Blind Citizens Australia

Contact Details

87 High Street

PO Box 229

PRAHRAN VICTORIA 3181

Telephone: 03 9521 3433

Toll Free 1800 033 660

Fax 03 9521 3732

TTY 03 9521 1200

Published by

Blind Citizens Australia

ABN 90-006-985-226

Edited by

Lynne Davis

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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.

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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.

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• SoundAbout Audio Magazines

• Blind Citizens Australia Annual Report

• Project and Research Reports

Accessible E-Commerce in Australia

Community Development for Blind

• Women

Everybody’s Business

• Horizons Radio Program

(see Tune in and Keep up to Date, in this issue)

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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.

IN THIS ISSUE

Hasn’t this year gone quickly? It’s almost Christmas again, and I only just put the tree away and took the lights down a few weeks ago, or so it seems! Mind you, as I write this you’d think it was midwinter in Sydney, with gales lashing the city for days and the rain pouring relentlessly down. Real turkey and pudding weather.

This has certainly been an unforgettable year, but it’s also one that most of us will be glad to put behind us. It doesn’t really feel as though there’s much to celebrate at present. But wherever you are and whatever traditions you observe at this time of the year, I hope that we can all look forward to better times in the world in 2002. I can’t help thinking as I write this of the delegate from Afghanistan I heard speaking this time last year at the World Blind Union General Assembly. Where is he now, I wonder, and what has happened to him? What does happen to blind people caught in the middle of wars, civil unrest, and huge population movements? Our work in East Timor is concerned with these questions, and our advocacy on immigration matters sometimes touches on them, too, but perhaps there are other ways in which we might give support to our fellow blind people in the ‘hot spots’ of the world, both individually and collectively. It’s a suitable thought for the season, isn’t it?

You’ll find plenty to read about in this issue of the News - a bumper edition to end the year and keep you reading over the holidays. During the past couple of years the News has attracted increasing numbers of contributors from most parts of Australia, and the present issue is no exception. It’s very pleasing to see that so many people are wanting to have their say on topics of relevance to blind and vision impaired people and their associates. I’m proposing to establish an editorial advisory committee, whose function would be to assist the editor in planning future issues of the News, seeking contributions, and putting issues together. If you have an interest in writing, journalism, editing or publishing, perhaps this would interest you?

If so, please get in touch with me via the National Office.

Don’t forget that the first issue for 2002 - in March - will be a special issue on the theme of travel (any kind of travel, for business or pleasure). I look forward to your contributions and I’m sure it will be a great issue.

Happy holidays!

Members of Blind Citizens Australia and generous members of the public have, for many years, partly funded the work of BCA through donations and lotteries. In recent times a number of friends and Members have also shown their support by leaving a bequest or legacy from their estate in a Will. This kind of support is vital for our ongoing work and we encourage all Members and friends to ensure that BCA will be here to work for blind and vision impaired Australians in the future. BCA's advocacy to ensure that services and facilities do not discriminate against our Members and other blind people has proved to be of enormous benefit to all blind Australians and we need to make sure that our work continues.

You can help by making a bequest in your Will. Please include Blind Citizens Australia in your Will by using the following wording: "I give to Blind Citizens Australia the sum of (include sum both in words and figures) free from all duties or other taxes, whether State or Federal."

Editor’s note: Over the past year or two the Letters section has become one of the most popular sections of the News. I receive a steady stream of letters, which is a pleasing indication that the News has become a real forum for the exchange of readers’ views. Some of the letters I receive are very long, and probably should have been submitted as articles. In order to keep a balance between the various parts of the News, and to enable as many people as possible to express their views, in future issues letters will be limited in length to 350 words or less. Longer letters will be returned to their authors for editing. Please, if what you want to say cannot be said in 350 words, think about writing an article on the subject!

I am writing to express my concerns at the level of inequity surrounding the availability and access of professional development opportunities for the totally blind and vision disabled. I am a totally blind individual and express the facts as I have experienced them. They are broadly covered under three areas:

• The lack of financial support to individuals and employing organisations to investigate technology solutions to blind user issues;

• The concentration of support on welfare solutions to the exclusion of development solutions; and

• The evident lack of consultation, during technology development, with groups who could benefit most from technological applications.

I am currently employed in a part time (switchboard operator) position that I have filled for more than three years. I am now seeking full time employment and looking for a position which better utilises my professional capabilities and so I have been seeking development opportunities, both within my place of employment, and externally.

Currently internal staff development opportunities are limited, mostly due to technological barriers, such as the recent introduction of a new computer system at my place of work and the predominance of research material (and work related documents) in PDF format, that is unreadable by my existing screen reader. If there was sufficient financial support for the development and implementation of alternatives or solutions to these issues, the options for employment for blind people with tertiary qualifications - like myself - would expand dramatically.

Fortunately for me, my employer was able to obtain one development opportunity for a two-week period of training with another government agency, in order that I might gain experience with other PABX systems. The cost for this was borne by my employer. It is my contention that both the State and Commonwealth Governments should become much more actively involved in the provision of professional development opportunities for those disabled individuals who actually currently have employment and that the employer should not be totally financially responsible for the provision of staff development for their disabled staff.

While the totally blind receive pensions and there is funding to provide them with specialised equipment necessary for their initial employment, the government’s policy seems directed toward welfare provision rather than continuous personal/ professional development with the eventual aim of complete self-sufficiency. I recently approached the Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service to see if they could assist me in obtaining broader work experience and career advice. I discovered that there is no funding to provide these services to someone who is already in employment and whose job is not in direct jeopardy. If we are unable to pursue these opportunities, our ability to acquire, consolidate and demonstrate skills adequately to be competitive in a merit based selection system, is degraded and becomes inequitable.

Perhaps some system could be instituted to enable those blind workers who want broader exposure in the public service, to be moved between departments. This would not only give the individuals development opportunities, but also improve their existing levels of performance to benefit their home agency.

What I am asking for is that the government at both state and federal levels take the matter of the self sufficiency, through career development, of totally blind and vision impaired persons seriously rather than just looking at the issue as one of welfare provision. I see the whole matter of funding for this development as a tool whereby the government improves the skill base of the disabled workforce and by enabling the workers to improve their status, the tax base of the government also increases. In the long run the employee assisted, repays part of that assistance when they gain a higher paid position through higher taxes paid.

The totally blind person is extremely limited in the types of work that can be performed and since much work involves the access of specific computer information and written information many jobs are inaccessible. My own experience is indicative. My employer has instituted a new client access system that is totally incompatible with my current technology solutions. What would be helpful would be funding for my employer to investigate the possibility that I could access the client records system. It may still not be possible for me to expand my role with my employer, but funding from the government would allow the exploration of that possibility. A more effective solution would of course be to require any software purchased by Government agencies to be accessible as has been instituted in the USA.

Surely, during the developmental stages of these systems, accessibility should represent a major criterion and developers who do launch products which increase access for disadvantaged groups should receive support, especially from the government. This could take the form of financial support as grants, or tax concessions for research and development in a specialised area. It could equally be supported through the letting of government contracts to companies which demonstrate active consideration for these issues.

My final issue is the extreme difficulty experienced by a totally blind individual to become aware of job vacancies. We are unable to independently read the newspaper and unless we have a dedicated helper, this avenue of job search is denied us. Additionally many Internet sites claiming to provide job search facilities are inaccessible to the totally blind.

