EBU NEWSLETTER
No 42 - January 2004

Published quarterly by the EBU Office With the financial support of DG Employment and Social Affairs of the European Commission

[ The opinions expressed in this Newsletter are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the EBU. ]





EBU 7th General Assembly and 2nd Women's Forum

EBU held its 7th General Assembly in Athens (Greece) from 26 to 28 November 2003. Panhellenic Association of the Blind provided excellent working arrangements for the 43 (out of 44) national delegations attending it.

The way this 7th edition of the General Assembly was conducted reveals once again EBU's eagerness and ability to continually adjust and improve its working methods. Worth mentioning here is the resolution moved by the Italian delegation, calling for the reduction in number and size of commissions. As a result, a new commission structure is being worked out by the newly-elected Board (see election results) and will greatly contribute to reduce bureaucracy within EBU. The new commission structure will be outlined in the next edition of this Newsletter.

There was however a general feeling that plans for dealing with resolutions were not an unmitigated success. The new Board is already looking into an alternative process for the Eighth General Assembly.

The 7th General Assembly was preceded by the 2nd European Forum of Blind and Partially-sighted Women (21-24 November). This second edition of the Forum was a unique opportunity for women delegates from all over Europe to achieve a culture of equality at all levels of society, including within EBU.

Proceedings of the General Assembly and of the Forum (including resolutions passed) will be circulated to national members and posted on EBU website at a later stage.


For further details, contact Mokrane Boussaïd
Director, EBU Office
Tel : +33 1 47 05 38 20, Fax : +33 1 47 05 38 21
E-mail : ebuoffice@euroblind.org



back to contents





Acceptance speech by incoming president

As you can imagine, this is quite an emotional moment for me. To be elected President of a movement embracing 20 to 30 million people across a continent of 44 countries is no small matter and I am deeply conscious of the honour you have done me. You have been very kind with your congratulations and expressions of good will and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I just hope you will still be as ready with your congratulations in four years' time ! I am also deeply conscious of the trust you have placed in me and the responsibility that entails, and of course I will do my very best to be worthy of it.

It has been said that some are born great, some attain greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them. I'm afraid I fall very much into the last of these categories. I did not seek this position. There are several other people who have done much more to deserve it than me, but who for one reason or another were not able to run. I feel a bit like Michael Howard, the new leader of the British Conservative Party, who recently came from nowhere to emerge as its leader unopposed. This is not a precedent which I find particularly inspiring !

When it was first suggested to me that I might stand for the position of President, I said that I would rather not start on the top rung of the ladder, but I am beginning to think that getting elected is probably the easiest hurdle I'm going to have to clear. As I look forward from here, the weight of responsibility feels quite daunting. Not the least daunting aspect of the challenge is the knowledge that I am walking in the footsteps of giants. We have just heard about two of them, Arne Husweg and Sir John Wall, and the outstanding quality of leadership through hard work and inspiration they have given this organisation over the past decade and a half. I won't try to add to the catalogue of their achievements, of which we have just heard such eloquent testimony. The thing to which I would want to draw attention, and to which I would wish to pay my own personal tribute, is the qualities of personality and character which leadership of this order demands. I know John a little bit better than Arne, but I know that no one could hold an organisation like this together, across numerous cultural, philosophical and even ideological divides, embracing many different political systems, build a consensus and weld it together into a cohesive team, without possessing outstanding qualities of wisdom, vision, authority, tolerance, patience and humour. Certainly having worked at his side for nearly twenty years, I know what a triumph of character over adversity John's leadership of EBU has represented, particularly in this last period. But whatever the cost to John, it has been our great good fortune. So why don't we rise in our places, and show our appreciation to these two great leaders for all they have done for us ?

I'm no John Wall or Arne Husweg. It's no use pretending I can do the job as well as them. Furthermore, I'm kept pretty busy being Chair of RNIB, so I would urge everyone to have realistic expectations. I know that, for part of his time, John did an outstanding job as President of EBU whilst being Chair of RNIB, but it is given to very few of us to be able to hold down two full time jobs simultaneously. But as I say, all I can do is do my best, and that I undertake to do to the utmost of my ability. And I am not altogether without resources : standing on the shoulders of giants rather than dogging their footsteps might be a more positive way of thinking of it, for we have already come a long way in EBU and there is much on which to build. I am also blessed with an excellent team - four other highly experienced officers and a set of ordinary Board members which provides an excellent combination of experience and new blood. So hearty congratulations to all those who were successful in the elections and commiserations to those who were not. But there will be other occasions - and wasn't it good to see a woman coming top of the poll ! So if we succeed, it is as a team that we shall do so.

