World Bank Toolkit
ICEVI assisted the World Bank in developing a
Toolkit (see inset) on ”EnVISIONing Education in low income countries”,
a publication designed for policy makers and planners concerned with developing
services to persons with visual impairment. The document will be posted
on the ICEVI website (www.icevi.org) soon. For an electronic version of
the document, contact Secretary General ICEVI at sgicevi@vsnl.net
Annual Report of ICEVI
ICEVI has published its Annual Report for the
year 2003. The report outlines progress made in achieving the objectives
of our strategic plan and has been widely distributed and posted on the
ICEVI website.
ICEVI-WBU Joint Educational Policy Statement in Spanish
and Portuguese
The ICEVI-WBU Joint Education Policy Statement
released during the Africa Forum is being translated into Spanish and
Portuguese language. It can be obtained by contacting the Regional Chairperson
of Latin America region Lucia Piccione at lpiccione@arnet.com.ar
LOW VISION WEBSITE – www.lowvisiononline.org
Most of the world’s 40 million people with
low vision have no access to low vision services. Low vision online was
produced to help address this problem.
Lack of appropriate low vision care can have a profound effect, not only
on the person with low vision, but their family and community. Understanding
what low vision means, how it can affect different people, and how to
best train someone to use the vision they have is the key a more successful
and independent life.
This website is designed for people who know or work with someone with
low vision. It was not designed for low vision specialists but those who
in their every day life or work need to know more about low vision. The
website aims to give basic understanding of low vision, but for those
who want to learn more, links are given throughout the site.
The site is designed in separate modules so that people can use all sections
or only those of interest. The sections are:
• Low Vision
• Eye Care
• Vision Screening
• Functional Assessment
• Non-optical Devices
• Optical Devices
• Orientation and Mobility
• Children - Assessment of Functional Vision
• Children - Training Visual Skills
Questions have been included in each unit and at the end of each section.
These are designed to review the main points.
For a teacher with a student with low vision in the classroom, most sections
might be useful. Whereas someone working in community programs for older
people might find sections on low vision, eye care, vision screening,
functional assessment, optical and non-optical devices and orientation
and mobility of most relevance. A Community-based rehabilitation worker
might only want the sections on low vision, eye care and vision screening.
You can choose the sections that suit you or work through all of them
at your own pace.
The website has been designed for an international audience and has been
designed so that the content and format is relevant to people in developing
countries.
Vision 2005 Conference
Register now for Vision 2005 London, the world’s
premier event on low vision and sight loss!
The Vision 2005 conference and exhibition will take place from 4 to 7
April 2005 in the heart of London. Vision 2005 is organized under the
auspices of the International Society for Low-vision Research and Rehabilitation
and hosted by the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB).
Call for papers is open until 30 September 2004. Visit www.rnib.org.uk/vision2005
now to register.
General Assembly of the World Blind Union (WBU).
The General Assembly of the World Blind Union
(WBU) will be held in South Africa in December 2004. Following the great
success of the Africa Forum held in May 2004, the General Assembly will
maintain the momentum by highlighting the development of services for
people with visual impairment in the vast Africa Region and continuing
to raise awareness of the achievements and needs of the visually impaired.
ICEVI will be represented at the General Assembly and the WBU –
ICEVI collaboration will go a long way in achieving much cherished goal
of Education for All children with visual impairment.
IAPB General Assembly in Dubai
The General Assembly of the International Association
for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) will be held in Dubai from 19 to
24 September 2004. An ICEVI team consisting of Larry Campbell, President,
Jill Keeffe, Regional Chairperson, ICEVI Pacific Region, M.N.G Mani, Secretary
General, and Godfrey Kimani from the Sight Savers International will organize
a symposium on the link between education and eye care services. The symposium
will focus on how educators and medical professionals can work together
to plan comprehensive services to persons with visual impairment.
Meeting of ICEVI principal officers in Costa Rica
The principal officers of ICEVI will meet in Costa
Rica, Latin America from October 25
to 29, 2004 to review the ICEVI activities for the past two years and
formulate action plans for the rest of the quadrennium. Among many issues,
the Education For All policy document, international collaboration, etc.,
are going to feature in the discussions. The principal officers will also
be acting as resource persons for the sub-regional seminar organized by
the Latin America ICEVI region at the same venue at the same time. They
will offer specific workshops in the areas of Mathematics, Low vision,
MDVI, Teacher preparation etc.,
Inclusive Education Seminar in Nanjing, China
Education for all children with visual impairment
can become a reality when large countries such as China, India and Indonesia
demonstrate mass implementation of inclusion. The China network of ICEVI
is proposing to organize a national conference on inclusive education
for persons drawn from government bodies, universities, special schools,
voluntary organization etc., during the month of November 2004 in Nanjing,
China. This meeting is expected to formulate guidelines for the effective
implementation of education for all children with visual impairment in
China. The results of the meeting will be published in the subsequent
issues of The Educator.
Database of ICEVI
ICEVI is constantly updating its database. The
Educator, ICEVI’s biannual magazine
is sent to more than 4000 people and the electronic Newsline is sent to
people who have e-mail contact. Please send the e-mail addresses of friends
and professionals who may wish to receive the Newsline. Please send the
addresses of those who wish to subscribe to the Educator too. For previous
issues of the Educator and Newsline, please log on to ICEVI website at
www.icevi.org.