I feel that these are the key practical issues of present Government policy which raise questions about the validity and application of an approach which is not outcome based and focused on a return on investment for all parties. I thank you for taking the time to consider my point of view and experience.

Congratulations on the stimulating August issue of the News. I was dismayed, however, to read some cringing sentiments of some writers to the editor. Today there is too much emphasis on ‘my rights’ often at the expense of the rights of others: nevertheless many disadvantaged people do have legitimate and pressing needs which could and should be met in all common decency. Some writers expect that consumers of services such as Braille production should accept whatever ‘carers’ may be disposed to hand down to them.

Please - no more of this spurious illogical nonsense: that because millions in backward parts of the world are deprived of their proper right to receive basic care, we in more advanced situations should be satisfied with any basic service that is substandard. We live in Utopia - not in some poverty-stricken republic - don’t we?

When Braille texts, for instance, are required, particularly when their availability may be crucial to the gaining of some form of employment, why should they not be promptly forthcoming at either no cost or at whatever cost a student is able to pay? Public support for such services is far from substandard.

From time to time I have been handed lists of Braille publications, but I have never been asked whether these materials meet my needs or serve my interests. The general public are free to access bookshops and libraries, and it is purely discriminatory that the right of blind people to gain knowledge and information is inhibited by any restrictive practice of those providers who are entrusted by the public with the delivery of services such as Braille production.

Should we regard ourselves as members of an underclass, happy to receive handouts prescribed for us by some impersonal alms dispenser? Anyone who imagines that what I am saying is in any way extreme would do well to catch up on their history homework: bearing in mind that history has a compelling habit of repeating itself in one way or another.

Without my request or consultation a talking book player was delivered to my home, and with it a taped novel not of my choosing. Around this time a serious circumstance was threatening to terminate my business. The same institution (attending to my entertainment needs) proposed a solution of my immediate problem by taking control of my industry. Should I have been grateful for this presumptuousness, as a sighted executive of this institution charged when I was speaking in a meeting? My response to her, in the words of the French wisdom: "The more things appear to change, the more they stay the same".

Could history now repeat itself in regard to Marisa’s impasse [see May 2001 issue]? Surely she wouldn’t be punished for being a naughty little penperson - would she? There are certain of our number, one or two still alive, who would testify of the punishment meted out to them for their part in the Association of Blind Citizens [of NSW] drive to have the NSW Department of Education honour its duty to extend state education to blind children: an action vehemently opposed by the institution which had provided limited education service up to that time. If there were more people like Marisa with the vision and the guts to protest against the cutting of vital services and standards generally, throughout our country, then Australia’s drift from riches to rags by our own mindless embrace of globalisation could well be arrested.

It is extremely disappointing that certain fellow BCA members, displaying their inability to respond intelligently to vital issues raised by Marisa and myself in the May issue, have sought to distract us from this with the easiest cop-out they have at their disposal, never mind the fact that they don't even know us: patronisation, condescension and outright personal mud-slinging. So we've hit a few raw nerves, it seems. Highlighting the problems instead of sweeping them under the carpet is the first step towards doing something about them.

As for being "boring to read or listen to", this too is a matter of opinion, and the fact remains that everyone receiving the publication has the choice to read on or not, unlike the situation regarding material only available in standard print. As a member of the BCA Women's Branch, Diana Braun should know better than to use the conditions of blind people (especially women) in Africa and the Middle East as an excuse to water down and rubbish our perfectly valid struggles here at home, thus making a complete mockery of BCA's own mission statement and past, present and future gains by members and non-members alike.

Similarly, Vernon Wells' and David Rodda's accusations of self-centredness and ingratitude are outrageous and offensive. These three individuals evidently expect this magazine to be a forum exclusively for light, fluffy news for happy, well-adapted people. It's high time these eternally grateful people were made aware of a few stark home truths, which make utterly laughable their regard for us as spoiled brats. I refer them to the "Braille 2000" report produced by the Braille 2000 Working Party, established by the Executive of the Australian Braille Authority (Braille p5): "Braille appears to be on the decline in Australia. A valid reason may be the choice of accessible formats now available to blind people, which was not the case before the computer age:... On the other hand, braille services in Australia are arguably among the poorest in developed countries - a regrettable fact which must surely hasten the decline in braille usage if left unchecked. Braille is fundamentally important in the education of blind children and it is the primary literacy medium for blind children and adults. Therefore, it is incumbent upon all stakeholders to do everything that can be done to arrest the decline in braille usage, to facilitate its production and availability, and to maximise its useability by blind people."

As of February this year, the Association for the Blind of WA is charging an annual $77.00 Service Access Fee even for those simply wishing to access their so-called library service, which amounts to a complete farce especially for Braille readers, since there is no Braille collection in WA and we are essentially being charged to use NILS.

Students studying through small private institutions are faced with exorbitant costs for transcriptions by NILS where the educational institution is unable to foot the bill. Assuming the client finally gets their material, it is often only to find that proofreading and accuracy is now a luxury.

Competent transcribers in this country are overworked and underresourced, often being used in a voluntary capacity by the organisations who have the audacity to conveniently ignore any tightening of the belt with respect to executive and managerial salaries. The inaugural National Braille Week is approaching as I write, and we have a situation where blind children are simply not receiving adequate Braille literacy training and support.

I found the previous News very thought provoking and in many ways quite offputting. I am appalled that many blind people are so quick to judge others. Vivien Palcic's article was her own experience and yet she was ridiculed and treated very harshly [see Letters to the Editor, August 2001].

Many writers insist that sighted people have needs also, and that we cannot expect books to be Brailled for our own specific benefit. I am fed up with the majority of blind people going on about "how grateful we must be because Third World countries have no Braille". Instead of grovelling to blindness agencies vision impaired individuals such as BCA members need to stand up for their rights and realise that:

1 Braille is under-resourced and under-valued.

2 Braille titles are shamelessly being censored by executives who, in the end, have a salary on account of our disability.

Instead of exercising benevolence to other countries, what about cleaning up our own back yard?

People must realise that we are being denied access to student material, and that Braille is also being hidden away by the Vision Australia Library so that we are only able to access Braille books from the small display section. As portrayed in the rally of 4th September 2001, held outside the RVIB Library, Braille literature is being censored with a justification promoted by the RVIB that borrowers do not read certain materials, so this is in low demand. People should stop persecuting others and find the truth, and also realise that nothing has really changed. Agencies which serve people who are blind or vision impaired ensure that we do not have equal rights in regard to accessing reading materials. Yet, BCA and other groups have in the end failed to help me, when the RVIB stopped Brailling my course materials.

When I received my long cane training in Brisbane 8 years ago, I was instructed to hold the cane so that the index finger pointed down along the flat edge of the handgrip. Use of the cane brought me that wonderful sense of freedom experienced by many blind people. However during a long walk, I’d develop an ache in that forefinger, extending to the wrist and forearm. Fearing this could lead to a repetitive strain injury, I aired my concerns to a blind friend who’d been trained in Melbourne ten years prior.

I discovered he held his cane differently - the flat side of the hand-grip is downwards in the palm, thumb wraps over the top. The side to side movement of the cane tip is generated mainly by a rolling of the wrist, but the thumb and forefinger also play a part in this manoeuvre. With just a little practice I picked up the different technique and have used it ever since. When walking on paved surfaces, the grip on the cane may be relatively loose without compromising control. However on grass or rough terrain a somewhat firmer grip is necessary. The flexing of tendons, muscles and so on is considerably less than when using the forefinger extended technique. Considering the fact that on a walk of just one kilometre, the cane flicks from side to side possibly fifteen hundred times, there are significant health implications.