Many people, setting out on a new assignment, carry out what in management speak is known as a SWOT analysis - an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. I don't want to detain you with that in full right now. There isn't time, and in any case I think this kind of stock-taking must be a collective endeavour. So that is something I shall be discussing with the new Board, as we begin to put together a strategic plan for the period ahead. But I would like to draw attention to a few headlines. Starting with the strengths : I think it is always good to remind ourselves of those respects in which we are strong to give us encouragement as we embark upon our task.

First and foremost, then, there is the EBU itself. The very fact of its existence testifies to a robust structure of democratic institutions making up a rich fabric of civil society, continent-wide, in the blindness sector, culminating of course in this Assembly. Rudi Cattani importantly drew attention to this a decade ago when he chaired a working group on co-operation with the countries of Eastern and Central Europe following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Second, is the emphasis which EBU has always given to capacity building amongst organisations of blind and partially sighted people so that they are empowered to speak for themselves and demand their rights. We all know that if blind and partially sighted people are ever fully to gain the recognition and support to which they are entitled from society, much as we value the support and assistance of our sighted friends, at the end of the day it will be because they have demanded them for themselves.

Third, there is the calibre of leadership with which we are bountifully supplied, which does not just extend to my two great predecessors. It is invidious to single out individuals, but in full knowledge that I am being anything but exhaustive, there are the two Vice Presidents - persons of great wisdom and experience both of them ; there are Poul Luneborg and Rudi Cattani who have both done such an outstanding job as chairman of the Liaison Commission with the EU. And then there are all of you, the national leaders, and the list does not stop there.

Fourth, there is the effectiveness of our campaigning of which Ian Bruce was able to give such powerful evidence the other day. We will need to call on all our resourcefulness in that department in the period ahead, but our track record to date should give us great confidence.

And fifth, there are the principles which guide our work. We have developed many of these over the years, but I should just like to single out two : first there is the recognition that whilst there are many issues which are cross disability in nature, which we share with other groups of disabled people, there are others which are peculiar to the interests of blind and partially sighted people which it is essential to have organisations of our own to fight for. Second, there is the recognition, that, whilst we wish to take our place as full citizens alongside everyone else in society and have our needs met as part of the mainstream, still there are respects in which our needs cannot be fully met without specialist services or positive action specifically designed to meet them, however you care to refer to it. Nowhere is this seen more clearly than in the field of education, where we all want blind and partially sighted people to be included in the mainstream alongside their sighted peers, but only with the most stringent safeguards ; and even then, there still is need of specialist schools for those whose difficulties are so severe that their needs cannot realistically be met in the mainstream. What this says to me is that, in a world where extreme positions of every kind are flaunted all around us, EBU is in pretty good shape and has its feet planted firmly on the ground of balance and commonsense, and that being the case, we must ultimately prevail.

So we have developed a lot of strengths to give us confidence, and I say "developed" advisedly because these strengths did not just come unbidden into existence, we have forged them through the process of creating and building our organisations, because of the kind of people we are, the talents we have and the essentially humane and compassionate way we have of looking at things. But there are plenty of challenges still ahead too, and it would not accord with the principles of balance I have just been speaking about if I were to end these remarks without some reference to them as well. As time is short, I shall do no more than list them here, but I want you to be in no doubt about the issues the Board is aware of and will undertake to address with all the means and resourcefulness at its command. I have identified four in particular to which I should like to draw attention :

    1.There is the need to make our mode of operation more streamlined and efficient by reducing bureaucracy, in particular the number of commissions. We have a clear instruction to this effect from this Assembly and I have some ideas on the subject which I shall be discussing with the new Board on Sunday. But we must be careful not to throw the baby out with the bath-water and to maintain levels of participation in the work of EBU. We will let you know our conclusions at an early date.

    2.With enlargement of the EU, we must work to ensure that blind and partially sighted people in the new accession countries get the benefits of membership in full, but without relegating the residents of non-accession countries to second-class status. Indeed we must work to ensure that more attention is given to the problems of those still outside. In particular, we must do all we can to make sure that blind and partially-sighted people in non-accession countries do not become the poorest of the poor, and see what we can do to channel more help to them, and work for the rebuilding of systems of social protection dismantled with the collapse of the Soviet Union.

