Blind Citizens Australia
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PRAHRAN VICTORIA 3181
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Published by
Blind Citizens Australia
ABN 90 006-985-226
Edited by
Lynne Davis
Our mission is to achieve equity and equality by our empowerment, by promoting positive community attitudes, and by striving for high quality and accessible services which meet our needs.
COPYRIGHT: Reproduction of articles appearing in Blind Citizens News is permitted, provided Blind Citizens News and the author(s) are acknowledged.
Large Print ISSN 1441-449X
Braille ISSN 1441-5658
Cassette ISSN 1441-564X
Blind Citizens News is distributed in Large Print, Braille and Audio. Electronic copies in text format are available from our Web page, on Disk or by Email. To change your format please contact Blind Citizens Australia.
Accessible E-Commerce in Australia
Community Development for Blind Women
Everybody's Business
(see Tune in and Keep up to Date, in this issue)
Identity Card
BCA's Identity card carries a photo, address and signature. It may be used where photo identification is required and is worth 25 points when opening a bank account or entering into business transactions. Application forms are available from the BCA Office.
EDUCATION: THE KEY TO OPPORTUNITY
PART-TIME STUDY BUT FULL-TIME EFFORT!!
BCA POLICY STATEMENT ON EDUCATION
THE Dda AND EDUCATION SEVEN YEARS ON
THE FEDERATION FIVE DOLLAR NOTE
THE WORLD BLIND UNION FOUNDATION
A very short editorial this time around. This issue is so full that there is no room for more! I wish you all a happy new year (although we're already well into it!), and hope that the year brings much success in all our collective endeavours.
I hope you enjoy reading this special issue on education. I was rather disappointed not to receive any contributions dealing with education in the earlier part of last century, as a knowledge of history is always useful for evaluating the present, but nonetheless I think you'll find a lot to interest you in this issue.
Quite a few readers contacted me to say how much they liked the idea of a special issue on travel and tourism, so that will be the theme for the first issue in 2002. I look forward to receiving your suggestions about what you would like to see in this issue.
Happy reading!
A FAREWELL TO A FRIEND
Hugh Jeffrey passed away in his sleep on Thursday, February 1st 2001.
Hugh was a tireless worker for blind and vision impaired persons. Amongst his other achievements, he was active in establishing the following organisations:
Hugh was a passionate attender of BCA meetings, where he always contributed on behalf of those who were in the most need.
Hugh was trained as a musician and teacher. He was a true professional in these fields and his standing amongst his former pupils is living testimony to that His passion to make Blind Citizens Australia truly independent moved him to create a foundation, which would invest funds and use the interest to finance the work of BCA. He invited me to become a partner with him and we were able to establish the Jeffrey Blyth Foundation 4 years ago. The Foundation is already providing a steady stream of income for BCA.
Hugh will always be remembered for his long resolutions, his wit and his genuine compassion.
Our love goes out to his wife, Allison, his daughters Bronwen and Monica, their partners and children
I am writing in response to Dane Trethowen's article [December 2000].
Firstly, while I am in total agreement with Dane's points about the difficulties experienced by blind people in accessing ATMs, I would like to say one thing; if you are just recently blind, or are a beginner at the ATM machines, don't let these difficulties put you off. I can use several ATM machines independently, and very successfully. It's a matter of learning how they operate, and keeping abreast of the changes that are sometimes introduced on these machines. So, if you have difficulties, either go into the bank during business hours to procure some sighted assistance, or take a friend along with you.
Secondly, and as was the case with Dane's article, we can only speak from the experiences we ourselves have. The phone banking system with the National Australia Bank is absolutely spot on. Bpay (used to pay bills) goes through on the next business day. Yes, you are sometimes required to write down receipt numbers. It is a good practise to get into anyway. You might, as Dane suggested, try using a portable tape recorder, or talking organiser. Myself, I much prefer the old style handframe. I jot receipt numbers down in my diary, and can easily flick through from week to week to see what has been paid and when. I steer clear of cheques wherever I can, either paying through the Bpay system, or using my credit card, which means that I am totally independent.
Finally, I'd like to thank both Dane and the News for publishing his comments on the use of the internet banking service at the Commonwealth. Sometimes it is only through hearing about another blind person who does it successfully, that we will try something ourselves. Online shopping is another example where we need to share our experiences. Do readers of the News know, for example, just how simple it is to access the Coles Online website? I have found their service to be excellent, but more importantly I now have the experience of being able to look at a variety of brands for any one product, compare the pricing and make my choice. Sure if I'm honest I'll tell you that it took about ten minutes of sighted assistance in labelling graphics for my Jaws screen reader, but that having been done, grocery shopping is now a breeze.
So, keep the ideas coming!
Louise Pearson
Victoria
Having had my BCA ID card for 6 months without a single use, it was called on to identify me twice in a week recently. Counter staff on both occasions accepted it without question.
When my card first arrived in the mail, I asked a sighted person to identify the face side. Then with scissors, I snipped a small triangle off the top right corner (same position as the stamp on an envelope). When taken out of your pocket or purse, and held the same way, you know you are handing the card over, face up, EVERY TIME. Self-esteem comes in small packages.
Kevin Rowley
Queensland
{Editor's note: my ID card has a built-in identifier in the form of a cut-out in the upper left corner. Have a feel, Kevin - yours should have this too.]
Congratulations on devoting an issue of Blind Citizens News to the subject of education. As you correctly indicated in a previous editorial, we have all had experience with the education system which has had some influence - good or bad - on our later endeavours. Given my personal experience of the education system (spanning from 1964 to 1984) and current role as a service provider within it, I could not resist the temptation to write a piece on a topic which is dear to my heart.
I am a congenitally blind person who has experienced both segregated and mainstream school systems and the university environment as a student and, more recently, a staff member responsible for coordinating services for students with disabilities. Regardless of which hat I wear, I cannot stress enough that equality of access to education is such an important issue. It affects all of us at various stages and in different capacities during our lives.
I look back on my education with mixed emotions. At one level, I envy blind students of today who are protected by anti-discrimination law with a wide range of generic and specialist services underpinned by policies of educational institutions and blindness service agencies available to them. Technology also plays an increasingly important role in assisting blind and vision impaired students in accessing information needed to complete their course of study and in preparing written work. I have been known to say to some of my blind university students that they are well-off in comparison to their predecessors in the school, TAFE or higher education systems. In my student days, for example, computers with Braille, speech or large print output were unheard of, and timely access to textbooks and other course material in a preferred format an impossible dream. The technology of the day consisted of a Perkins Brailler, manual typewriter and cassette recorder, with the majority of material being provided in cassette format long after it was required to study and complete necessary coursework.
At another level, I look back on my student days with pride as a result of proving to others, including some key educators holding senior positions in the NSW specialist school setting, what I already knew. Namely, that blindness did not have to be an insurmountable barrier to achieving a Higher School Certificate or university qualification.
Discriminatory attitudes and outright hostility displayed by teaching staff at school and university were commonplace. I can still remember vividly a university lecturer saying to me at the beginning of my course in Rehabilitation Counselling in front of a class full of my fellow-students: "Who would want to consult with a blind counsellor!" My self-confidence at this point could have taken an irreparable battering. However, I worked hard to ensure this didn't happen. Instead of the negativity of others forcing me to give up at various stages of my education, they spurred me on. Through determination, support from significant others in my life and use of communication and interpersonal skills needed for academic survival, I succeeded in the face of considerable frustration and what others saw as difficult odds.