An added factor is this: say you are holding the cane with forefinger extended when the tip strikes a solid object: Depending on velocity and the tightness of your grip, the cane tends to slide up through your hand, and jab you in the abdomen. However in the alternative position with the palm of your hand upwards, when a solid object is encountered, the heel of the palm tends to more effectively deflect the cane upwards and away from the body.

I often walk several kilometres in a single session, and rarely feel any physical discomfort. I feel certain that my safety is not compromised, and in fact may be enhanced. The reasoning for this assertion is as follows:

because the entire forearm is more relaxed, so too is the rest of the body, including the mind.

I asked if the instructors at this agency still teach blind folk to hold their cane with the forefinger extended. Yes they do. I indicated that for some years I have been using another technique. I described the series of events as detailed above, and gave a demonstration. To the instructor’s credit, there was no attempt to divert me back to the method I’d been taught. But neither was there any recognition that the alternative technique may have validity.

Admittedly, for some long cane users, the "official" technique may be the most effective means of controlling the long cane. But personally I believe that my mobility on all terrains has been enhanced by adopting the ‘flat side down’ technique.

Are different methods taught by different agencies? What do the mobility text books say? And finally, what opportunities exist for we the clients to have our input recognised as meaningful?

Kevin Rowley

Queensland

Another busy year is almost behind us, with our National Convention held in Sydney during September being a resounding success. The program included a huge range of topics with a large number of members taking part. For those who were able to join us in Sydney over the three days it was enjoyable, informative and provided a tremendous opportunity to meet with old friends, make new ones and generally enjoy the relaxed friendly atmosphere. For those who were able to listen to the coverage over the internet or the packaged highlights on the RPH network, I hope you were able to get a flavour of the event. Many thanks to all of those who gave up a great deal of time in planning, organising and presenting. Thank you to those who took the time to complete our Convention Evaluation Form along with our many phone calls received at the National Office following Convention. The feedback was very positive and will assist us in planning future events.

Packaged highlights in audio form can be found on the BCA web page and will be available until the end of January.

Our Annual General Meeting was held during the Convention and the results of our elections were announced. We farewelled Karen Knight as President and elected Robert Altamore as our President for the next three years. Three NPDC state representatives were elected. We farewelled Patricia Stillman (QLD), Pam Fayers (NSW) and Mark Muscat (VIC). We elected Craig Magill (QLD), Donna Willson (NSW) and Sean Tyrell (VIC). Peter Ryan retired as the NPDC Organisational Representative with Diana Braun taking over this role. Thank you to the retiring members for your contribution and work on our policy council and we look forward to your ongoing involvement in other ways in BCA.

The National Office will close from Friday December 21, 2001 to Thursday January 3, 2002.

During the first two weeks of January a number of the staff will be on leave, therefore, the office will operate with reduced staffing.

I reported in the previous issue of News that our National Office was relocating to Kooyong. Since that time, we have been informed that the space offered to us is no longer available. In the interim we will remain in the current site and next year we will begin a search for new office space.

I previously reported that we would establish a part time office in NSW commencing at the start of September, and that we had applied to the NSW government for funding for an dvocacy/information service. The funding process has been deferred by the NSW government until next year. In the meantime, the Board remains committed to establishing a NSW office, and we anticipate a commencement date of February 2002.

Two issues of our National Soundabout audio magazine have been produced and distributed. The feedback is very positive and it has provided some members with the opportunity to receive Soundabout for the first time.

The Telecommunications Disability Consumer Representation (TEDICORE) project has been granted ongoing funding for another year and Gunela Astbrink will lead this work once again.

An email discussion list (bca-l) has been established, providing the opportunity for BCA members to discuss issues relevant to blind and vision impaired people and BCA policy. The number of members registered on this list is growing each week and we urge members to take advantage of this communication forum.

I would like to thank all those who have supported the work of BCA during the last year and wish everyone a wonderful Christmas and a new year full of happiness and good fortune.

Harold Gration was born in 1920 and educated at the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind. In 1936, at the age of sixteen, he left school. He was partially blind at this time, and the management of the Blind Institute was only admitting totally blind boys from the school into the Institute workshops. So Harold joined the "Disabled Men’s Association" and commenced selling cookery and gardening books door to door on a commission basis. He also became a member of the "Blind Workers Association" (which later became the Blind Worker’s Union). This Association was in its infancy at this time, and the management of the Blind Institute was out to crush it. The union was fighting to improve conditions and wages in the Blind Institute factory. Harold became a member of the committee and meetings were held in secret in members’ homes. Blind people working in the factory, or any blind person receiving some benefit from the Blind Institute, were at risk of being victimised if they joined the Union.

During his time with the Blind Worker’s Union, Harold served as Committee member, and for a few years Treasurer, then President. He was the Blind Worker’s Union delegate to Trades Hall, seeking their support to confer with the management over unsatisfactory conditions in the Blind Institute workshops. Harold represented the Blind Worker’s Union at annual conferences of the Australian Federation of Organisations of the Blind. This federation was made up of Blind Workers Unions and Association of the Blind from several States of Australia. It was this organisation that eventually achieved the abolition of the means test on blind pensions, after many years of campaigning and lobbying members of Parliament. Harold gave many hours of his time, and met all his own expenses attending conferences, both local and interstate, in the battle to improve conditions for blind people.

Harold completed a course at Royal Melbourne Technical College in 1953. He qualified as an art and craft technical school teacher. As he was unable to do painting and drawing, his subjects were upholstery, sea grass stool making, leather work, basket making, pottery and weaving. Harold’s ambition was for one of the organisations for the blind to employ him to set up a day centre for blind people. At that time elderly blind people had nothing to do but to sit at home. He approached the Blind Institute, but they were not interested. However, his approach to the Association for the Blind was met with enthusiasm. He was appointed by the Association to establish and direct a craft centre in their hall at Kooyong. This was established at the beginning of 1956. Harold taught crafts, along with daily living skills.

In 1957 Harold was asked by the Association to set up a craft centre at their Brighton Home for the Blind, "Elanora". This also proved a great success. Craft Centres were then established by Harold at Ballarat & Bendigo. The Kooyong Day Centre was the first Day Centre for the Blind in Victoria, and possibly in Australia.

In 1960 Harold, together with his then wife and others, established the Lady Nell Seeing Eye Dog Training Centre, and in 1962 Harold set up and directed the rehabilitation centre at the Centre and once more this became a success story.

In 1970 Harold presented some Sunday afternoon programmes on 3CR called "Voice of the Blind", this helped to lead on to the formation 3RPH. At the end of 1975, after his retirement, he became a voluntary craft teacher both for the Association and the Institute.

In the "Year of the Disabled" - 1981 - Harold attended many meetings in Melbourne suburbs and country districts, as a representative of the National Federation of Blind Citizens in an endeavour to attain better conditions for blind people. With others, Harold helped to set up the Federation’s office in Riversdale Road, Hawthorn. Hugh Jeffrey was Secretary.

Harold, with his partner, Ella Edwardes, spent many hours assisting Hugh in the office. Although Harold could not do the clerical work as Ella did, he did many manual jobs, such as putting our magazine into envelopes for posting. Our magazine was called "Buff". When all were ready, Harold and Ella made several trips to the Post Office, dragging a shopping jeep full of copies of Buff for posting. Harold served as President of the Hawthorn branch of NFBCA when the Federation had branches in the Melbourne suburbs.