    3.We must see to it that the aspirations of partially sighted people are properly recognised and accommodated within the institutions of the EBU. The Assembly clearly did not feel that anyone had yet found the right formula for doing this, but I am quite clear that the Board should respond in the spirit of the amendments which have been moved. 4.Finally, I am in no doubt that we must continue to press forward our work to increase equality and diversity within EBU, if for no other reason than because much new thinking and energy within EBU is clearly coming from the groups which work on equality and diversity seeks to empower and enfranchise.


And so, dear friends, I thank you again with all my heart for the trust you have placed in me and pledge that the Board and I will do our utmost to be worthy of it in carrying it out. I have enjoyed making the acquaintance of many of you during the course of this Assembly. I greatly look forward to meeting many more of you and learning more of your problems over the next four years. But once again, I must ask you to accept that I am only human. Already I have received three invitations for the end of January just before I leave for the Executive of the International Council for the Education of People with Visual Impairment in Kuala Lumpur. I am very anxious to do what I can, but unlike Sir John Wall, I do not have the ability to be in three places at once. As my final thought, I ask that we all pledge with Yannis Vardakastanis and Bertolt Brecht to work together with all our energies to bring those of our brothers and sisters who yet languish in darkness into the light.

Colin Low,
Incoming President of EBU





back to contents





Election results

EBU Board

- Officers

Elected unopposed (by acclaim) :

President : Colin Low (United Kingdom)
First Vice-President : Alexander Neumyvakin (Russia)
Second Vice-President : Tommaso Daniele (Italy)
Treasurer : Julien Aimi (France)

There were two candidates for the office of Secretary General. Vaclav Polasek (Czech Republic) was elected with 182 votes.


- Ordinary Members

Elected (by secret ballot) :

- Birgitta Blokland (the Netherlands) : 220 votes
- Yannis Vardakastanis (Greece) : 219
- Xavier Grau Sabate (Spain) : 216
- Ann-Christin Fast (Sweden) : 210
- Wolfgang Angermann (Germany) : 164
- Vassil Dolaptschiev (Bulgaria) : 150


EBU Nominations Committee

Elected :

- Branislav Mamojka (Slovakia) : unopposed
- Kicki Nordstrom (Sweden) : 170
- Ian Bruce (United Kingdom) : 158
- Merja Portimo (Finland) : 141
- Sergio Ruba (Romania) : 123


EBU Representatives on the Executive Committee of the World Blind Union

The President, Colin Low, is an ex-officio member of the WBU Executive Committee.

Elected unopposed :

- Julien Aimi
- Birgitta Blokland
- Alexander Neumyvakin


back to contents


Great result in EBU campaign for accessible pharmaceutical labelling

(in EBU Newsletter No 42, January 2004)

New EU legislation means that medicine packaging will have to include braille and patient information leaflets must be made available on request in alternative formats.

On 17 December 2003, the European Parliament adopted at 2nd reading a compromise package with the Council of Ministers revising European pharmaceutical legislation. Most importantly, from our point of view the compromise maintained the following amendment in the spirit of EBU's long-running campaign for improved accessibility of pharmaceutical labels.

Article 56 shall be replaced by the following :

"The name of the medicinal product, as referred to in Article 54, point (a) must also be expressed in Braille format on the packaging. The marketing authorisation holder shall ensure that the package information leaflet is made available on request from patients' organisations in formats appropriate for the blind and partially-sighted."

In practice, our successful campaign to amend the new Community code relating to Medicinal Products for Human Use Directive will mean that in the future the names of all medicines will have to be given in braille on their packaging and the "patient information leaflet" (PIL) inside the box will have to be made available to patient's organisations on request in alternative formats.

The European Parliament voted in support of this Directive including the amendment on 17 December 2003. After they had initially shown strong reservations, the European Commission and the EU governments were also persuaded to accept these clauses. The final text of the Directive will be published after the final formal approval in the Council of Ministers which is expected shortly. We will know then what will be the likely timetable for the transposition of this Directive into law across the European Union.