I encourage people who are blind or vision impaired and/or family members to approach the goal of obtaining education as a positive challenge. An increasing range of services is now available to assist school, TAFE and university students who have a vision disability. Itinerant teachers are available to assist blind and vision impaired students in the school system, while disability services staff (Teacher/Consultants and Disability Liaison Officers) are employed in the TAFE and university sectors of the Australian education system. Blindness service agencies also continue to play an important role in providing information to blind and vision impaired students in accessible formats, and are looking for more efficient ways in which technology can be used to achieve this objective.
There is still a long way to go before we can truly say that the battle to secure a fully accessible education system for students who are blind or vision impaired has been won. Indeed, it is essential that individual and group advocacy continues to ensure that governments, educational institutions and blindness service agencies honour their commitment to provide services to blind and vision impaired students that are of the highest standard. This is important in a climate where economic rationalism and resultant cost-cutting are the order of the day. However, with a common sense of purpose, a positive attitude, organisation and planning, awareness of one's rights and responsibilities, access to appropriate training in and use of assistive technology, acquisition of blindness-specific skills such as orientation and mobility, development of notetaking and research skills, preparedness to seek out information relating to generic and specialist services which may be of assistance providing constructive feedback in a timely manner regarding their usefulness and a willingness to request assistance where necessary, a positive educational experience for blind and vision impaired students is there for the taking.
Sondra Wibberley
New South Wales
I would like to draw to the attention of BCA members in NSW and elsewhere the following problem so often encountered. It is the lack of pedestrian crossings and the problems experienced when you approach your local council or access committee to have a crossing installed. The common answer is that the place where you need a crossing does not meet the required traffic flows as set out in the Roads and Traffic Authority's warrant scheme. Admittedly, there is provision for variation of the traffic flow numbers under certain circumstances for the aged and disabled. However, this does not help greatly as the required traffic figures are set at ridiculous levels.
Yes! The traffic flow required on any street in Walgett, Tamworth, Sofala or Queanbeyan is the same as that required for the installation of a pedestrian crossing in George Street, Sydney. There does not appear to be any sound rationale for the prevailing warrant system. There is an obvious lack of thought and a high level of discrimination against pedestrians in current systems for country towns or cities, with a definite bias towards drivers.
It is dangerous enough crossing the road at any time, let alone a main road or busy street. If there is not sufficient traffic to meet the warrant figures there will be no pedestrian crossing installed. Please request that your local council asks the RTA for a review of their warrant system, and write to both your local member of parliament and the Minister about this matter.
George Archbold
New South Wales
Almost a year ago, as President of Royal Blind Society of New South Wales, I initiated a proposal to other blindness agencies throughout the country to contribute to support of blind and vision impaired people in East Timor. The response to this appeal was disappointing, as only Blind Citizens Australia agreed to join with Royal Blind Society in this project. Several individuals also contributed.
The purpose of the project was to contact blind and vision impaired people in East Timor, and assist them to establish an organisation of blind people which could best determine their needs and how to meet them.
I feel that it is time to write to advise of progress, and Blind Citizens News seemed the most appropriate vehicle because of its broad national coverage and readership.
Both John Landau, CEO of Royal Blind Society, and I have been active in seeking appropriate contacts inside and outside East Timor to advance the process. At first we were advised that survival and basic needs were a top priority, and that we should wait for a while. Later in the year several suggestions were made to us, but they related more to prevention of blindness than to supporting people who were already blind or vision-impaired.
Recently we met with Dr Vernon Niten, an ophthalmologist who has led a team to East Timor several times already to conduct eye surgery. He is doing so again in February. He has agreed to make some initial investigations and contacts for us, and to have one or two people from blindness agencies accompany his team in June to further advance our project. In return for his cooperation Royal Blind Society has decided to contribute financially to the purchase of medical supplies for his February visit. I am confident that this link will provide us with the foundation from which to continue with our project.
I know that Blind Citizens Australia has also renewed its commitment in this area, and I look forward to working more closely with them on the project. David Blyth, as Chair of the Project Committee, will, I am sure, also be very involved.
Whilst we do not have a lot to report so far it is not due to lack of interest in the project. I am keen that the initiative we take will be effective and long-lasting, and provide the foundation for an organisation controlled by blind and vision-impaired East Timorese so that they can determine what their needs are, and the best way to meet them.
I continue to hope that other blindness agencies will see their way clear to contribute to this project in 2001. I would be happy to hear from any who wish to pledge a contribution and become involved.
Graeme Innes
New South Wales
Before I start I'd just like to thank Lynne for her inspiration in the earlier years of my sight loss. I have known Lynne for several years now, we were at the Guide Dogs training centre together. I have been legally blind all my life, but only lost my last bit of sight in 1992/3 and then went through all the usual down times and grief before going to Guide Dogs for white cane training. That's where I met Lynne, who was training with her guide dog Stella. She and the other students were a great inspiration to me, as they had it all together (or so it seemed to me at the time) and they were moving ahead in leaps and bounds. I had lost faith in myself, because when my second lot of sight went I had a great job and didn't know what the possibilities were for a person with very limited sight. Up until then I had no visually impaired friends and so didn't know what the possibilities were.
Eight months later I was back in training with my own guide dog, Zared, and four months after that I was visiting most of the friends that I had made during my first visit to the centre. We went to Sydney, Perth, Adelaide and Bairnsdale. Although I didn't stay long with Lynne and her family, they made me feel like one of them. I'm sure Lynne is an inspiration to a lot more people than just me, and will be for along time to come (you're one of a kind, Lynne).
I still keep in touch with Iain Edwards who is also a great friend, but unfortunately I have lost contact with everyone else that I met at the centre. I hope you are all doing well.
I am hoping that this year is a little different than the previous two were. What with being assaulted in 1999 and also previously to that, and my guide dog being attacked several times, they really weren't all that good for us. It's not all bad, though. In 1999 I started a welfare course at Swinburne. It's a four-year course and I am now half way through it and passing all the way. I have another two years, and then I can get out there and do what I love most, which is helping people who have been victims of society. Since being assaulted and doing my course I feel I have a better understanding of our society and how it functions, and know that I can make a difference out there.
If anyone has got any thing they would like to share with me on how they have coped with any situation please contact me through BCA if that is allowed, as I would like to hear how different people have coped with different problems.
David Walker
Victoria
I would like to begin by wishing everyone a very Happy New Year and I hope that Christmas and the holiday break, for those who had them, were enjoyable and relaxing.
On behalf of the Directors, staff, members and friends of BCA, I would like to congratulate Karen Knight, our National President, and her husband Brian on the birth of their son Joel Ashley on January 3rd.
Following the success of the World Blind Union 5th General Assembly and 2nd World Blind Women's Forum held in Melbourne last November, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who contributed both in preparing for and during the events. I feel that one of the most positive aspects was the friendship and camaraderie established by staff, volunteers and members of all of the blindness agencies throughout Australia. I hope that we can all work together to ensure this good will and friendship continues.
I am pleased to welcome Aileen McFadzean, our National Advocacy Officer, back from maternity leave, although over the last three months she has been working from home following the resignation of Grant Webster in late October. Cate Litchen has recently left BCA to begin her new career of motherhood and we wish her happiness and success as she awaits the birth of her first child. With Cate's departure Alison Lynch will join us for a short time. Many of you may have met or spoken to Alison during the time she was employed on the WBU project and she will be the voice on the other end of the telephone when you contact the National Office.
A Project Officer will join the staff in our National Office during February and will be with us initially until the end of June. They will undertake various projects including research into the cost of blindness. Many of you will be invited to participate in this research as we undertake an extensive study into the non optional costs of blindness following the recommendations made to the Government by the McClure working party on Welfare Reform.