Harold Gration has given Blind Citizens Australia many years of service and substantial financial donations, for both of which we are deeply indebted to him. His has been a truly generous and productive life.

This is my first contribution to the News as National President. I appreciate the opportunity that the Members of BCA have given me to serve as President of the organisation during the next three years. I look forward to working with the Board and our staff in leading an organisation which speaks and acts strongly on the issues of concern to blind people and is a strong source of advocacy and peer support, at both the local and national levels. In particular, one aspect of our recent Sydney Convention which I would like to build on is for Blind Citizens Australia to be an organisation in which members can develop their personal skills by participating in our peer support and advocacy activities.

On behalf of our Members, I express our appreciation to Karen Knight for her contribution as the President in the last 15 months. Karen assumed the role of President at a time of great challenge for the organisation and her strong and effective leadership has left us in a good position to meet the challenges of the next three years. That Karen provided us with such effective leadership at a time when she and Brian were assuming the responsibilities of parenthood is a tribute to them both and on your behalf I express our thanks and appreciation to Karen and Brian.

BCA has been an important part of my life since 1983, when I became an active member of the organisation and worked with others to establish the ACT Branch. Since 1986 I have been a member of the Council, now the Board, of BCA and during many of those years have been a Vice-President with responsibilities for leading our policy work. By way of personal background, I am a totally blind person and live in Canberra. I grew up in Melbourne where I was educated at St. Paul’s School for the Blind to year 8 and then at my local Catholic secondary school. I attended Monash University, completing degrees in Law and Arts with studies in political science, economics and sociology. I served my Articles with one of Melbourne’s major law firms and then moved to Canberra to take up employment in the Australian Public Service. In my work as a senior lawyer with the Australian Government Solicitor, I lead a section of 4 staff with responsibility for the maintenance of a large database of legal information. The majority of my working life has been as a legal officer in Government organisations performing legal and administrative tasks including legal advice, policy development and program administration.

I am married to Wendy and together we share many interests including BCA and Radio for the Print Handicapped. I am Vice-President of the Canberra station and its delegate to RPH Australia, the National co-ordinating body for RPH services.

Apart from my work and my participation in organisations of people with disabilities, my recreational activities are important to me. In recent years I have taken up the sports of rowing and running. I am also a very keen sports follower, being an enthusiastic supporter of Carlton in the AFL and the Victorian Bushrangers cricket team.

At this year’s Convention, I gave a report about BCA’s Non-Optional Costs of Blindness research project and our findings so far.

If you didn’t get the opportunity to attend Convention or to listen to the broadcast over the internet, the audio file should soon be available from our web page. If you don’t have access to the internet and would like to hear the report, please contact me at the national office. If you did hear the report, you will remember that I mentioned that only a few people who participated in the focus groups mentioned the impact of their vision impairment on their employment.

The issue of access to employment and benefits such as income, paid leave and superannuation is a very important one. I am interested in hearing from members about how your blindness or vision loss has affected your employment. I have written some questions below that might help you to think about the issue.

Of course, if there are other aspects of the research that you would like to write to me about, I would be happy to hear from you.

1. What type of work do you do, or are you looking for? It would be helpful if you could provide a brief summary of your work history.
2. What level of education have you completed? How would you describe the quality of the education you have received?
3. When did you (begin to) lose your sight?
4. If you were employed when you began to lose your sight, how did your vision impairment affect your work?
5. What level of support did you/do you receive from your employer? Was/is the support what you needed? Was/is it enough?
6. Have you changed jobs because of your impairment? Why? How does your new job compare to the old in terms of number of hours worked, wages, benefits and conditions?
7. How have your equipment needs at work been met?
8. Have you ever had to purchase equipment for work using your own money? If yes, please give details.
9. If you are no longer employed, what impact has this had on your income and financial security?
10. What has your experience of looking for work been like?
11. In what ways do you think your employment would be different if you were not vision impaired? How would your career be different?

In the May 2001 edition of Blind Citizens News, Vivien Palcic (‘From Six Years of Apartheid to Seemingly Eternal Exile’) and Marisa Sposaro (‘Censorship’) raised a very important topic, viz, the anaemic range of texts available in libraries catering to readers who are blind or vision impaired. I am adding my voice to these rumblings of discontent in the hope that they will gather momentum and become a wind of change sweeping through the blind and vision impaired community.

The basic principle is that our libraries must cater to the needs of all blind and vision impaired people, regardless of how esoteric their reading needs might be. We should not have our reading habits dictated to us by a bovine lowest-common-denominator principle which says that you can only read a text if other people want to read it as well. A basic human right is being infringed if people are not allowed to develop themselves (creatively, intellectually and spiritually) in whatever way they see fit. Article 19 of the UN’s ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ reads: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

If someone is interested in feminist theory, anarchist philosophy, Buddhism, or whatever, they should receive the requisite texts without having to justify themselves, let alone be denied on the grounds that the provision of these materials in alternative formats is economically unfeasible. If our blindness agencies will not comply with the basic human right of information provision, then we should turn to our government (which is a signatory to the UN’s 1948 declaration just mentioned) to ensure that people who are blind or vision impaired are not denied access to printed information.

Vivien Palcic and Marisa Sposaro alluded to the limited range of texts available in Braille. The situation isn’t much better vis a vis materials recorded on audio tape. The Vision Australia Library and RVIB’s library are so pathetic that I have virtually given up hope on them. For reasons which I will adumbrate presently, I have never learned to read Braille and have, until recently, relied on the audio format for my reading matter. I have a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Deakin University where I majored in literary studies, and religion studies, as well as studying philosophy for a few years. RVIB provided the bare minimum of my required study materials on audio cassette, and for this I am eternally grateful. However, I think that audio tapes are woefully inadequate for academic purposes (study materials are now being provided on disk, and I can only applaud this). In the area of tertiary studies, RVIB is adequate, but in other areas the situation is less satisfactory. As a professional writer (I am a freelance music journalist, poet, novelist and children’s writer), I require access to a broad range of literary journals, magazines and newspapers. Needless to say, none of the libraries have any of the periodicals and journals that I require access to. When I suggested (this was about six years ago) that the library might be able to produce at least one or two literary magazines in audio, the not entirely unexpected answer was that it was unlikely but they would consider it. As far as I know, they are probably still considering it.

I alluded earlier to my lack of Braille skills. Courtesy of our genes, my older brother and I have an absurdly ravenous eye disease. When my brother was diagnosed in the late sixties, he was immediately plucked out of his primary school in Geelong and transplanted to St. Paul’s School for the Blind in Melbourne. One of the consequences of this was that he was taught Braille. When fate pointed its double helix at me some ten years later, the winds of policy had changed and I was left in an ordinary (I use the word advisedly) school. As the Taoists say: "Who knows what is good or bad?" Well, one positive consequence of this new policy was that I was able to socialise with sighted kids (though for a non-conformist Bohemian fringe-dweller like me, I suppose this is malapropos). A negative product of my schooling was that I wasn’t taught Braille. Whether this was (at least in part) due to the lack of resources in regional Victoria, I’m not sure. In any case, I don’t think Braille was ever considered as an option for me. The thinking here was that if you have some vision and are able to read standard print (which I was able to do with the help of magnifying aids), then you don’t need to learn Braille. I would like to expose this for the patent absurdity it is. Though I have always had a deep love for all forms of literature, reading was, throughout my schooling, not so much a chore as a form of torture. To begin with, I struggled through with a magnifying glass. Later I graduated to a closed circuit TV. In both cases, reading was painfully slow and tended to induce severe headaches. According to some kind of perverted logic, this is apparently preferable to using Braille. If someone had had the foresight to teach me Braille as a child (as my brother had been taught at St. Paul’s), my early education might not have been the shambles that it was. When I began my university degree in 1993, my vision was such that I was still able to take notes by hand. But, as my eye condition is a degenerative one, I’ve reached the stage now where I have no access to printed material.