EBU members have worked closely over the past 18 months with their MEP contacts. For example, RNIB encouraged Scottish Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Catherine Stihler, firstly to table various amendments at the committee stage and first reading stage of the European Parliament's legislative procedure. More recently, EBU members were able to gather support from all parties in the European Parliament and among member state governments for this vital amendment at second reading. Drafted into action by EBU's Access to Information Working Group, the EBU's Commission for Liaising with the EU mobilised EBU members to write to their MEPs, their ministers and senior civil servants on several occasions over this time. The continued pressure and co-ordinated effort of EBU member organisations has paid dividends.

We had also pushed amendments which called for large print to be used on the packaging and for a "one stop shop" telephone helpline and web site service to be set up as a source of detailed product information. Unfortunately, in the final compromise text, these amendments were not maintained.

We will keep you posted of any relevant news about implementation of these important measures and how they will work in practice. We look forward to this measure being implemented across the EU as soon as possible.

Nolan Quigley,
EBU Commission for Liaising with the EU



back to contents



Progress on access to digital television

The European Blind Union decided in 2002 to work to improve access to digital television for blind and partially sighted people. For this purpose, a working group on access to digital television was set up with members from the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy. Given that all European countries will in the near future switch over to digital TV, the issue of making digital television accessible for blind and partially sighted people is crucial - we do not want blind and partially sighted people to be excluded from this important technical revolution !

They key problems identified by the working group were the absence of assistive services such as audio description and audio subtitling on digital TV ; the lack of television equipment to enable reception of these digital services where they exist and the inaccessibility of electric programme guides, remote controls and other aspects of the television equipment that is available in the market.

Members of the working group have made a significant push on the issue in the past year. This article gives you an overview of what we have achieved so far.

    The European "TV for all" initiative

    The "TV for all" initiative started as a forum commissioned by the European Commission DG Enterprise to discuss access to TV for deaf people but the European Blind Union ensured that access to TV for blind and partially sighted people was added to the agenda. In Seville in June 2002 a conference was organised to kick off the TV for all process. EBU members from the UK Denise Evans and Steve Tyler, and Martina Wiemers from Germany participated in the conference. John Wall (EBU President at the time) gave a presentation on the importance of access to TV and the issues to be resolved.

    Following the meeting, the decision was made to commission a more detailed report on the standardisation requirements for disabled people and to set up a web forum for gathering ideas for the report. RNIB's Leen Petré and Clive Miller and other disability experts participated actively in this forum but there was no real engagement from industry representatives and broadcasters with the issues. At the closing conference in Barcelona in October 2003, where EBU was represented by Leen Petré, Steve Tyler and Martina Wiemers, it became clear that TV equipment manufacturers and broadcasters do not want binding measures in this area and wanted to avoid reference to standards for that purpose. The TV for all report has since been revisited and the final text now makes it clearer that disability organisations want mandatory standards. Although this process and report were a welcome and useful exercise, it has become clear at the Barcelona meeting that its recommendations will not be delivered by the market forces nor by voluntary implementation by industry.


    The European Inclusive Communications Committee (INCOM)

    A working group of Member States experts and relevant stakeholders was created in February 2003, with a focus on the need for elderly and disabled consumers to benefit fully from the Information Society services delivered through, for example, the Internet, 3G services or digital television. This working group was set up by the Communications Committee (COCOM) of EU Member States, which has the status of advisory body to the Commission in the framework of the new EU regulation for electronic communications.

    This special working group on consumers with disabilities worked throughout 2003, the European Year of People with Disabilities, to encourage network operators and terminal equipment manufacturers to facilitate access by users with disabilities to electronic communications services. The group was also intended to raise and spread awareness of the constraints experienced by people with various disabilities in gaining access to services, and share experience and good practice identified at international, national, regional and local level.

    Leen Petré represented the European Blind Union in these meetings and with the help of RNIB's technical expert Clive Miller focused suggestions mainly on the chapter relating to access to TV. David Mann from RNIB participated in the meetings as representative of the UK organisation DIEL, and advocated important issues affecting deafblind people. Although the process proved rather difficult at times, the report improved over the course of the meetings that were held and many of our good ideas are now incorporated in the text. The only serious disappointment is that the report makes "suggestions" rather than real recommendations and has no specific time-frames or indications of who is in charge of delivering the "suggestions".


    Review of TV without frontiers Directive

    This Directive, which is a responsibility of DG Education and Culture of the European Commission, was identified by RNIB as important for the promotion of assistive services that make television accessible for blind and partially sighted people such as audio description and audio subtitling.

