Dear Colleagues:
It is with much enthusiasm that I write to you through this issue of the ICEVI Newsline.
Those of you who were with us at the 11th World Conference will know that it was a great success. We had participants from more than one hundred countries and the superb work of Hans Welling and his host committee and Heather Mason and her program committee has resulted in much positive feedback. For me, the greatest satisfaction came from the solidarity and sense of commitment to ICEVI that I felt as people headed home.
The challenge now is to build upon the momentum and enthusiasm generated at the conference and to turn that positive energy into action at a national and regional level that will move us toward our goal of assuring that all blind and visually impaired children and youth have access to education.
I have never felt more confident that our shared vision will become a reality. We now have in place for the first time a permanent secretariat with a full-time Secretary General with the time, talent and energy to work closely with our regions; the backbone of this organization. Many of you know Dr. M.N.G. Mani our new Secretary General and those that do not will get to know him through his work in the months ahead. I assure you that we have, in Mani, a first class Secretary General who is already energizing our strategic plan.
As I prepare this column it has been less than two months since the new quadrennium began. The energy that I feel from my fellow principal officers and our regional chairpersons, all of whom you will meet later in this issue, is remarkable. I hope each of you will make a commitment to reach out to your ICEVI regional committee to find out how you can become more involved.
Add to the above, the excellent working relationship we have established with the Deafblind International (DBI), the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) and the World Blind Union (WBU) and you can see that we have all the ingredients for a very productive quadrennium.
We hope that each of you will take a look at our new and improved website www.icevi.org. We are always looking for new ideas and new content. Please let us have your thoughts and your contributions by contacting the webmaster or our secretariat.
As we implement the strategic plan for ICEVI the very foundation of that effort will be at the national level. I hope each of you will make a serious effort through your regional committee to contribute to the development of ICEVI and its strategic goals. It all begins with you!
If you have questions about how you can become more active and involved please contact your regional chairperson and/or our Secretary General and they will welcome your involvement.
I hope you will enjoy this issue of the ICEVI Newsline. Get involved and stay involved….together, we can make a difference!
Sincerely,
Larry Campbell
President