My purpose here is not to discuss the relative merits of segregated versus integrated learning, but rather to point out that all the benefits which are piphenomena of integrated education must be complemented by adequate support in the area of Braille literacy, otherwise the education system will be fostering the unpalatable scenario of people who have no tangible access to print, or in other words, people whose literacy is severely impaired.

Four years ago I purchased a scanner and use it regularly to scan journals and magazines into the computer, allowing me to read them with a voice synthesiser. This mode of accessing printed material is good, but carries with it several problems. One is that the cost of the equipment and necessary software is prohibitive for many people (especially if you’re a penurious poet like me). Another problem is that scanning texts (often lengthy) is extremely time consuming. Quite apart from the fact that time these days is a precious and scarce commodity, why should we, as blind people, spend so much time scanning documents into the computer, when our sighted peers can flip open any book or magazine they want and peruse it at their leisure?

In her article ‘Censorship’, Marisa Sposaro referred to the conservatism of many blind people. I think this is due generally to a desire not to rock the boat, for fear that we might lose what little we have. This is sad, considering that human rights are not things which are granted by governments and can therefore be taken away at any time. Rather, human rights are possessed by all people as a product of natural justice. The right to access all printed material is not a utopian dream. I would again refer readers to the UN’s ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ to which most governments around the world are signatories. Furthermore, the conservative nature of people with disabilities generally is a result of being different to others vis a vis their physiology, which is attended by an instinctive toning down of other aspects of their personality.

This is also unfortunate in so far as it reflects the attitudes of a community which has little regard for difference. A thriving culture is one that has the capacity to embrace difference which, after all, is the key to a rich and vibrant society.

Unlike communities which are geographically located in one place, blind and vision impaired people comprise a community which is scattered across the planet. Nevertheless, we still must act as a community. In most communities, when some service or other is required, the members of that community get together to ensure that the service is provided. I think we as blind people should stop relying on others to do things for us, and take matters into our own hands. This is, after all, what organisations like BCA and the WBU are all about. We need to establish a mechanism by which any text which a blind or vision impaired person requires is provided to them in the format they prefer, whether it be Braille, audio tape, computer disk, or whatever. One suggestion that might be taken up is to use the DDA to compel publishers to provide blindness agencies with a disk copy of all published books contemporaneously with the lodging of a print copy in the National Library in Canberra. Another possibility is to use the Internet to set up a data base of texts which can only be accessed by people who are legally blind (this is in order to circumvent copyright restrictions which most authors and publishers guard jealously). These are just two suggestions. At present, the Internet is not available to everyone, so there should be lots of other strategies that can be employed. I hope this piece might get people thinking and stir up everyone’s creative juices so that other solutions to the problem can be found.

My first BCA Convention was an experience I will never forget, with ten sessions on a wide range of topics and social functions allowing the opportunity to network and socialise. The convention was held at the Harbourview Hotel in North Sydney and we were greeted with welcome drinks provided by the hotel on the Friday night. It was guide dogs galore at the Harbourview but the dogs coped extremely well and the staff at the hotel were terrific.

The newly established Young Blind Citizens Branch of which I am President, ran a workshop on the topic of "Popular Imaginings of Blindness" focussing on films, advertisements and news articles. Ten to fifteen people attended the session, participating in an interesting discussion. Our main speaker was Sean Tyrell with Marco Curralejo assisting. I found it an interesting experience being involved in the preparation of the session and seeing it develop. It is always a task to cram so much information into the limited time available, however for a first effort I felt that Young Blind Citizens mastered this very well as it is hard to know what the audience of a session will bring up for discussion.

The contributions from our speakers during convention gave me an insight into what sorts of issues confront BCA as a whole on a local level, and also a feel for what the organisation represents. Endeavours such as the "The Non-optional Costs of Blindness" Study and the many issues surrounding our library services, to name just two. The presentations were positive and indicated that BCA and it’s members are working to resolve some of these issues, though it is by no means an easy process.

I attended the Women’s Branch function and Annual General Meeting, and enjoyed conversing with other branch members with whom I would not otherwise have contact, the majority of whom I hadn’t met before. The activity focussing on stress relief that Sunday night was certainly a welcome and much needed diversion.

The most enjoyable part of convention for me was to spend time with the international guests who were in attendance. These are people who hold leadership positions within blindness agencies, as well as in the World Blind Union. It was useful to make connections with them, and have the opportunity to get to know them a little more. Their contributions to convention gave us a broader perspective on universal matters that we all battle, including the discrimination faced by blind women throughout the world, indigenous issues and the unavailability of material in alternative formats. These issues are very common on a local level, but are even more prevalent in developing countries. It was constantly reinforced over the weekend that we are very lucky to be living in the diverse and well developed country that Australia is.

Through such variety and scope from all participants, along with the contributions and discussions with attendees from Australia and abroad, the convention truly demonstrated "Blind people’s advocacy: from the local to the global".

In the time-honoured tradition of first-time attendees of the BCA Convention, I had planned, even before I got there, to write an article for the News giving an overall picture of the convention from my perspective. So it is with no small amount of disappointment that I find myself preparing to write about only one of the ten sessions, this being the final session, resolutions, session.

I think the final session was the only session for which I arrived relatively early. But I was inspired: all nine of the previous sessions had been packed full of useful information, fascinating ideas, and thought-provoking opinion. And I was looking forward to what I was confident would be more of the same.

As I had arrived early, I got a seat in the front row. This turned out to be a very interesting position to be in. The stage where some of the BCA executive were seated was right in front of me, and in the row behind me was half of the resolutions committee.

Karen Knight, the retiring President, began the session by informing us that we had "thirteen resolutions to get through in about an hour"; and I got this horrible sinking feeling. A feeling that was never given a reason to subside. I need to emphasise at this point, lest someone jumps to the wrong conclusion, that I'm not levelling the following comments at anyone in particular. I have no knowledge of which person, or group of people, it was that decided that passing thirteen resolutions in an hour is anything approaching a realistic goal. It was painfully obvious to me, as soon as Karen made that statement, that it was completely unrealistic. But for some reason that I just don't get, we were expected to think that this was a sensible and reasonable thing to do.

Worse still was the fact that, aside from the four resolutions circulated before convention, there weren't any copies of the resolutions made available. Or more precisely, there were a few copies but we weren't told how we could get them, and they weren't offered to us. Presumably the resolutions committee and some of the BCA executive had them all.