    With the European Disability Forum and organisations for hard of hearing people, RNIB's Leen Petré and Jill Whitehead convinced the Disability Intergroup in the European Parliament to promote our issues and RNIB was invited to give a presentation to the contact committee for the implementation of the current Directive. As a result of these efforts and of written submissions of RNIB to various European Commission consultations, the importance of assistive services is now recognised by DG Education and Culture. The European Commission has recently adopted a communication on the future of European regulatory audiovisual policy which defines the short and medium term priorities of such a policy within the enlarged Europe.

    We have made significant progress and have moved from a situation where accessibility of TV was not on the agenda to a situation where the report has a section called Accessibility for people with disabilities to television, that reads : "Although the issue of accessibility for people with a disability does not fall within the remit of the TVWF Directive, the Commission will promote accessibility matters with Member States to co-ordinate and complement national actions and measures in the Contact Committee established by the TVWF Directive. In particular, enriching content with audio description, audio subtitling, subtitling and sign language will be further discussed".

    The fact that the European Commission has agreed to promote access and co-ordinate and complement national actions is a major breakthrough for us in the promotion of assistive services.


    EBU meeting with Commissioner Liikanen

    On 15 January 2003, the European Blind Union was invited to meet the European Commissioner for Enterprise and Information Society, Mr Liikanen. Due to unfortunate circumstances Mr Colin Low could only participate by telephone link. EBU was represented by Leen Petré and Clive Miller at the meeting. The European Commissioner and EBU looked at the question of how the European Commission can assist ensuring that the recommendations of both the TV for all and the INCOM reports are implemented. The European Commission does not want to impose mandatory requirements on the broadcasting industry and the television manufacturers, but Mr Liikanen made it very clear that the issue is of major importance and that it needs further attention and actions to ensure that it maintains momentum after the European Year of Disabled People. Mr Liikanen and his services will work towards this goal and there will be a follow-up meeting with the European Blind Union in the autumn of 2004.

    Leen Petré,
    EBU Commission for Liaising with the EU






    back to contents




    Alva mobile phone organizer 5500 ships in Europe

    First accessible integrated cellular phone and personal organizer for the visually impaired now available
    On November 13, 2003, ALVA B.V., a leading provider of assistive information technology for the blind and visually impaired, announced that the ALVA MPO 5500, the first fully-integrated cellular phone and personal organizer, began shipping to customers that week.

    The MPO 5500 puts resources - contact details, data and documents - at the user's fingertips in one small durable device he or she can carry in a pocket, book bag or briefcase, and access using braille or speech. Standard cellular phones and PDAs (personal digital assistant) have almost no accessibility features, short of a few voice-activated commands. Services are increasingly visually oriented, requiring the caller or user to navigate through detailed layered menus and select options displayed on tiny screens.

    "The MPO 5500 represents the first mobile all in one handheld for the visually impaired," said Eric Weldink, ALVA president and CEO. "This is a case of technology really addressing a changing market. Our customers are in transit, between home, workplace, and school - independent people who participate in their community but are hampered by the limitations of traditional mobile technology. They've been underserved. The MPO 5500 gives ALVA a chance to apply our braille display expertise to a growing wireless market."

    The ALVA MPO 5500 offers all the key features traditional cellular phone and PDA users have come to expect, with additional features incorporated for blind and visually impaired users including 20 cell braille display, 8-dot braille keyboard, a high quality speech synthesizer and ALVA's smart-control navigator.

    Notable features include :

      1- Fully accessible GSM cellular phone for world-wide use, with built-in speakerphone and headset included ;

      2- SMS text messaging to send and receive text messages ;

      3- Essential notetaker with basic word-processing functionality ;

      4- Agenda/day planner with alarms ;

      5- Address book and contacts database ;

      6- Calculator ;

      7- System manager synchronizes data with PC or laptop, checks battery, customizes settings.


    Beginning in early 2004, ALVA will offer Option Packages that expand the functionality of the MPO 5500. Upcoming ALVA MPO features will include email synchronization with Outlook and added braille terminal functionality.

    The MPO 5500 has the familiar look and feel of the popular ALVA Satellite series of refreshable braille displays, with a special emphasis on portability and durability. The MPO comes with a convenient carrying bag to be worn over the shoulder or neck or attached to a waist belt or can fit easily into a handbag, backpack, or briefcase. The MPO's rechargeable batteries last more than 10 hours with typical use and are included.