With the WBU project coming to an end, we say goodbye and thankyou to the last two members of the project team, John Simpson and Marisa Fernandez, and wish them every success in all their future ventures.
On November 14, Gunela Astbrink joined BCA as a consultant to undertake the continuing work of the Telecommunication Disability Consumer Representation (TEDICORE) project. Many of you will know Gunela as she led this work during 1998-1999. There was some delay in this work continuing while we waited for the Department of Communications Information Technology and the Arts to announce ongoing funding.
National Policy & Development Council
The National Policy and Development Council (NPDC) was established following the 1999 convention in Brisbane, where a number of changes to our Memorandum and Articles of Association were adopted. In December 2000, the NPDC decided to establish four main committees to undertake policy and development work. They are Access and Transport, chaired by Peter Johnson, Welfare Reform, chaired by Robert Altamore, International Projects, chaired by David Blyth, and Membership and Development, chaired by Leighton Boyd. The membership of each committee is currently being finalised and will be made up of members of the NPDC and members who have particular expertise and/or interest in one of these areas. Future issues of Blind Citizens News will include short reports from each committee.
BCA has rented its premises in Prahran from RVIB over the last 8 years. With the establishment of the National Library and Information Service, the space we occupy is required. One of the major tasks and highest priorities we will be concentrating on over the next couple of months is finding new premises so that we can relocate by the end of June.
Our National Convention, held every two years, will be in Sydney on the weekend of 29-30 September and 1 October. Planning has already begun. Mark these dates in your diary to ensure your availability and participation.
During the second half of 2000, the Department of Family and Community Services (FaCS), under the leadership of Senator Jocelyn Newman, undertook a review into the funding of peak advocacy bodies. BCA, along with many other consumer bodies, was concerned that funds would be reduced and some organisations forced to merge. On January 11, the Minister announced the outcomes of this review. I am very pleased to inform you that funding for BCA has been retained, although with a small reduction, and from July 1 2001 funding is guaranteed for a period of three years.
I read with interest in the last issue of Blind Citizens News a letter to the Editor from a member expressing dissatisfaction in regard to the thickness of Braille paper used by the National Office in recent correspondence. We obtained funding and purchased a new embosser during last year and have been experimenting with a variety of paper thicknesses to establish the optimum thickness that satisfies the needs of readers, surviving postage and of course the cost. We are always happy to hear from members in relation to this and any issues associated with our publications. Members should contact the National Office with suggestions and concerns at any time.
This Newsletter is produced in Braille, Large Print, Audiocassette, Disk, on email and available on the BCA web site. If anyone wishes to alter the format they receive, please contact us at the National Office (not the Editor) and we will ensure the change is made.
BCA is always working hard to obtain sufficient funds to enable our work to continue into the future. The BCA BACKER is the new name we have given to the previous fundraising program called the PACC program, in which a small number of people have participated for some years. This program is a means of fundraising through an ongoing small monthly contribution from your nominated credit card. The benefits include: you choose the level of your monthly contribution; all donations are tax deductible; no cheques/postage/receipts - only one receipt at the end of the financial year; you assist BCA to move away from reliance on government funding. If you are interested in contributing to BCA in this method, please complete the enclosed form and send it to the National Office. If you are unable to contribute in this form but would like to make a once off donation to BCA, this can be done on the same form. If you have any questions, concerns or want further information please contact Alise Wonson at the National Office.
For braille readers the BCA Backer form will be sent to you separately in the coming weeks.
EDUCATION: THE KEY TO OPPORTUNITY
Although I am firmly of the view that education is the key to opportunity for people of all ages, this article will focus on my views of the educational opportunities for blind and vision impaired children. By reflecting on personal experiences and integrating the anecdotes of others, I want to emphasise how compulsory schooling has changed for blind and vision impaired children and what we can do to ensure that the pendulum does not swing too far away from recognising the unique educational needs of blind and vision impaired children.
I started primary school in the early 1970s in Brisbane. For a totally blind child in Brisbane at that time, my parents had no choice but to send me to Narbethong School for the Visually Handicapped. This was the only primary school in Queensland for blind and vision impaired children and at that time, there were approximately 120 students. The era of educating blind and deaf students at the same location had passed and there was no longer an option for country students to attend boarding school. A host parent scheme had replaced this as it was felt that it was more beneficial for children to live in an environment simulating their family of origin. Narbethong School, therefore, was in contrast to what was provided in other states of Australia. Some other states had more than one school for the blind from which to choose and many catered for country students with the provision of boarding facilities.
On my first day of school, I recall travelling to school in a government-funded taxi with other students from Narbethong and a couple of students from the nearby deaf school. This was my mode of transport to and from school for the next seven years. On arrival at school, I joined a Year 1 class of ten students with me being one of only two female students in the class. There were four totally blind and six vision impaired children and my earliest memories are of being divided into work groups within the classroom along these lines. From very early days, I was introduced to Braille and a heavy emphasis was placed on pattern recognition and differentiation and being able to track along a straight line successfully. I still recall my frustration at the fact that the vision impaired children seemed to be reading letters and words long before I was. Although I now have a much greater understanding of why this would be the case, at the time I thought it was grossly unfair.
I proceeded through primary school with class sizes between 7 and 10 students. I began to write Braille on the Perkins Brailler in the latter part of Year 1 as my hands were too small and not strong enough to press the keys. My one regret is that we were not taught how to use a handframe as this was seen as outdated technology. Such a skill would, to this day, enable me to jot quick notes with a small, silent, inexpensive device. As time went on, I learned a myriad of other invaluable skills that have enabled me to function as a competent homemaker, professional and contributing member of the community.
I learned to read and write Braille to a standard comparable to the way in which my sighted peers used print. I learned a range of orientation and mobility skills including how to orient oneself in space, how to locate objects and to use a white cane competently. Like my other classmates, I learned how to cook and although many of us did not get the opportunity to implement these skills at home at that time, cooking skills were invaluable to me once I left home. Surprisingly, I had retained what I had learned about cooking and was readily able to apply such skills in the kitchen. We learned maths on an abacus and we were introduced to a range of sporting activities to develop our gross and fine motor skills. We also learned woodworking skills and although this was not an area in which I excelled, knowing how to use basic tools such as screwdrivers, hammers etc. has been helpful. For me, primary school was truly a rewarding and memorable experience which I enjoyed very much.
It was then time to move into secondary school. Again, at that time, the only option for a totally blind child was to attend Cavendish Road State High School. This was a state government secondary school that blind children had attended as integrated students for over thirty years. There was a special education unit attached to the school to provide additional support. Although it was accepted that I would move from primary to secondary school at the age of 12 as did all other non-vision impaired students, there were a number of blind students for whom this was not an automatic transition. I had been lucky that my primary school teachers had ensured that the level of work prescribed was within the guidelines of the regular school curriculum for a given grade. For many students of Narbethong, however, this was not the case. For some, it was because their additional disabilities did not make this possible, but for others it was because they had been lost along the way. This meant that they were not adequately prepared for what lay in store for them in an integrated secondary school setting and were not given the opportunity to make the transition. Instead, they were often steered to a prevocational program to prepare them for an uncertain future in which employment opportunities were limited.