I sometimes wonder if BCA is fully, or even partly, cognisant of the double-standard it creates when things such as this are permitted. What organisation, company or government agency would feel that providing information to blind people in the format of their choice is a reasonable demand, given the knowledge that BCA won't even do this for its members? Not even for the resolutions session of its own convention - the biggest, and most important, opportunity members have to influence organisational policy. Further, BCA won't even do it at a resolutions session during which they plan to resolve to call on the relevant minister to "acknowledge that Braille is a legitimate form of literacy for people who are blind" (resolution 11). If the whole thing wasn't so serious it would be incredibly funny. What would be funnier still, is that if we had had the resolutions in Braille a lot of the time that BCA was so concerned about spending would've been saved.

The other important issue here is that of being able to consider the resolution carefully before agreeing to it. And I would argue that this is impossible to do if you do not have the text of what you are considering freely available for you to read. It means you don't have the opportunity to give the topic any prior consideration. It means you have to try to keep the resolution in your head while you also try to think of the issues that surround it. And it also means it's difficult to suggest improvements, a point articulated by Peter Goebel during the discussion of resolution 12 (I was the sole person who cheered and clapped at the end of what he had to say, just in case anyone was curious).

In short, not providing a copy of the resolutions to everyone in the room made most of us dependent on, and inferior to, the fortunate few who did have them. This demonstrates a complete lack of respect on behalf of BCA towards its members.

After a convention's over, the resolutions we pass are all that we have to show for it. I mean, it's nice for those of us who were there to have listened to all those amazing presentations; but if we don't use our resolutions session effectively by seriously considering, and then putting into writing, what we as an organisation think about the issues raised, then we might as well have stayed at home. If you were in the situation where you had to discuss tactile ground surface indicators (resolution 12) with a council or whatever, what could you say? "Yes well, I went to a session on this very topic at the BCA convention this year. It was very interesting!" They would more than likely ask you what BCA's position on tactile ground surface indicators is now. And I know I would have to say "I really don't know. The resolution was passed. But nobody actually knows what it is because there were recommendations to change every paragraph of it. But the wording of those changes was never finalised".

Similarly with resolution 6. If I was discussing it with someone and they asked me who it was that we decided BCA represents, I'd have to tell them I have absolutely no idea. I only agreed because Bill Jolley said we should, otherwise we would be disagreeing with our articles of association.

The last point I'd like to make is about the need to encourage people to have their say, particularly if it's against the motion. Sure, not one resolution was passed without a call for people to speak against it. But if you take a thorough listen through the resolutions proceedings, as I have, you'll notice that the people who did do this, or at least raised doubts about resolutions, were of a particular group. They were all old, or at least, not young. Most of them were men. And they were people that have had many years of practise at dealing with this type of situation. They were people like David Blyth, Bill Jolley, Michael Simpson and June Ashmore. And seriously, if these people couldn't speak up, then what hope do the rest of us have?

Discussion and disagreement are not things to be feared and suppressed within an organisation. They are things to be supported and encouraged. Sometimes I think BCA is so concerned about being the united voice of blind and vision-impaired Australians, that it fails to realise it's only the united voice of a few blind and vision-impaired Australians. The rest of us are made to feel like our opinions' don't matter before we even know what they are. I lost count of the number of times I heard someone at the resolutions session say something along the lines of "I'm really sorry but I just need to say ...". I am aware of more than one occasion when there were questions about a resolution's wording and people were told that it had just been read wrongly (resolution 13), or that it would get fixed later (resolution 5). I saw a question that Geoff Shang asked about resolution 6 be completely ignored. And I felt the tremendous pressure that everyone was under to just agree to each resolution regardless of their opinion, and the lack of information. The organisation deserves full credit for keeping the discussion so quiet and under control. And I'm sure there's a few people who would congratulate BCA on being able to shut me, and others like me, up. That's certainly not easy. But this is not something of which I would be proud.

It could of course be said that if I had anything to say I should've just said it. Nobody was locking me out of the room, or taping my mouth shut. But in my defence, and in the defence of others in a similar position to mine, there is much more to having a discussion than putting everyone in a room and giving them something to talk about. And certainly, making sure that people know their opinion is as valid as everyone else's, and providing enough time for a decent amount of discussion on each resolution, are two good places to start.

I'm not interested in blaming anyone for how the resolution session turned out. It's all done and there's no way to go back and change it. What I do want is for all of us to make sure this never happens again.

For the full text of the resolutions, with supporting statements, please contact BCA’s National Office.

1/ This Convention endorses the Federal Election Strategy developed by Blind Citizens Australia and agrees that the key issues to be pursued in this election should be:

• accessible voting;

• equal access to library services;

• improved access to material transcription services; and

• improved access to employment.

This Convention urges branches and organisational members to use the Strategy and support their members in raising these issues with candidates in their local areas.

This Convention also requests the National Policy and Development Council to assess the effectiveness of the Federal Election Strategy and report to members. This assessment should validate the effectiveness of the issues, the extent to which the issues were raised and the appropriateness of support provided to branches and organisational members.

2/ This Convention recommends that Blind Citizens Australia join with advocacy organisations concerned with the needs of people residing in nursing homes in lobbying for implementation of and compliance with Commonwealth Government accreditation standards for the care of nursing home residents.

3/ This Convention recommends to Blind Citizens Australia that it establish procedures so that in each financial year, two members of the National Women's Special Interest Branch can apply to the Board for sponsorship, in whole or in part, of the cost of their attendance at a women's conference within Australia, which the Women's Special Interest Branch Executive deems to be of benefit to the advancement of blind and vision impaired women.

Further, that it be a condition of such sponsorship that the recipient of such sponsorship bring back information obtained from the conference to members of the National Women's Special Interest Branch by way of a presentation or report and to the general membership via Blind Citizens Australia media.

4/ This Convention recommends to Blind Citizens Australia that it work with the Australian Deaf-Blind Council and the National Disability Advisory Council to have deaf-blindness recognised as a specific disability in the Commonwealth State Disability Agreements, which are currently being negotiated, and to have specific funds allocated for deaf-blind services under these agreements.

5/ This Convention calls on the Board of the Association for the Blind WA to abolish the service access fee and to develop alternative means of fund raising so that blind people in WA have access to the services that they need.

6/ This Convention affirms that the definition of a blind person as set out in the Blind Citizens Australia Articles of Association is a person whose vision impairment would make him/her eligible to receive the Disability Support Pension (Blind) for permanent blindness according to the criteria in the Commonwealth Social Security Act.

7/ This Convention endorses the position taken by Blind Citizens Australia in support of a proposal by the Australian Blindness Forum to the Commonwealth Government for a national equipment subsidy scheme for blind people.

8/ This Convention resolves that it will support the National Indigenous Disability Network in its efforts to employ a national coordinator to work with state indigenous disability networks and to facilitate a national conference of indigenous persons with disabilities.

Blind Citizens Australia will seek to identify indigenous blind people and assist them to participate in the state and national conferences of the National Indigenous Disability Network.

Blind Citizens Australia will facilitate the involvement of a blind person from the National Indigenous Disability Network in the World Blind Union Indigenous Persons Committee.

9/ This Convention resolves that the concept of a national library service for Australians with print disabilities be endorsed on the following conditions:

1) that the service is available on the same terms to all Australians with print disabilities, regardless of place of residence or time at which they seek to bcome/became a library borrower; and,

2. no person experiences a decline in service standards as a consequence of the formation of such a national service.

10/ This Convention resolves that Blind Citizens Australia should work with the organisations representing the public library systems of Australia to bring about improvement in access to and quality of public library services for people with print disabilities.

11/ This Convention calls on Blind Citizens Australia and blindness agencies to work together with the Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs, for the development and accreditation of courses in Braille so that blind people can access the Government’s recently proposed literacy and numeracy supplements.