    The trademark purple ALVA MPO casing measures 9.4 inches long x 4.1 inches wide x 1.7 inches thick and weighs 1 lb. 9 oz. It features an attractive scratch-resistant finish that easily wipes clean.

    The ALVA MPO is available through all authorized MPO resellers. Visit www.alvampo.com for distribution addresses. The suggested retail price of the MPO 5500 is 3,950 euros.

    For more information about this release, please contact Albert Jan van Weij or Maike van Kerkhof of the Marketing Department,
    Tel : +31 26 384 1 384, Fax : +31 26 384 1 300
    E-mail : info@alva-bv.nl
    Website : www.alva-bv.nl




    back to contents




    The future of low vision learning looks bright

    Comprehensive training and education on low vision will now be available to everyone through the Low Vision Module. This self-paced training program gives a complete understanding of all factors relating to vision and vision impairment, all in a format that adds imagination and enjoyment to learning.

    The Low Vision Module was developed by the Royal Blind Society in New South Wales (Australia) in order to meet the immediate training needs of new and existing staff. Individuals are free to learn at their own pace, "just in time" and "just in place" using this self-paced computer-training program. In this format people can focus on areas and selected information relevant to their work. Escorted by the animated character, Perry the Possum, the user is guided through everything related to the eye, including the structure, function, formation, development and protection of the eye.

    While education was the primary objective, Royal Blind Society has not overlooked the fact that it must be enjoyable. "This knowledge is vital to provide quality service to our clients, so our aim was to make education on low vision timely, fun, interesting and above all self-paced", says Denise Pellow, Co-ordinator, Training and Development, Royal Blind Society.

    Pellow also notes that while the visual appeal and design of the module is important and that there has been no compromise on accessibility for blind and vision impaired students. An audio description option enables blind and vision-impaired people to follow the module just as easily as a sighted person. It is now possible to educate anyone on low vision.

    Free demonstration CD-Roms are available through Quantum Technology.

    For further information, please contact Bronwyn Davies :
    Tel : +61 2 8844 9811
    E-mail : bdavies@quantech.com.au
    Website : www.quantech.com.au




    back to contents




    The quin color code colours for blind people

    The Quin Color Code (QCC) was developed in 1996 by Lou Quin, an art designer, to enable blind people to " see " colours on drawings with their fingertips.

    QCC features all ten colours of the spectrum : yellow, orange, red, purple, blue, green, brown, black, white and grey. It is much easier to use than braille as it has only ten different signs. It can be implemented in all languages and be used all over the world.

    For each colour the tactile representation has been carefully thought so that colours are easy to differentiate, to feel, to recognise, to remember. After extensive research and testing, QCC has been tried by blind people. All were able to " see " the colours, and recognise the figures within a very short time. QCC can be learned by totally blind people, even when born blind. All they need is a reasonable intelligence, a good " fingertip-feeling " and the QCC instruction manual.

    QCC can be used in the production of pictures, postcards, comics, children's books, illustrations, etc. A whole range of QCC picture books is in the making...

    For more information, please contact Lou Quin
    Tel/Fax : +32 56 20 10 66
    P.O. Box 238
    B-8500 Kortrijk (Belgium)



    back to contents



    European Blind Union Access to Information Guidelines published

    The European Blind Union has produced these guidelines to help organisations make their information accessible to all their customers. This booklet shows that making information accessible is not complicated and that it can make a real difference for any organisation or business in reaching out to a wide customer base.

    There are around 8 million blind and partially sighted people in the newly enlarged European Union and many more in the whole of Europe. As people are living longer, the number of people with sight problems is increasing as sight problems are closely associated with old age. For businesses and public authorities alike, this means that an increasing number of their customers will be blind or partially sighted.

    In this booklet, the EBU shows what you need to consider in order to get your message across to all your customers.

    The booklet is available in electronically or in print format,

    in English
    French
    German

    For any copies and for any other formats, please contact the European Blind Union directly : ebuoffice@euroblind.org






    back to contents




    Obituary

    Latvian Society of the Blind in grief

    It is with sadness that we heard that our friend and colleague, Janis Polis, Chairman of the Latvian Society of the Blind, passed away at the turn of the year. EBU conveys its deepest sympathy to the Latvian Society of the Blind who has lost an able leader, and to his family and friends.






    back to contents