For those like myself who did move on to secondary school, the transition was indeed profound. From classes of 7-10 at Narbethong to classes of 30 students, from teachers who understood the issues of blindness and vision impairment to those who had little or no experience in meeting the needs of a blind student, the transition was tough. Nevertheless, with daily contact with staff from the special education unit to talk through concerns or to obtain classroom material in an accessible format, secondary school was also a rewarding experience. It was rewarding in an academic sense, not in a social sense. The lack of social connection with other students, I feel, was due to the fact that they didn't understand me and I didn't know how to interact with them. I had two friends from Narbethong who had moved to High School at the same time as me and the three of us tended to stick together. I resented efforts by teachers to encourage me to 'make sighted friends'. Perhaps it could be argued that for me, social maturity came later. Once I entered the adult world, developing and maintaining friendships with non-vision impaired people was not difficult.
Although I acknowledge that the segregated system of education for blind and vision impaired children has not worked for everyone, I think it most certainly worked for me. The blind and vision impaired children of today are experiencing an entirely different system. Observation suggests that a great deal of emphasis is placed on the social importance of integration and that due to staffing constraints, a lack of teachers trained in vision impairment, and the competition between time and curriculum demands, many of the basics of education for blind and vision impaired children are being overlooked. As advocates for these children, we must ensure that the education system gives them the opportunity to read and write Braille competently even in cases where some residual vision exists. There are many older people in the blind community who can attest to the fact that their sight has deteriorated dramatically over time and that learning Braille at school would have been of great benefit to them at various times in their lives. In addition, we must ensure that blind children are learning independent living skills, orientation and mobility skills and skills of self-advocacy. Having the skills to become a contributing member of our community will bring with it the advantages of meaningful friendships and social relationships within the broader community. We must ensure that integrated schooling is not at the expense of quality education for blind and vision impaired children.
In 'As I've Seen It' Mercy Dickinson covers the 80 years from her birth in 1919 to her widowhood and old age, dealing with her loss of sight in early childhood, her struggle to get an education and her work for blind people, particularly in Queensland. Mercy tells her story simply, without posturing or bitterness. One reader who knows her well commented, "You can almost hear her saying it".
She was born Mercy Griffin, the second child of a close-knit working class Catholic family of Irish origin, in Rockhampton where her father was a boilermaker with the Queensland Railways. In November 1926, not long after her seventh birthday, she lost her sight through meningitis. Eight months later her parents enrolled her at the Queensland School for the Blind in Brisbane.
By today's standards, living conditions were primitive and teaching was very basic. Although education was free and compulsory, her parents were obliged to pay for her board. Mercy sorely missed her family in Rockhampton, but was a bright pupil and keen to learn. When she won an essay competition conducted as part of a local eisteddfod, the Principal of the School for the Blind "impulsively" entered her for the Queensland Scholarship Examination which at that time marked the end of primary schooling. Mercy passed, gaining a place at Brisbane State High School where she studied while continuing to board at the School for the Blind.
Like all blind students, she had the problem of getting study materials in Braille when required. The Queensland Braille Writing Association helped as much as it could, and two teachers at the high school learned Braille to transcribe her books.
After matriculating in Arts at the Senior Examination (the first blind person to do so), Mercy entered the University of Queensland from which, despite a continuing shortage of material in Braille, she graduated Bachelor of Arts, again the first blind person to do so. For the next few years Mercy tutored in English, French and Latin at the tutorial classes attached to the Teachers' College. The Department of Public Instruction (now the Department of Education) conducted these classes for its Teachers' College students who wished to matriculate and enter the University of Queensland. In addition to this part-time work, Mercy tutored at a Catholic girls' school. Eventually, the Department of Public Instruction appointed her to her first full-time position as a teacher at the Queensland School for the Blind.
In 1953 Mercy was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to the New York Institute for the Education of the Blind. Her special interest was the education of blind children with additional disabilities, and she gained a Master of Science degree from Hunter College, New York. Following her American study, she spent three months at Condover Hall, the Royal National Institute for the Blind's School for Multi-Handicapped Children.
Religion plays an important part in Mercy's life. She frequently refers to it throughout her autobiography, without being either polemical or preachy. For instance, she considers reading at the outdoor Mass in Brisbane during Pope John Paul II's Australian visit in 1986 to be one of the high points of her later life.
Following her marriage in middle life to Harold Dickinson, a blind man heavily involved in the welfare of blind people in Queensland, she was obliged to resign from the Department of Public Instruction. Mercy spent the next few years assisting Harold who was Director of the Queensland Braille Writing Association's Training and Placement Centre. She was also the President of the Australian Braille Authority and worked for some local organisations of blind people as they evolved through various name changes. She writes with poignancy about her support for Harold during his long illness, culminating in his death in the mid-1980s.
Greater recognition came to her in later years. In 1994 the Queensland Institute of Technology conferred an honorary Doctorate on her. She had been awarded an AM a year or so earlier. Also in the 1990's, Blind Citizens Australia conferred on her its greatest honour, the David Blyth Award.
Many people helped Mercy in countless ways, both large and small, and they receive due recognition. But what of the people whose negative attitudes and put-downs, well-meant or otherwise, constantly batter the self-esteem of blind people? Surely Mercy did not escape them, though they hardly rate a mention? Did this omission stem from a desire not to hurt anyone, a concern for the defamation laws, or (dare I say it?) a spirit of forgiveness?
Obvious throughout this simple narrative are the faith and courage that have been features of one woman's long and active life. As a person who normally approaches autobiographies of high-achieving blind people with a kind of morbid curiosity rather than the hope of enjoyment or inspiration, I found 'As I've Seen It' an excellent read.
Mercy Dickinson, 'As I've Seen It. An Autobiography.' Debut Publishing, Queensland. Braille edition: Queensland Braille Writing Association.
PART-TIME STUDY BUT
My name is Doug McGinn and currently I work as the Disabilities Adviser at the University of Tasmania. For the majority of my adult life, and definitely for the major proportion of my life since I lost my sight when I was 20 years of age, I have been heavily involved in the Disability Movement and tertiary education. In this article I hope to tell you a little about my experiences as a blind student and some of my own philosophies regarding education and retraining as a blind person.
I had a fairly 'normal' youth where I spent too much time worrying about sport, cars and my appearance, rather than the more boring academic prospects for my career and the future. In 1985, my life took a rather drastic change of direction when I was involved in a car accident and lost the majority of my effective eye sight.
At this time, rehabilitation was a word that I only knew how to spell. I had no clear understanding as to what it meant and certainly not what it was going to mean for me. Suddenly, from driving a car, fork-lift and a tennis racket, I was handed a Perkins Brailler, a white cane and a QWERTY keyboard. Mind you, it took me 6 months of touch typing practice before I finally worked out what the QWERTY stood for!!
When you retrain as a blind person from being primarily a visual person the skills that you learn are so integral to most of your future work and study. I use those initial touch-typing rules every hour of my working and recreational day. However, it should be noted that each person's retraining is quite individual. For example, I underwent quite an intensive concentric viewing course which basically made me look at things in a different manner to maximise the small amount of residual vision that I have.
So my rehabilitation was now over. What a joke, it was only just beginning as it was now time for the next stage, a decision to go back to university and attempt some kind of course, or at least turn up for a few lectures. Even this little challenge was not the first hurdle - trying to find my way around the campus or even orienting myself to the relevant public transport was a formal exam in itself. I first visited the University and some of my contact staff some 6 months before the start of the academic semester in 1987. This was only just enough time to attempt to get most things organised.
When I was retraining at the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind I met another blind mathematics graduate. This person informally inspired me to know that the path I was about to attempt was possible and he also offered me quite a few suggestions. One of the comments that he made, which I still use to this day, was that he found that his degree and study was broken up into 50% academic and 50% administrative tasks. I thought at the time that this was rather an exaggeration, but in retrospect I would tend to agree. It is somewhat difficult to comprehend that sighted studying colleagues can often be far more productive than yourself, depending on the reliability of technology and availability of accessible information.
