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After the highly enthusiastic
and successful Thailand conference (1992) the North American/Caribbean
delegates returned home promising to support the new Regional Chairman
and to generate increased interest in the regional committee. Some members
were appointed to ICEVI subcommittees and others joined the Chairman to
discuss the actions of the committee.
The Chairman participated
in all but the last two executive meetings of the Executive Committee.
On return from each of those meetings he shared the information with as
many members of the region as possible. The first task that the Chairman
set himself was to increase the flow of information on the council to the
people of the region. To this end he shared information with members as
it came from the President and or any other officer.
In 1993, a committee meeting
was held in an effort to clarify the role of the Regional Committee. This
meeting was followed up with the exchange of communication between the
Chairman and interested members. In 1995 and 1996, telephone conferences
were held with members of the committee. In 1996, steps were taken to build
a working relationship between the committee and AER. To establish contact
and begin the process, approaches were made to AER on behalf of the committee
by Mary Ann Lang of the Lighthouse for the Blind, New York, and other members.
Information was exchanged between the Chair and Officers of AER. This dialogue
will be a focus point at the committee's meeting in Brazil.
On behalf of the committee, the Chairman kept in touch with the Caribbean region. Following up on a request from the region, he tried to raise funds to build a regional professional group. However, efforts to raise the money failed and the group never met. Nevertheless, the Chairman visited the regional training university and held meetings with the regional council for the blind.
During the five years, the countries of the region accomplished much in our field. Many representatives of institutions and many individuals traveled to all parts of the world to share and provide information on education services for blind and visually impaired individuals. The committee through the Chairman responded to numerous requests for information. Some individuals were assisted in identifying areas in developing countries where they were able to volunteer for short periods of time. The Educator continues to be produced in the region with the courtesy of The Hilton/Perkins Program and this continues to be a major source of sharing of information.
Despite the gains, the regional committee continued to be challenged by what I would describe as its perennial problem. That is, the committee's inability to define its role in the region. The committee can be a useful source of information to the Caribbean region. However, its work in the Caribbean must be supported by an ability to bring the subregion's professionals together to discuss issues and find answers to their unique problems. On the other hand, the committee is challenged to find a role in North America. In this part of the region, the committee is operating in an atmosphere where other professional organizations exist, and provide information and support that are more relevant to every day needs. A link with AER in the future seems essential.
Despite the unique challenges facing the regional committee, much was accomplished at national levels throughout the region. In the USA and Canada, the professionals and those involved struggled with the changing fortunes of governments and the new philosophies which impacted national resources that were available to the field. Many battles were waged in the U.S. on different fronts. At the time of writing this report, there is some optimism amongst professionals that the new congress of the federal government will be kinder to the field than was previously the case. In the Caribbean, some advances were made. The University of the West Indies-Mico College consolidated its training programme for teachers of the blind. Through the kind support of the Dutch government at least six teachers per year will graduate from the UWI programme.