- This Convention calls on the Commonwealth Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs to acknowledge that Braille is a legitimate form of literacy for blind, vision impaired or deaf blind people.

12/ This Convention calls for Blind Citizens Australia to seek funding for research to study aspects of the external environment and to make recommendations for access measures that are consistent with the needs of blind people and people with other disabilities. [Passed subject to the motion being amended to strongly indicate the necessity of TGSI and audible pedestrian indicators for blind people and to include a reference to the problem of inconsistent placement of TGSI’s]

13/ This Convention resolves that Blind Citizens Australia should work with education providers, the Tertiary Education Disability Council of Australia, transcription service providers, publishers and relevant government agencies to negotiate strategies to achieve the timely provision of materials to students in the most appropriate format.

We have had a win recently, which is always nice to report! Following many years of lobbying, it looks certain that from 1 January 2002, signs required under the Building Code of Australia will have to be provided in braille and tactile forms. As well, signs to assist people to find the toilets in buildings will be required.

This is a small win, but one we can build on. Unfortunately, there are many signs that are provided in buildings which are not required under the Building Code – for example, tenant directories, signs for reception desks, etc. These signs will be addressed when the Access to Premises Standard is developed, however, if we want to see change before then, the Disability Discrimination Act is still an option. If there is a building that you cannot negotiate because the signs are not accessible, I encourage you to consider making a complaint under the DDA. For further information, contact Aileen McFadzean in the National Office.

At Convention, the issue of the best design of pedestrian crossings was discussed.

Crossings where all traffic is stopped and all pedestrians cross at the same time are becoming increasingly common in some parts of Australia. Participants in the Access workshop at Convention requested that the National Policy and Development Council consult with members to determine how safe these crossings are and what position, if any, BCA should take on their installation. Stay tuned for further developments on this issue.

I am very pleased to advise you that the National Information and Library Service (NILS) and Vision Australia Foundation have commenced discussions with the objective of developing a service that enables Australians with a print disability to have equal access to published materials.

A steering committee has been formed that includes representatives of RVIB, RBS, Vision Australia Foundation (VAF) and Blind Citizens Australia (BCA). This steering committee has nominated representatives to join a working party which will represent BCA, NILS, Vision Australia, RVIB and RBS. The BCA representative is Lynne Davis, who has recently conducted a survey of libraries and the services they offer blind and vision impaired borrowers.

This working party is examining how services to clients can be improved through the provision of unified services, for example by:

• extending the range and reach of the talking book, Braille and audio described video collection

• combining the collections in ways that enhance the range of material available to all borrowers

• taking advantage of the opportunities afforded by the move to digital talking books to adopt a common format and delivery system

• strengthening the organisations' negotiating position as a single public library service in the quest for better funding from government

• identifying best practice in the libraries to optimise use of existing resources

• reaching more clients through stronger promotion of our services

• eliminating confusion amongst borrowers and referring organisations as to the source of appropriate library services

During these deliberations it will be business as usual for all our services.

The working party has been meeting weekly collecting information to assist in the building of a business case for a unified service. There is a great spirit of co-operation and a strong desire for services to clients to be improved through the provision of unified services.

It is expected that any unified service will have a phased implementation over several years.

Issues requiring further detailed analysis by the working party, possibly drawing on some external expertises, include:

• The funding model through which the three primary agencies (RVIB, RBS and Vision Australia) fund the unified service

• The strategic directions for the unified service

• The location of the service

• Providing both a 2 track and 4 track talking book service

• Digitisation of the current analogue library collection

• The information technology and telecommunications infrastructure

• Expanding eligibility for services across Australia

• Increasing clients’ choices.

We will continue to work with staff and consumers in developing the proposal and keep you informed of the progress. Final decisions will only be made by the governing boards of the three primary agencies, which are now expected to consider the project’s recommendations next February.

As you may be aware, we have been chosen by the Australian Blindness Forum to represent Australia in the World Blind Union. In September this year we attended our first WBU meeting together- the Asia Pacific regional assembly. One of the things which we decided to do at the meeting, was to provide an update on WBU activities for each issue of the News. This is the first.

Kua Cheng Hock, the first President of the newly created WBU Asia Pacific region (WBU-AP) spoke at the BCA convention about the cultural diversity of our region. The region covers countries from Australia and New Zealand in the south to Japan and Korea in the north; from Fiji and the Philippines in the east to Mongolia and China in the west. It contains millions of blind and vision impaired people, the vast majority of whom are severely disadvantaged (in comparison to those of us living in Australia), and are very poor. Whilst we are lobbying through the ABF to have the Commonwealth Government agree to a scheme to subsidise equipment ranging in price from $50 to $10000, many of them are lobbying their governments to be allowed to form associations, to obtain basic writing and mobility equipment, and to challenge community attitudes restricting them from leaving home. When attending such meetings we really come to appreciate the different impact in different countries of the WBU purpose: changing what it means to be blind.

Unlike other regions of WBU, the WBU-AP region was formed at the most recent general assembly in Melbourne last year. Therefore, much of the time at this first assembly was spent considering and passing the new regional constitution. This task was successfully completed, but merits little further mention in this article. The Member Countries of WBU-AP are divided into three sub-regions: Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN): Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei and Myanmar; East Asia: China (Hong Kong, Taiwan), Japan, Mongolia and South Korea.

Pacific and Oceania: Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Samoa.

We also had the opportunity to elect the executive of the region. Kua Cheng Hock, the President, had been elected in Melbourne, but all other positions had to be filled. The people elected were: Daniel Tangkesalu (Indonesia), Vice-President; Ivan Ho Tuck Choy (Malaysia), Secretary General; Jonathan Mosen (New Zealand), Treasurer;

Executive Members: Maryanne Diamond (Australia) Monthian Buntan (Thailand) Kazuhiko Yamaguchi (Japan);

Sub-Regional Representatives: Yoshihiko Sasagawa (Japan) for the East Asia sub-region; Oscar Taleon (Philippines) for the ASEAN sub-region. Angeline Maharha (Fiji) for the Pacific and Oceania sub-region. Chairpersons of subcommittees: Jasmine Khoo, from Malaysia, Status Of Women Subcommittee.

Four others are yet to be elected.

As you can see this group comes from across the region. Also, because the region is new, a lot of younger people have been elected. There is a mix of experience and youthful energy.

The Thailand Association Of The Blind proposed to the assembly that the regional secretariat office should be situated in Bangkok, and they have offered to contribute 50% of the funding needed for its establishment over the next three years. The balance of funding will need to be found.

Australia is one of the few "rich" countries in this region. We are rich not only financially, but in knowledge of services, equipment and consumer participation. We hope that over the next few years BCA members will help us to share those riches with our blind sisters and brothers in the Asia Pacific region.

It has been a very busy and rewarding year for the committee of the National Women's Branch. The work carried out throughout the year culminated in the activities at the BCA Convention in Sydney.

The Women's Branch AGM was held on the Sunday evening, and was very well attended. All committee positions were up for election, and it was certainly good to see the number of people who were willing to stand for committee positions. The new committee is made up of the following members:

Lee Kumutat - President (NSW)

Maree Brown - Vice President (TAS)

Jody Holdback - Secretary (SA)

Fiona Woods - Treasurer NSW)

Christine Simpson (VIC)

Amanda Tink (QLD)

Theresa Smith (NSW)

Fiona Woods did not renominate for the position of President of the Branch. On behalf of the branch members and committee, I would like to thank Fiona for her leadership and hard work throughout her term as President. Thanks are also given to Helen Freris, Vicki Alipasinopoulos and Diana Braun for their efforts and hard work as committee members over the past year.