The concept of peer support or mentoring is extremely valuable for students with disabilities, especially those with vision impairments. Throughout my study I found that speaking with other students in similar study disciplines and those students who had similar vision loss was always productive. In fact I know I learned more about adaptive technology from other blind people than from manuals or tapes.
Speaking of adaptive technology, I used to put a lot of importance in my own mind on each new piece of technology that I was able to acquire or access. This may sound a little strange, but for example I went for about 18 months without having the facility to read and write hard text. I had been told of enlarging machines known as closed-circuit televisions (CCTVs) and how these would allow me to read books, even the telephone book. Finally, 8 months into my course, the CCTV arrived but it was so difficult to use!! In fact, anything more than 10 minutes with the CCTV used to cause severe headaches. Was this the way it was going to be from now on? Where was this marvellous machine that I had been waiting for? Anyway, as we all know, the cliche goes something like 'practice, practice, practice!!'. After many attempts at longer periods of use I am now able to use the CCTV for pretty well as long as I need to in any one session. Similar to using a new piece of software - it is never automatically easy and takes time to master.
I did succeed at university and graduated with a Bachelor of Science. However, I found it impossible to find a graduate position within my chosen mathematical field. When a position in the Human Services area became available I took the job - as Disabilities Liaison Officer at the University where I had studied. I knew that this was going to be just a stop-gap measure until something 'proper' came about. However, after working in this type of position for a while I now know that this job is far more gratifying for me, than anything I may have pursued within my pure science direction.
Presently, there is an argument which states that to be an effective Disability Liaison Officer you have to have a disability yourself. I disagree, and state that to be a good DLO you need to have a personal understanding of disability and an empathy for people with disabilities. I know that I certainly have these.
Some basic rules that can always assist you in your study:
1. It's never too early to understand your enemy! If you are contemplating TAFE or University, then even as early as 3 or 4 years before you can make an appointment with the Disability Officer at your intended institution. Like all students, find out as much about the course as possible, but remember to take note of any specialist skills that you may need to have to enable you to participate successfully within your chosen course. The "enemy" is only the institution that you do not know well. Your "friend" can be the institution where you know how to find the relevant resources and the appropriate supporting staff who will assist you to succeed in your chosen course.
2. Try and access adaptive and generic equipment before study commences. It is difficult trying to learn new equipment and to study at the same time. If possible, try and find out what equipment you are going to need to use and if appropriate borrow or try and access this equipment before study commences.
3. Try to have realistic goals. Quite often students with high support disabilities (including sometimes students with vision impairments) attempt too great a study load. Remember, part-time study is nearly always an option. And it is better to complete all your subjects successfully than to attempt a greater number of subjects and fall short of passing all of them.
4. Make early contact with appropriate support mechanisms within your present or intended institution. This might not necessarily be the Disabilities Officer but can quite often be a year or course coordinator. In my opinion, it is nearly always better to disclose any vision impairment to these people early in your course.
5. Ensure that you are part of your own decision-making process. Quite often when you commence study there are many different stake-holders where of course you are the key stake-holder. It is effective to attempt to get as many of these stake-holders together as practical in the one meeting. If necessary, bring a friend or family member to assist you in taking notes and to keep the meeting to your agenda. Ensure that you know what you want out of the meeting before you have it. This will ensure that all parties know what is expected from them.
Be aware of your rights but realistic in your expectations. Discuss your rights with an advocacy group if necessary. For example, it is your choice regarding the format of alternate material you wish to use, be it Braille, large print, electronic or audio tape. However, the institution will need adequate time to get this information accessible for you.
Finally, as a Disabilities Liaison Officer and as a blind person, I make the following comment. Quite often it is only the blind or print handicapped students who need to be thinking about next semester's subjects even before this semester has finished. This allows the institution time to organise necessary material. Most other students are just looking forward to the holiday break and would not be contemplating any further than this. Again, the organisational factor of being a blind person and studying needs to come to the forefront.
I hope I have not scared you too much. The friends and experiences that I gained whilst studying are life-long, and I would not have changed them in any way. I wish you luck with your future choices.
BLIND PARENTS AND SCHOOLING
My career as a parent has closely parallelled my career as a blind person. When my son was born, 22 years ago, my only vision problem was slight night blindness. By the time my daughter was born eight years later, things had changed a little on the vision front and I was experiencing problems with my peripheral vision. These days, I'm almost totally blind. Interesting, you might say, but what exactly does all this have to do with schooling?
Looking back over my career as a parent, I can identify many instances of frustration and sadness which are associated in my mind with the fact of my increasing blindness. And possibly none are more central to my feelings about myself as a parent than those which concern my children's schooling. I write these words knowing that there will be many blind parents who do not share these feelings. I write from the perspective of one whose journey into blindness has taken a long time, involved a great amount of new learning and redefinition of the self, and who for a long time lacked the confidence to 'come out' as a blind person and simply get on with living. I think that at least a part of the reason may lie in the fact that I never saw other people addressing these issues, nor did I hear any discussion about them. When people talk about schooling and disability, almost without exception they are talking about schooling for children with disabilities. And when parents come into this discussion (as they do), it is always as the parents OF children with disabilities. Noone talks about parents WITH disabilities, and the challenges which schooling poses for them. So, by describing a few of the issues which I've found difficult as a blind parent, I hope to open up this topic as an area for discussion, advocacy and peer support.
Under this heading I put all the formal aspects of classroom learning, including homework. Much of this is highly visual. My daughter's secondary schooling has coincided with my own loss of reading vision, and this has been very problematic. I can't, for example, read the texts she is studying in English (as I did with my son) in order to discuss them with her - should she ever be interested in hearing my views! Some of these texts might be available from blindness agencies, if they've been transcribed for other students or as part of the general collection. So maybe what I'll need to do is contact her school before the year begins, make contact with her teachers (identity as yet unknown), and get from them a list of the texts they intend to use. Then I might be able to obtain readable copies from one of the blindness agencies. Perhaps the English problem will be solved in part - with the application of some time and organisation. Some of the other subjects pose more intractable problems. Maths, for instance. It's very difficult to read and work on maths problems, especially when trying to show someone else what to do, without access to the textbooks, or in an entirely aural medium.
I could go on, but I think I've made the point. I know (from earlier work done by BCA on the costs of blindness) that some blind parents have attempted to solve these problems by employing tutors for specific subjects, or by hiring someone to supervise their children's homework. I don't know whether people using these strategies have found them satisfactory, but it does seem to me that they leave the parents relatively uninformed about and uninvolved in their children's schooling, as well as being expensive to implement.
Parent support activities
Most schools rely on a level of parental input in the form of voluntary labour. The precise form which this takes varies from system to system, and from school to school, but includes such activities as working in school canteens, classroom assistance with reading programmes, publication of school newsletters, working bees of various kinds, fundraising activities, and participating in P & C committees and school councils. Most activities are advertised in print - usually small print on coloured paper, often with busy illustrations. P & C meetings are held at night, usually on school premises. Getting there, getting around, and getting away are difficult without a car. Taking on office-bearer roles such as Secretary and Treasurer is difficult in an unfunded body dealing largely with printed communications.
