPapers.pdf. - CEO Meeting – Policy and Management Advice for Decision Makers: This annual event, to be held in Canberra on 30 November and 1 December, is for CEOs, senior managers and board members from NDS member organisations. +14. INTERNATIONAL: WORLD BLIND UNION (WBU). - WBUAP Onkyo Braille Essay Contest – Calling all Braille writers: The Onkyo Corporation Ltd, The Braille Mainichi Newspaper and the World Blind Union-Asia Pacific invite people who are blind or vision impaired in the Asia Pacific Region to compete in this seventh contest by submitting essays on one of three topics: 1. ‘How Has Braille Changed the Lives of a Person Who is Blind or Vision Impaired, in Particular to My Own Success?’ 2. ‘In What Ways Have Braille and Audio Devices Enriched My Daily Life?’ 3. ‘How Can Braille Help a Person who is Blind or Vision Impaired to Become a Successful Musician?’ Each essay in Braille must be original and one contestant may only submit one entry. Each country may only send a maximum of five entries from two age groups: Group A – persons between 14 to 25 years and Group B – persons 26 years and older. This means that each country may choose to send all five entries from Group A or all from Group B or a combination from the two groups. Each entry when translated into English must be between 750 and 1000 words and must be submitted to the Australian judging committee by the deadline of 10 May 2009 by email to scarter@rsb.org.au or by post to Sharyn Carter, Royal Society for the Blind of SA, 254 Angas Street, Adelaide SA 5000. For more information about entry conditions, please email margaret.verick@nds.org.au. - WBUAP Newsletter: The latest issue of ‘East Wind’ includes a look at the new President, Board and Policy Council Members of the Region; Visit to Mongolian Federation of the Blind; Historical Workshop in Papua New Guinea; the Third Asia Pacific Disability Forum: General Assembly and Conference; and Women in Action. To request the newsletter, please email margaret.verick@nds.org.au. +17. INTERNATIONAL: LOUIS BRAILLE BICENTENARY . - International Congress Visually Impaired 2009 will be held in Coupvray, France from 18 to 20 June 2009 as part of the Bicentenary celebrations. For more information, go to http://www.cinal-dv2009.com/. - Australian Louis Braille Bicentenary Website: The Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children, in creating a website to mark the bicentenary of Louis Braille’s birth, has produced and collected a range of resources about Braille facts, info, videos, trivia, games and quizzes, links to Braille events and workshops and some reading lists. The information is geared towards the general public to provide an overview of the history of Braille and an introduction to the Braille code. To find out more, go to http://www.cubicconsulting.com.au/ridbc/index.cfm?skinname=content&page=43984. - Braille Bug: The American Federation for the Blind’s Braille Bug website http://www.afb.org/braillebug/ provides information for sighted students. +18. INTERNATIONAL: OTHER ITEMS. - UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Congratulations to Professor Ron McCallum AO on his appointment as Rapporteur to the UN Convention. In that role, Professor McCallum will be responsible for reporting to the UN General Assembly on the recommendations and activities of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. - Twenty-fifth Pacific Rim International Conference on Disabilities: Before this conference is held in Honolulu on 4 to 5 May, the Second Annual International Forum for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will take place on 2 and 3 May 2009 in honour of the sixtieth anniversary of human rights. More information about the PacRim conference is at http://www.pacrim.hawaii.edu/. - Text-to-speech technology is to be integrated for the first time into latest generation digital television (DTV) set-top boxes in the coming UK summer. The technology, already in use in automotive applications, has been developed by a major consumer electronics producer in conjunction with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/code/InternetHome.hcsp) and digital TV advisers Digital Technology Advisory (DTA). TTS technology converts normal language text into speech and is supplementary to the growing application of audio description (AD) within set-top boxes. For more information, go to http://www.dtaltd.co.uk. +19. FEATURE ARTICLE. ReadHowYouWant: The idea behind RHYW is to make custom editions of books for those who need larger print (up to 24 pt) or DAISY, which synchronises text and audio for low-vision readers. RHYW’s text conversion technology can also produce e-books for a variety of formats, including Amazon’s Kindle and Mobipocket, as well as audio-books and Braille editions. The brainchild of Australian Christopher Stephen, RHYW was developed to help his sister continue to read despite eye-tracking problems caused by multiple sclerosis. His goal was to create a program that could convert books into a variety of formats using a simple PDF. Christopher Stephen says that ‘… for years, a “one-size-fits-all” model has dominated the publishing industry when it comes to book formats and access to alternative formats has, for the most part, been dictated by financial considerations rather than the requirements of the individual reader. Like many, I had believed that it was the reader’s responsibility to find a way to read published editions of books. The experiment with my sister really shifted that belief structure in my head. I saw that one size does not fit all when it comes to publishing and different people need different editions. … It really hit home how RHYW could make a difference in people’s lives when I gave a 75-year-old man with a vision impairment a reformatted document and he was so excited he kissed me!’ The Australian company’s goal is to make all books accessible to all readers. The online (http://www.readhowyouwant.com) book retailer has nearly 2,000 titles available in accessible formats and is continually adding new titles at all reading levels through partnerships with publishers, including Simon & Schuster Australia, New World Library, Career Press, Gareth Stevens and Rosen, Random House Australia and Murdoch Books. Within the year, RHYW expects to add several thousand titles for libraries to choose from. In addition to a large collection of public domain titles, RHYW has a diverse collection of books from publishing partners for sale. After ordering ‘On Demand’, the selection will be converted and available for download in ten days. When a title is marked ‘Available Now’, immediate download can occur after payment. - Getting more information on issues in the ABF/NDS Update: Unless otherwise stated, please contact Margaret Verick at margaret.verick@nds.org.au, phone 02 6283 3214. - Reproducing information from the ABF/NDS 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 – contact 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. [Update ends]