THE EDUCATOR
Winter 1999
International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment
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First International Forum of Parent Leaders Held
at the ICEVI 10th World Blind Conference
Susan LaVenture
National Association for Parents of the Visually
Impaired (NAPVI), U.S.A.
The ICEVI 10th World Blind Conference was the first
international forum for the visually handicapped that included parents
within the overall theme "Stepping Forward Together: Families and Professionals
as Partners in Achieving Education for All." The first opportunity for
parents to have visibility with all of the conference attendees was during
one of the general sessions. Victor Siaulys, parent leader from Brazil,
gave a dynamic keynote presentation, addressing the question of "What barriers
prevent parents and educators from entering into a full partnership in
the education process?" Respondent Juliet Stone, a professional from the
UK, based her response on her experience with families during her years
working in the vision field. To continue the momentum, a panel presentation
of parent leaders from Chile, Brazil, The Netherlands, and the United States
was held to share individual experiences of parent/professional partnerships.
Another opportunity for parents was the "Parent
Family Involvement Focus Day," which was one of the 10 main topic areas
of the conference. Irving Augustine, President of Corporacion de Padres
y Amigos por Limitado Visual in Chile (CORPALIV) and I were co-chairs who
coordinated and facilitated the day. I started the day by showing a videotape
of interviews I had with parents and professionals in Israel documenting
their experiences with education, services and the development of their
parent association. Irving shared CORPALIV's experience with developing
new services in Santiago. Alicia Picasso Cazon, President of the Argentina
Deaf Blind Parent Organization, shared how she and her husband started
a school for children who are deafblind and the development of their parent
organization.
These presentations helped to give confidence and
encouragement to parents. They emphasized the significant role parents
play in their child's development and education. In addition, the presentations
gave real life examples of how parents and parent associations can be a
natural resource for advocacy, outreach, support and information to improve
the services and education of children who are blind or visually handicapped.
The comments and questions from the audience were very interactive throughout
the day. The audience consisted of a large contingency from Brazil and
parent leaders from other countries, including The Netherlands, New Zealand,
Spain, South Africa, United States, Chile and Argentina.
The parent participants of the "Parent/Family Involvement
Focus Day" made their first impact as a group by working together to write
a resolution that encourages the continued partnership and involvement
of parents with ICEVI. The resolution received an overwhelmingly positive
response as professionals and parents representing countries from all over
the world signed on. Parent participants were also enthusiastic about continuing
their international exchange of communication and information, and look
forward to their involvement in the upcoming ICEVI conference in the The
Netherlands.