I couldn't volunteer to work in the school canteens because my employment prevented me from taking on this commitment - much to my relief! I wasn't sure what useful tasks I would be able to perform there. At the stage where I still had some reading vision, I volunteered for work repairing books in the school library and hearing children's reading. These tasks could be done in a predictable environment, without high noise and movement levels, and they worked well. But at times I yearned for the kinds of contact which I saw other parents making - with the school, with their children's peers, and with each other. Possibly the activity which symbolised this contact most potently was 'the school excursion'. Every now and then, a note would come home requesting volunteers to help the teacher with an excursion. The help required was mostly of two kinds: driving groups of children to various locations, and assisting the teacher to supervise them in their exploration of these locations. This, I perceived, was an excellent way of making all the contacts referred to above - but I never felt confident that I could contribute in these ways.
I also envied the ease and apparent casualness with which other parents drove their offspring around - to and from school, to extracurricular activities after school and on the weekends, to their classmates' birthday parties, or just to visit schoolfriends at home. And I felt that my children were constrained by my inability to do these things.
My children attended after-school care in the early years of their schooling. On the days when it was my turn to collect them I would leave work in the late afternoon, catch a bus and then walk about a mile to the after-school centre. There I would gather up a motley collection of school books, bits of clothing, the day's artwork, and so on, pack it, and set off for home - another mile on foot, with a tired and hungry child. I did really envy the parents who drove up to collect their kids, promising them a trip to the swimming pool, a visit to gran's, or a quick pizza on the way home.
I'm extremely conscious, as I write this, that there are ways of doing almost everything I've described as a problem, and that some people will have done most of them. I suppose what emerges from this story are two principal points. The first concerns the particular needs of parents who experience vision loss later in life, and who lack both specific blindness skills and the confidence that they can perform most of the requisite activities of daily life, albeit in a different way. Often, people in this situation are both reluctant to acknowledge their vision impaired status and are not perceived as such by others - which has the effect of furthering their isolation and lack of confidence. I think my story illustrates this point.
The second point is that there is a lot of extra work and planning involved in being a blind parent who wants to participate in their children's schooling - something, incidentally, which is taken for granted by most parents. Some of this extra load is probably inevitable. A great deal, though, could be alleviated - by more disability-aware schools, by peer support and advocacy, and by blindness services more attuned to the needs of blind and vision impaired parents.
The Disability Council of NSW is conducting a research project on the experiences of parents who have a disability with their children's school education. Sally Robinson, Fay Hickson and Robert Strike have been employed by Council to conduct the project. They want to talk with parents about their participation in their children's education, including:
Interaction with teachers, principals, school administration, P&C groups or any other school related groups or individuals;
Some of the positive experiences you have had, and what made them work;
Any barriers that have restricted your access to your children's education; and
What you think could be put in place to address some of the difficulties.
There are a number of ways to be part of the project:
By phone:
A phone-in will be running on Monday April 9th from 10am - 4pm, Tuesday April 10th from 10am - 8pm, and Wednesday April 11th , from 10am - 4pm.
Over the internet:
A bulletin board discussion will be held throughout the course of the project. You can access the bulletin board through the Disability Councils web site at www.discoun.nsw.gov.au
In person:
A number of individual interviews will be held with a range of interested people
In Focus groups:
A number of focus groups will be held during March and April, in Sydney and regional areas of NSW.
If you are interested in being involved in the project, please call the Disability Council on 1800 004 848.
BCA POLICY STATEMENT ON EDUCATION
In April 1999, Blind Citizens Australia adopted a Policy Statement expressing our views on issues relating to education for people who are blind and vision impaired. The Policy Statement draws on and reflects the diverse and extensive experience of our members as students, parents and educators.
The Policy Statement contains two key elements. The first is the 'core principles'. These principles express what we believe to be the educational rights of blind and vision impaired people to equal and non-discriminatory access to education. They apply equally to the pre-school, primary, secondary and tertiary education sectors, and cover the key issues in education for people who are blind and vision impaired, in particular:
* assessment of educational needs;
* choice in education;
* resourcing of blindness specific support services;
* admission and enrolment;
* core curriculum;
* specialist blindness curriculum;
* assessment and examinations;
* support services;
* Braille literacy;
* access to information in alternative formats;
* assistive technology;
* physical access and personal safety; and
* peer support.
The second key element of our Policy Statement is the 'action points' for the key stakeholders, ie the key people and organisations who provide education services for the community generally and in particular for people who are blind and vision impaired. These include:
* Blind Citizens Australia, through its individual members, Branches, organisational members and National Policy and Development Council;
* students, parents and educators;
* blindness agencies;
* education institutions, including primary and secondary schools, universities, and TAFE Colleges;
* professional associations of teachers and educators; and
* Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments.
The intention behind the Policy Statement is that the various stakeholders, by implementing the action points recommended to them, will give effect to the core principles and thereby provide people who are blind and vision impaired with equal and non-discriminatory access to education.
Blind Citizens Australia believes that non-discriminatory access to educational opportunities is one of the most important issues for people who are blind or vision impaired, in particular for our children. The 'getting of wisdom' in the form of literacy, numeracy and vocational and social skills is becoming increasingly important to a person's ability to participate successfully in a society. This is so as much for people who are blind and vision impaired as it is for the community as a whole.
This Policy Statement has been developed by Blind Citizens Australia particularly for students and parents of blind children. It is hoped that they will find it a useful resource in assisting them to develop their expectations of the education system and providing them with a foundation to assert their claims to equal and non-discriminatory access to education.
Members of Blind Citizens Australia, parents and students are currently using this document in discussions with schools and education authorities on access to education for people who are blind and vision impaired. An example in which I was personally involved was a presentation to a Committee of the ACT Legislative Assembly inquiring into Educational Services for Students with Disabilities.
I would encourage you, if you have concerns regarding access to education, either for yourself or your child, to use this Policy Statement as one of your resources in getting your concerns resolved. For example, if your child is in an integrated school and you are having difficulty getting access to sufficient hours of support from an itinerant teacher, you might find the explanation of blindness skills and blindness specific curriculum in the Policy Statement and the actions required to help a child attain those skills useful in putting your case on behalf of your child. Another example is if you are a student in a university and you are having difficulty with the enrolment or assessment processes, you may find the sections on these issues and the corresponding actions required of educational institutions will assist you in resolving these difficulties. I have found that a clear statement of principles and required actions, such as those contained in this Policy Statement are useful in discussing educational issues with people, many of who are unfamiliar with people whom are blind and vision impaired and our specific needs.
Copies of the Policy Statement in large print, Braille, audio cassette and electronic forms can be obtained from the National Office by telephoning 1800-033-660 or from our web site at www.bca.org.au.
Your comments as to the usefulness of this Policy Statement and any suggestions for changes are most welcome and can be made to the Office or to Robert Altamore on 02-6282-2805.
THE DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION ACT AND EDUCATION SEVEN YEARS ON: HAVE WE HAD THE GOOD YEARS OR ARE THEY STILL TO COME?
When I saw the theme for this issue I thought that an assessment in the context of the DDA might be of interest. so I modified a recent paper I had given. I trust that my thought was correct.
In this article I will describe some mechanisms for more quickly achieving policy and systemic change which in my view are sadly under-utilised, and look at some decisions and their implications for the education system.
It is my view that, for the elimination of disability discrimination in the area of education, using an individually-based and essentially private complaint investigation and conciliation process, followed by hearings in a small minority of cases, has not been, and will not be, successful. It takes too long; is very difficult for participants on both sides; only provides solutions (when they are provided) for individuals; and fails to address the systemic change that is necessary.
