I guess my honeymoon as vice president is over and it is time to tell you what I am doing. Before doing that I would like to take the opportunity to say thank you to all of you who have sent a welcoming E-mail, letters and Season’s Greetings. I would especially like to thank Nandini, Carla, Bill and Larry for their support. Although very busy they have patiently answered all the questions you can expect from a newcomer.
The prime responsibility of the vice president is the publications portfolio. Among the tasks in this portfolio I have chosen to give three matters the highest priority, namely, and in order:
It is of utmost importance that ICEVI is seen among those who are involved in the daily education of the visually impaired. It is through The Educator ICEVI can become visible all over the world. By receiving The Educator you will not only have access to articles of high quality but also get the understanding that you as an educator of the visually impaired belong to an international community by reading about news from near and far.
The Educator is also our face to the world outside our own community. ICEVI is known among administrators, politicians and other influential groups as an organization that stresses the quality of education and services for people with visual impairment. As our official journal it is important that The Educator will send the same signal. In our case, however, quality and an attractive appearance is not the same as a glossy multi-colour journal.
To achieve this I have been in contact with ONCE . With the kind assistance of Mr Ernesto Uriá, Manager of International Relations, I have established a contact with Mr Alfredo Carreras who is the head of the Design Department. Mr Carreras and his team have promised to work on the new look of The Educator. In their proposal they will also consider that the production of The Educator is a worldwide enterprise, i.e. that editing, layout and printing may be done by people living on different continents.
Let me remind you that ICEVI has taken several important decisions before I became involved. We have already an editor (Mr Ken Stuckey) and a publications committee. To all of you appointed I have a very simple message – Be prepared!
The theme of the next issue (or the first issue of The “new” Educator if you prefer) will be literacy. It is decided that each issue of The Educator will have a main theme with two or three articles written by well-known specialist in the field. Let me keep the name of the authors in the first issue secret in order to raise your curiosity and eagerness to receive the issue.
In December the principal officers decided to change the theme for the second issue from inclusion to early intervention. This issue is expected to reach you before the end of the year. Please let me know as soon as possible if there is a topic or an author you would like to meet in the second issue of journal.
I am sure you are wondering when no. 1/2001 will appear. My answer is as soon as possible. I hope this means May or early in June. Your contributions must therefore be sent to the editor as soon as possible and absolutely not after March 1st. His address is:
Ken Stuckey
Dalagatan 31
SE- 113 31
Stockholm
Sweden
Fax: +46 8
4700707
E-mail: ken.stuckey@telia.com
Let me briefly turn to the two other issues I have given high priority.
ICEVI has access to several databases. We have all the addresses used by Perkins for distributing The Educator and we have the list of participants in recent ICEVI Conferences. These bases must be merged into one. At the same time addresses must be checked and duplicates removed. Victor Tsaran, together with his wife Karolin, and Wenru Niu in Philadelphia are working hard on this. It is a time-consuming work.
Of two reasons we are in desperate need of one, and only one, database that is up to date. We will need it for the distribution of information about the next world conference and for the distribution of The Educator.
We trust in the support from the regional chairpersons. When you receive the list for your region from Philadelphia, please give it a high priority.
In the next issue of The Educator we will include a form to be returned if you want to receive the journal in the future. By this we will have a more reliable mailing list.
As a newcomer I clearly see why such a rather simple matter as a mailing list can cause a great amount of work. As far as I can see it the reason is the lack of a permanent office or a secretary general where all relevant information is gathered.
The third item on my priority list is the website. Like The Educator this is our outward face. So far I have not spent much time on the website. When The Educator is under control I will start working on the website. As in the case of The Educator, the website must reflect the quality aspect of ICEVI. A glossy appearance is in this case not wrong, but we have to consider another aspect – the site must be accessible for the visually impaired as well as be quickly downloaded by all of us who are not attached to a fast network.
Another reason for giving the website a lower priority is that Victor Tsaran, the webmaster, is need for the more urgent work with the database.
Finally, feel free to contact me on the above mentioned issues, or any other issues you think belong to the vice president and his (publications) duties.
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