PRESS RELEASE

International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI)

Educators and program administrators from more that 100 countries gathered at the Leeuwenhorst Congress Centre, Noordwijkderhout, The Netherlands for the 11^th World Conference of the International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment, popularly known as ICEVI. ICEVI celebrated its 50^th anniversary with a conference theme of “New Visions: Moving Toward an Inclusive Society.”

ICEVI is the global association of individuals and organizations that promotes equal access to appropriate education for all visually impaired children and youth throughout the world. The organization has consultative status and works closely with the United Nations and its member agencies, as well as national governments and non-governmental organizations.

ICEVI activities are developed and monitored by a council of Principal Officers and Regional Chairpersons of Africa, East Asia, Europe, North America and the Caribbean, Latin America, Pacific and the West Asia regions elected during the conference.

Mr. Larry Campbell, Washington, Maine, USA was elected international President for the period 2002-2006. Also elected were Vice President, Dr. Stephen McCall, United Kingdom, Treasurer, Mrs. Grace Chan, China (Hong Kong), and Secretary Mrs. Nandini Rawal, India. ICEVI’s Executive Committee also appointed Dr. M.N.G. Mani, India as its Secretary General.

The delegates assembled endorsed ICEVI’s Strategic Plan that calls for equal access and full participation in education for all visually impaired children and youth by 2015. Currently, less than 10% of blind and low vision children and youth in the developing world have access to any formal or non-formal education.

ICEVI is seeking the support of governments and non-governmental development organizations (NGDOs) across the globe to realize its goals and has recently enlisted the support of the Hong Kong based Lee Foundation to support its activities in Africa, East Asia, Latin America, and West Asia. ICEVI is determined to achieve this goal and to serve as a catalyst for a global initiative to provide education for all visually impaired children by 2015.