It is true that a number of decided cases have established precedents and contributed to policy change; but the point is that it is policies that need to change, and we need to find more effective tools to work with educational authorities to change those policies. It is also true that some policy and systemic change is occurring, and it is important that these same mechanisms recognise that, and provide protection from complaints where it has been earned by the systemic elimination of discrimination, and where more effective dispute resolution processes are established.
As well as the complaints process the DDA provides for the granting of temporary exemptions (up to 5 years) and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) has decided that it will grant these where the applicant can demonstrate that it is advancing the Objects of the Act. It also allows for the enactment of Standards in the education area. and it allows for a more public approach to the investigation of complaints. Let's consider these options.
The exemption process has potential for significantly wider use than it has had so far, as a positive means of structuring movement towards elimination of disability discrimination. This includes in areas where appropriate results are less readily specified in advance than the sort of engineering issues which arise in public transport. What can be specified more generally are appropriate processes, both to prevent discrimination occurring and to provide more speedy and perhaps more expertly based redress when it does occur. This could include the area of education, one of the areas where the greatest numbers of disability discrimination complaints are received by HREOC and by State and Territory agencies.
In her 1997 "Foundations" paper the late Elizabeth Hastings, then Disability Discrimination Commissioner, emphasised the need for other agencies rather than only human rights and anti-discrimination specialist agencies to do their share of work in achieving a non-discriminatory world:
"A human rights agency in the position of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission has neither the expertise nor the authority, nor sufficient personnel, to regulate everything itself. As far as possible the aim should be to have access and equality built in to the ordinary way of doing things rather than being an additional set of requirements subsequently imposed from the margins."
A brief survey of anti-discrimination agencies' annual reports over the years shows chronic problems of limited resources compared to the task to be performed. Frequently this shows in delays in handling complaints, with substantial waiting times until a matter is even assigned to a complaints officer. Often this reduces the prospects of achieving an appropriate remedy. This is particularly the case on issues where time is critical: where a child is missing out on a year or more of effective access to education.
On these issues, we ought to be able to acknowledge that a perfect, handcrafted remedy by expert discrimination agencies two or more years later is nowhere near as good as a reasonable remedy on the spot. I recently handed down a decision in an education complaint under the DDA, Purvis v State of New South Wales.
Detailed, expert and extensive processes were applied in this case by HREOC, both at the stage of attempted conciliation and, if I may say so, at hearing. Despite the award of substantial damages which I found appropriate, it is hard to describe the result in this case as a win for anyone or for the objects of the legislation. Daniel Hoggan, the person discriminated against in that case, was excluded from his school at the end of year 7 and did not return. Daniel missed high school. Damages well after the event are poor compensation for the human costs incurred in the course of this matter. This includes the years spent out of school by a young person and also includes the stresses placed not only on parents but also on teachers who, it was clear to me, were making huge efforts although, as I found, with inadequate information and resources and without sufficient adherence to departmental policies which may have led to better results.
It is hard not to think that a decision process of, say, 70% the quality but, say, 2 or more years faster - giving an authoritative decision one way or the other - would be better in terms of achieving the objects of the Disability Discrimination Act. If an exemption were required to give sufficient incentive to apply such a process and were applied for, I think it would need to be given serious consideration.
There is of course an obvious concern regarding the risk of incorrect decisions and substandard outcomes. We need, though, to weigh such a risk accurately against what are not risks but present certainties: the certainty that some matters are not being presented for decision or assistance at all because of the limits of available processes; and the certainty that many matters which are being presented to anti-discrimination agencies are subject to long delays which deprive alternative dispute resolution processes of much of their effectiveness and rationale.
We have not as yet had any applications for exemption from the legislation based on the proposition that an industry or organisation's own complaints system and policies should be allowed to operate in place of the process of complaints to HREOC and to the Federal Court. In my opinion, there would be good grounds to grant such an application and allow this approach a temporary and reviewable opportunity to prove itself, so long as it could be demonstrated that such a system showed reasonable prospects for achieving better results in advancing the objects of the legislation. Of course, any exemption application made would have to be considered on its merits. Also, such applications would have to go through the Commission's public process, which requires their publication on our website, and the seeking of submissions on whether or not they should be granted.
Education standards have been under active discussion since at least 1996. In 2000 the point was finally reached where draft standards were issued for consultation, with the initial comment period closing in November. HREOC submitted a brief comment stating that in its view the draft reflected, and did not undermine, existing rights and responsibilities, but that judgments on whether in other respects the draft achieved its intended purposes should come in the first instance from education consumers and providers. So far, the responses in both sectors have been mixed.
There would clearly be some advance in specification of rights compared with the existing position under the DDA if standards were adopted close to the form of the current draft - for example, in the duty to make reasonable adjustments in a number of areas being explicitly stated rather than needing to be inferred from the general terms of the DDA. Providers and consumers would benefit from such clarification. However, standards will only be adopted where consensus can be achieved, as we have learned from the transport area. At this stage it is uncertain whether such consensus can be reached.
Whether or not such standards are adopted, though, there remains a need for further consideration of mechanisms to ensure that rights recognised in law translate into rights enjoyed in practice.
The major successes which have been achieved to date in DDA standards development and exemption processes have in fact been in direct response to complaints. Complaint processes are clearly capable of having significant policy and educational impact in their own right, as well as being a major means of driving standard setting and compliance processes. But effective performance of these roles requires us to look closely at current and potential processes for dealing with complaints. I have made a number of presentations recently on our public inquiry process, in which we deal with complaints which raise policy or systemic issues on a public basis. These presentations are on the Commission's website at www.humanrights.gov.au. I urge you to look at those issues and apply your mind to their applicability in the education area. Public inquiries on access to the electoral process, captioned movies and interference caused to users of hearing aids by digital mobile phones have been very successful in addressing what are clearly issues of potential systemic discrimination, and of involving all industry players in the process, so that a cooperative result can be achieved which will benefit people with disabilities across Australia.
I have focussed so far on the implications of various mechanisms not so widely recognised in the DDA, specifically in the education area. Let me conclude with some comments on events in the more general area which have had implications on education issues.
Most readers of this newsletter are well aware of the case of Maguire v SOCOG. You would also be aware that the HREOC, as a result of SOCOG's intransigence, the public and international importance of the SOCOG website, and the loss suffered by Bruce as a result, directed SOCOG to pay Bruce damages of $20000. SOCOG have paid this amount.
The decision is a landmark, because it says to website operators throughout Australia that if their sites do not meet World Wide Web Consortium access requirements, people with a disability have an avenue of action available. This, of course, applies equally to educational authorities who have websites. I am sure that there would not be many these days who do not.
The Commonwealth government, partly as a result of the work done through the inquiry into access to e-commerce conducted by the Commission, announced early in 2000 that all of their websites would be WWWC compliant by December 2000. The Internet Industry Association of Australia is currently organising a public campaign amongst its members to encourage WWWC compliance.
Whilst on the issue of the Commission's inquiry into access to e-commerce, one of the other subjects considered in that report- also available on our website- was the question of copyright to material held in digital form. The Parliament passed legislation in this area around the middle of 2000, which also has implications for the education sector. Briefly, it provides that the exceptions to current copyright law applying to individuals and educational authorities will also apply to digital material. This should remove a major barrier for students wishing to gain access to study material in schools and universities. Again, further information on this issue can be obtained from the Commission's website. I urge those of you involved in obtaining material for students to take this into account. As more information becomes available in digital form the delays which so frustrated me and many other students - sitting in class without a textbook in a format that I could use, when all the other students had theirs in print - should become less and less.