The AGM was then followed by a function held for members and guests at which Helen Wilmore, a Clinical Nurse Consultant, conducted an interactive discussion on stress and stress management. Helen was a very engaging speaker. She shared information on skills in dealing with every day stress, giving attendees a lesson on relaxation techniques!! It was a great session, and hopefully members found it valuable.

Regular readers of the News will remember that earlier this year the Women's Branch committee conducted a survey of families. The results of this survey proved to be most interesting, and will be passed on to the current committee. It is clear that issues based around families and parenting are of importance to many people. This was made evident by the attendance and general participation at the Parenting Panel, a Convention session organised by the Women's Branch. It was a very lively forum, consisting of panel members presenting honest and heartfelt views on parenting as a person who is blind or vision impaired. The discussion held after the main speakers was full of humorous and sometimes telling anecdotes, and the session seemed to be enjoyed by everyone who attended. Thanks to all the panel members: Michael Simpson, June Ashmore, Jody Holdback, Maryanne Diamond and Pat Stillman, for their open and honest presentations.

The Women's Branch Committee was actively fund-raising at Convention, through the sale of chocolates and Branch publications. Thank you to all who supported the Branch by purchasing these items.

And now for the year ahead. The new Branch committee has much to do this coming twelve months, and has been given a clear direction by the Branch membership through a survey of members conducted earlier this year. The committee surveyed members on such issues as the form and format of the Branch newsletter; what members feel they would like to gain from the Branch, and various other issues. The responses received have been collated, and will be passed on to the current committee. The committee will then strive to achieve as many suggested actions as possible.

A creative writing competition is planned to be held in the next few months, with some great prizes on offer. With these and many more activities planned, I look forward to being a part of the committee and to bringing you news of further Branch developments.

Telstra was proud to be a major sponsor of the Blind Citizens Australia National Convention held recently in Sydney. "This support reflects the value Telstra places on our continuing relationship with Blind Citizens Australia", said Neil Rainey, General Manager, Business Service and Solutions, Telstra Customer Care, who spoke at the opening.

Over the years, Telstra has been at the forefront of initiatives that enable people with diverse abilities to access the telephone. This commitment has extended to include the many new and emerging technologies such as on-line products and services whose benefits include access to employment, opportunities to maintain and create social links, increased independence and a generally increased ability to actively participate in the broader community.

Telstra acknowledges the important role it has to play in assisting all of our customers to fully participate in the opportunities available to them. It is also clear that providing excellent service is fundamental. In practical terms, Telstra is constantly striving to better understand and respond to the diverse needs of customers, and provide solutions that are relevant, timely and deliver results. This is our ongoing challenge.

Telstra has a long record of consultation with disability and consumer organisations and this process is certainly helping to meet this challenge. We have been very fortunate to have the input and expertise of organisations such as Blind Citizens Australia, which continues to be a key contributor to the Telstra Disability Forum.

Telstra participated in the BCA Convention not only as a sponsor but also as a presenter, with Dr Robert Pedlow from Telstra Research discussing Telstra’s recently established Centre for Accessibility. The Centre for Accessibility is part of the Human Factors Group of the Telstra Research Laboratories located at Clayton, Victoria. In the short term, the major focus for the Centre is an internal company resource focused on achieving online accessibility for blind and vision-impaired users of Telstra’s web site. In the longer term, the Centre’s role will include evaluating the online accessibility of Telstra products, services and systems, and promoting compliance with Telstra’s corporate standard on Universal Design.

This initiative, along with many others that are in progress throughout Telstra, is indicative of our ongoing commitment to ensuring that our products, services, information and people are accessible to all customers. Telstra understands the need to provide adaptable, flexible and accessible telecommunication products that meet our customers’ diverse needs and abilities.

Telstra congratulates Blind Citizens Australia for its ongoing support of and advocacy for the needs of people who are blind or vision-impaired.

The Alzheimer’s Association NSW has produced a set of four audio tapes covering twenty of the helpsheets which they regularly send out through the Dementia Helpline. These helpsheets are a vital source of information for those people with Alzheimer’s Disease or other forms of dementia, their families, friends and carers. The tapes cover topics as diverse as ‘What is dementia?’ to ‘Deciding on residential care’.

Alzheimer’s Association Free Dementia Helpline: 1800 639 331.

If you need to contact a member of the BCA Board or the National Policy and Development Council (NPDC), their phone and email details are as follows:

Robert Altamore, President

Home: 02 6282 2805

Karen Knight

Home: 07 3272 3429

Peter Johnson

Home: 08 9309 1664

Leighton Boyd

Home: 03 9434 3832

Lynne Davis

Home: 02 9438 5675

Lynette Eagers

Home: 07 3821 1736

Tony Starkey

Home: 08 8289 2733

Donna Willson

Home: 02 9642 5533

Kym Hand

Home: 08 8295 8323

Keith Hayes

Home: 08 9361 0385

Sean Tyrell

Home: 03 9347 0225

Maree Brown

Home: 03 6223 7416

Diana Braun

Home: 02 9747 2741

Craig Magill

Home: 07 3630 2838

Blind Citizens News accepts material in the following categories:

• Information about new services, facilities or events of wide interest among blind and vision impaired people is accepted for inclusion within the news content.

• Announcements, for sale notices and other advertisements from individuals and small non-profit organisations may be included in a "Notice Board" section, provided that they do not exceed 25 words and are targeted to a national readership. A charge of $20 will apply for each notice.

• Advertising on behalf of government, commercial or community organisations that is considered to be relevant to the general readership will be included under the heading "Advertisements". Advertisers must provide a copy suitable for inclusion in all formats of the publication and the following rates will apply

Full page (320 words large print) $375

Half page (150 words large print) $200

Quarter page (70 words large print) $105

For greatest impact, why not consider sponsorship of an entire issue of Blind Citizens News? For $800 you will obtain:

a credit of up to 25 words on the front cover;

2 print pages for the sponsor’s message (equivalent space in other formats).

Blind Citizens News is published four times a year and is now read by more than 3000 people with a direct interest or involvement in the services and facilities available to Australia’s blind and vision impaired population. We circulate 800 large print, 1000 audio, 200 Braille and 50 electronic (computer disk and email) copies to members, libraries, service agencies, government departments and equipment suppliers throughout Australia. Blind Citizens News also appears in full on the internet website of Blind Citizens Australia.

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.

Canberra

1RPH 1125 kHz

11.15 am Tuesday; repeated 8.00 pm Tuesday and 9.30am Saturday

Sydney

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 9.45 pm Saturday

Hobart

7RPH 864 kHz

1.30pm Friday; repeated 5.15 pm Saturday

Mildura

3MPH 107.5 MHz

8.30 pm Wednesday, repeated 6.30 pm Sunday

Bendigo

3BPH 88.7 MHz (FM)

8.30 pm Wednesday, repeated 6.30 pm Sunday

Shepparton

3SPH 100.1 MHz (FM)

8.30 pm Wednesday, repeated 6.30 pm Sunday

Albury-Wodonga

101.7 MHz (FM)

8.30 pm Wednesday, repeated 6.30 pm Sunday