NEWS - HERE AND THERE

Hadley – ICEVI Collaboration

Good news for professionals.  ICEVI, in its Strategic Plan developed in February 2002 considered proposals to launch on-line courses for the benefit of persons with visual impairment, parents, and other professionals and personnel to update their knowledge in serving persons with visual impairment throughout the world.  It is going to be a reality soon.  ICEVI and the Hadley School for the Blind, USA, are working out a strategy to offer these on-line courses free of charge from July 2003 onwards.  A formal Memorandum of Understanding will be agreed upon during the meeting of the Executive Committee of ICEVI to be held in March 2003. Further information on this collaboration will be available to readers in the January-June 2003 issue of The Educator. 

ICEVI AND SPEVI Collaboration

The South Pacific Educators in Visual Impairment (SPEVI), a regional organization working for the welfare of persons with visual impairment in the Pacific region will be organizing its biennial conference in Brisbane in January 2003.  A presentation on ICEVI will be made at the conference by the Secretary General to improve the visibility of ICEVI in the region.  The ICEVI and SPEVI will be jointly organizing a pre-conference workshop for delegates from the Pacific Islands including Fiji, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, and Kiribati to strengthen their knowledge in education of low vision children, early childhood education, orientation and mobility, inclusive education, and teaching of mathematics.  This joint effort of ICEVI and SPEVI is likely to promote better services for persons with visual impairment in the region.  Readers will find a report of the workshop in the next issue of the Educator.

ICEVI: representation at the High-Level Inter Governmental Meeting held in Otsu City, Japan

The high-level inter-governmental meeting organized by the UN-ESCAP at Otsu City, Japan was attended by nearly 300 Governmental officials and representatives from NGO organizations.  It was a structured meeting attended by Ministers, Education and Welfare Secretaries and selected NGO representatives.  During the session on “Information and Access”, ICEVI was invited to speak about the role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the presentation highlighted what needs to be done to make ICT more accessible.  It is noteworthy that ICEVI and CBM were among a handful of INGOs invited to contribute to specific topics.  This recognition calls for further strengthening of ICEVI’s involvement with UN bodies.  

A joint educational policy document of ICEVI and WBU in the offing

The World Blind Union and ICEVI are working closer than ever before for the cause of welfare for persons with visual impairment.  The two organizations are currently working on a joint policy document on education which will be discussed and endorsed soon by both the organizations.  This joint policy document would be used as a tool to interact with the UN bodies, local governments, and international non-governmental and development organizations
to augment educational services for persons with visual impairment with a view to achieving education for all by the year 2015.  The joint policy document will be published in the next issue of The Educator.

IAPB – ICEVI Collaboration

The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) and ICEVI will be working closer in the years to come.  ICEVI will be making a presentation on educational intervention in the forthcoming general assembly of IAPB in Manama, Bahrain in September 2003.  ICEVI has also been invited to speak to the medical professionals about education of children with visual impairment in the forthcoming South East Asia Regional conference of IAPB to be held in Chittagong, Bangladesh in February 2003.  The coming together of medical professionals working for the prevention of blindness with professionals working in education and rehabilitation is an important step in providing comprehensive services to persons with visual impairment throughout the world.

ICEVI - IMC Collaboration

ICEVI and the International Mobility Conference will be collaborating in the future on how these organizations can work together.  The President and the Secretary General of ICEVI will make a presentation on ICEVI on 31 March at the International Mobility Conference to be held in Stellenbosch, South Africa from 30 March to 4 April 2003.

Newsletter on Deafblindness in Asia

The Helen Keller Institute of Deafblind children, a premier organization in India has launched a
newsletter devoted to educational issues related to Deafblind children.  The newsletter includes
several success stories relating to deafblind children and has the potential to serve as a tool
for the exchange of ideas between professionals interested in the welfare of Deafblind children. Those interested in having the newsletter may contact the Director of the institute through e-mail hkidbind@bom5.vsnl.net.in

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