Let me summarise the messages I want to leave with you. Firstly, there has been progress over the first seven years of the DDA, but we still have a long way to go to achieve an equal society. Secondly, we will not achieve systemic change using the individual complaints system, and there are other avenues available under current legislation which will provide more progress. Thirdly, equal access and equal relationships are more likely to be achieved more quickly, with less cost, and with less public acrimony, if educational authorities work cooperatively with students and their families towards full integration of those students into the education community. Such integration will not only enrich the lives of those students, but will enhance the quality of the educational community as a whole.
THE FEDERATION FIVE DOLLAR NOTE
As part of the celebrations of the centenary of Federation in 2001, a new five dollar note has been issued. The new note features Sir Henry Parkes and Catherine Helen Spence, two prominent Australians who made unique contributions to the birth and development of our nation. The note will circulate alongside the current $5 note. The Federation $5 note is the same size as the current $5 note and is similar in colour. The designer of the note is Garry Emery, one of Australia's leading graphic designers, who also designed the current $20 note.
If you would like any more information about the new Federation $5 note, please phone 1800-633-220 or visit the Reserve Bank website at www.rba.gov.au.
Sir Henry Parkes (1815 - 1896) has often been referred to as the 'Father of Federation'. An early advocate of reform, he gave the federation movement new impetus with his call for a federated Australia at Tenterfield in 1889. Parkes presided over the first National Australasian Convention in Sydney in 1891, where a Constitution Bill was drafted for submission to the Parliaments. A powerful but ageing figure, Parkes died four years before Federation came about.
Catherine Helen Spence (1825 - 1910) was a journalist, social reformer and novelist, and a prominent supporter of electoral reform. She stood for election as a South Australian candidate for the Australasian Federal Convention of 1897, to emphasise the issue of proportional parliamentary representation. Spence did not gain a place at the Convention but achieved fame as the first woman to stand for election to public office in Australia. She believed that the highest goal to which a united Australia could aspire was the truly democratic representation of all its people.
THE WORLD BLIND UNION FOUNDATION
One of the legacies left the World Blind Union by Past President David Blyth was the creation of the World Blind Union Foundation. From the time he was first elected, David spoke strongly of the need for the WBU to become concerned with practical realities for blind people around the world. To David this meant funds for special project activities that would make a difference to the lives of ordinary blind people and in so doing strengthen the view of the WBU internationally. He was also concerned with creating opportunity for every blind person to participate in the affairs of their organisation (the WBU). The long-term objective was to ensure financial independence so that any individual, from any community, could hold office without being beholden to the wealth of any promoting agency.
The Fifth General Assembly demonstrated that progress is being made and most significantly at this stage with special project activities. The Foundation was formally registered in June, 1997 and in the intervening period funds have been raised and expended on a scholarship programme for blind women, on Braille literacy in a range of contexts but predominantly in Africa and China, and on the deafblind. Designated funds to serve the interests of children and youth are also in place, and the capital is being "grown" so as to permit expenditure from the year 2001 onwards. The Foundation is also participating in the global initiative to work in a focused and coordinated way to eliminate avoidable blindness by the year 2020.
The total capital funds held is a little over US$200,000. A fundraising committee has been in place for a relatively short time and its work will continue into the new quadrennium. Significant donations have been received from the CNIB (Canada) and ONCE (Spain). Individuals, too, have been generous in donating whatever they can afford to this very worthy cause. People who could be described as the "poorest of the poor" gave what they could to the cause during the Melbourne Assembly
The Chair of the Foundation passed from David Blyth (Australia) to Arne Husveg (Norway) during the November Assembly and already there has been a commitment to the two directions that meant so much to David.
Blind Citizens Australia is calling for donations that will be transferred to the Treasurer of the Foundation every six months. If you would like to contribute to this very worthwhile cause and at the same time acknowledge the massive contribution of David Blyth to work for the blind in Australia and around the world, please send your donations to the National Office at 87 High Street, Prahran. Please include an accompanying note indicating how you would like your contribution allocated, eg general operations, youth or women. Remember that all contributions are tax deductible.
WOMEN'S BRANCH NEWS
I am delighted that so many Australian women chose to attend the Second World Blind Women's Forum in Melbourne in November. It was particularly pleasing to learn that many of you had not previously attended BCA events. Due to the large number of attendees, I did not meet many of you, but look forward to doing so at Conventions in future or to reading your contributions in our Members' Newsletter.
The Forum was an exciting and busy time for all of us on the Committee. Firstly we welcomed and held a workshop for the twelve participants in the young women's project, sponsored by the Australian Youth Foundation. As with all such undertakings, it involved more work than we had predicted, but it was the most rewarding experience I have had in my work with BCA.
The participants built a strong network among themselves and participated actively in both the formal and social aspects of the Forum. At the Annual Meeting of the Women's Branch, held on the Sunday following the Forum, six of them stood for election to the Committee.
The Women's Branch now has a very different Committee. I am continuing as President, with the Committee deciding to appoint office holders as follows: Marie Brown (Tasmania), Vice President; Jodie Holdback (South Australia), Secretary and temporary Treasurer; Helen Freris (Victoria) and Lee Kumutat (New South Wales), newsletter editors. Diana Braun (New South Wales) and Melanie Chatfield (Western Australia) are also on the Committee. I would like to thank Karen Knight, Maryanne Diamond, Joan McCann and Lynne Davis for all their work and support as members of the outgoing Committee.
The Committee has already met and started to prioritise its work for this year. We hope to issue a second Members' Newsletter soon, but will only continue with this initiative if we receive lots of contributions from you for issue 3. Please send them to Helen Freris at the BCA Office. We will also be planning the Branch's involvement at Convention 2001 and building on our connections with the blind women of the world.
Finally, I would like to mention another highlight of the WBU events in November. This was the presentation of significant BCA awards to three stalwart women. June Ashmore's work, especially for women, was acknowledged in her receipt of the David Blyth Award. Diana Braun, who founded and led this Branch for many years, was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation, as was Kerrie Simpson, whose behind-the-scenes work has been of the kind often undervalued because it is largely woman's. Congratulations to all three and please keep up the good work.
ARTICLES FOR THE NEXT ISSUE OF BLIND CITIZENS NEWS
The closing date for articles for the next issue of Blind Citizens News is Friday, March 30, 2001. Articles should be sent to Lynne Davis at the Blind Citizens Australia Office, in large print (16pt or larger) or preferably in electronic form (disk or email attachment). If you would like to discuss your ideas for a possible article please call Lynne on 02-9438-5675, send her a message via the Office, or email her at jbasti@ozemail.com.au.
For the latest information from Blind Citizens Australia tune in to Horizons on your RPH station, on a Community Station near you, or over the Internet. Horizons is broadcast regularly on RPH stations. It is also becoming available on Community Stations, but you may need to contact your local station to ask it to receive Horizons over the Community Radio Satellite.
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1RPH 1125 kHz
11.15 am Tuesday; repeated 8.00 pm Tuesday and 9.30am Saturday
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2RPH 1224 kHz
3.00 pm Wednesday; repeated 8.15 pm Saturday
Melbourne
3RPH 1179 kHz
8.30 pm Wednesday; repeated 6.30 pm Sunday
Brisbane
4RPH 1296 kHz
6.05 pm Monday; repeated 7.00 am Friday
Adelaide
5RPH 1197 kHz
9.15 pm Wednesday, repeated 6.00 pm Friday
Perth
6RPH 990 kHz
10.30 am Friday; repeated 5.30 pm Saturday
Hobart
7RPH 864 kHz
12.30pm Friday
Mildura 3MPH 107.5 MHz
8.30 pm Wednesday, repeated 6.30 pm Sunday