EBU NEWSLETTER
No 45

Published quarterly by the EBU Office

With the financial support of DG Employment and Social Affairs
of the European Commission

    “A World For All: Overcoming Disabilities”
    Fourth ONCE’s photographic competition in the Basque country

    Sharing the Wind

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





Work in the EBU for the benefit of developing countries continues at full pace

John Heilbrunn,
Commission Chair



The EBU Commission on Cooperation with Blind and Partially Sighted People in Developing Countries has now existed for more than 15 years. In its own way it is an exclusive commission in that the interest in joining it is somewhat limited. In another way the Commission is a little special as it is one of the few EBU commissions that have continued, many others having been restructured as working groups under larger commissions encompassing several topics and work areas.

The Commission comprising members from 7 countries is quite balanced as its membership ranges from Scandinavia, the UK and Switzerland to Spain, Italy and Portugal. As Chair of the Commission, I am a spokesperson of the "Nordic model" of dealing with development issues, whilst my Vice-chair, Christian Hugentobler of Switzerland, may be said to represent a different approach on this interesting area of work.

The Commission is unique insofar as it has at its disposal two (limited) Funds : the African Union of the Blind Solidarity Trust Fund (ASTF) that supports income-generating projects in Africa, with the organizations of the blind as beneficiaries ; and the Development Fund that contributes towards projects or initiatives of more continental and partnership creating characteristics. These financial tools give the Commission genuine opportunities to support important initiatives and creative possibilities to spur twinning and partnership synergies for the benefit of the visually impaired in Africa and in other regions.

At this juncture I would like to explicitly thank those organizations from Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Macedonia and Finland - amongst others, for their important contribution to the Funds. Thanks to these contributions, small or larger, the Cooperation Commission has been able to support the African Union of the Blind in becoming the most prepared and formulated of all African umbrella organizations within the African Decade 1999-2009. Although a not necessarily desirable result, the Director of the AFUB office, Mr. Thomas Ong'olo, has been headhunted to Cape Town, to step in as a member of the African Decade work team under the patronage of the President of South Africa.

The contributions have likewise helped young leaders from Africa to secure funding for their participation in a WBU/SHIA lead workshop for young leaders in Yaoundé, Cameroon. A few years ago, the Development Fund was instrumental in enabling instructors to train leaders in Brazzaville and get a united blind movement in Congo on the way.

The ASTF has through the years been able to initiate about a dozen projects, offering experience and learning to African blind leaders and other involved people. A poultry rearing and egg delivery project in Sudan is running successfully with a remarkably steady income. A maize mill has been established in Kigali, Rwanda, gradually stabilizing, then increasing its yield for the benefit of the Rwanda Union of the Blind. A cafeteria project in Addis Ababa intending to generate income for the Ethiopian National Association of the Blind proved however to be far more expensive than initially projected. Consideration is therefore now being given to how this project may be remodelled or changed adequately.

Amongst its main priority areas for this work term, co-operation and strengthening of organizations of the blind have the highest priority. Also enjoying focus are the strengthening of inter-organizational communication between African leaders, and the fight against HIV/AIDS through a more concentrated effort to inform and customize training material targeting the blind.

Finally, it is worth while mentioning that the Commission has established its own webpage under the EBU website. This contains abundant information regarding assistive devices and equipment - especially low-tech and low price - which is of special interest to organizations in developing countries and to donors/partners from industrialized countries that wish to support the visually impaired and their organizations in developing countries. Believe it or not, there was no place to go to in order to find a concentration of informative material, links and references on this topic. This is now available at www.euroblind.org/fichiersGB/indholdMM.htm, and any comments or suggestions for improvement or augmentation are welcome.

One final word on the priority agenda of the Co-operation Commission : with the EU enlargement and the fact that the sensitiveness within the EU has become much more poignant and explicit, we intend to see to what extent we may be able to obtain funding or, at least, pave the way for organizations interested in submitting applications to the EU Commission under the programmes supporting development work towards third world countries.

The new task of being more explicitly aware of the diversity dimension within the EBU, covering gender, age and varying degrees of visual impairment, is challenging, but I believe our Commission is committed to implementing the guidelines set in this respect.

For more information about the Commission's work, visit the EBU website at :www.euroblind.org




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Basic Services for the Elderly Deafblind - Surveys and Statistics

Adapted from a paper by Ole E Mortensen,
Information Center for Acquired Deafblindness, Copenhagen

This paper looks at those who have become deafblind due to age-related vision and hearing impairments. Although this is by far the biggest group within the deafblind population, it has been largely ignored in most countries until now. This has resulted in many people not receiving the support they need.

In order to offer adequate services to the elderly deafblind we need information on :

    - The size of the population we are talking about,

    - Their situation, the problems they experience, their needs and wishes,

    - Whether existing services are useful and sufficient. If not, decision-makers must be convinced that such services should be improved and extended,

    - How to identify the elderly deafblind with a view to an adequate coverage of their needs.


Elderly people who acquire deafblindness in old age are fairly invisible in society. They live in their own homes or in institutions, where their sensory loss is not noticed or just accepted as an inevitable part of growing older.

In some European countries, there is growing awareness of this group as a result of surveys to determine the size of their population and the problems they face. Such surveys have been carried out in the Netherlands, Denmark and the UK, all using the same functional definition of deafblindness. Although they differ in the way they present their findings, distinguish between age groups and describe the cause of deafblindness, I have identified a number of common key points.

The surveys also differ in their methodology, but, interestingly, their results are in many ways very similar. It should be noted that none of them claim the figures they have arrived at to be accurate. These are to a large extent based on broad estimates and even guess work.



UK

Until the 1990s, estimates of the number of elderly deafblind were based on the Breaking Through report of 1988. This estimated the number of deafblind people in the UK at around 25/100,000. Sense, the National Deafblind and Rubella Association, was instrumental in conducting the latest survey. In each county, this involved :

    - meetings with Health and Education Departments to agree distribution methods ;

    - the distribution of questionnaires to homes/institutions, voluntary agencies, social workers, health authorities, organisations and clubs for the deaf, blind and deafblind ;

    - seminars to raise awareness and interest for the survey.

The survey identified an average 21,000 deafblind people of all age groups (approx. 40/100,000). Survey findings ranged from 30 to 58/100,000. According to estimates by Sense, approximately 14,000 of these (60 %) were elderly, most of whom had become deafblind due to age-related impairments.



The Netherlands

Before Stichting Doof-Blinden conducted its two surveys in the 1990s, the number of deafblind people in the Netherlands was estimated at 300 (2/100,000).

The first survey, Deafblindness in the Netherlands (1991), was aimed at determining the deafblind population in the whole country. 6,700 letters were sent out to GP’s and nursing homes in the country to identify numbers of deafblind individuals in their care (the response rate was around 80 %). Registers of the mentally handicapped were also looked at. This led to an estimated deafblind population of around 2,250 (a prevalence of 15/100,000), with approximately 1,600 elderly deafblind.

The second survey, Old age deafblindness (1993), focused on the elderly deafblind living in rest homes and nursing homes, thus excluding those living in their own homes. 1,850 institutions were approached and approximately 2,700 elderly deafblind people were found.

It was established by extrapolation that there was an estimated 3,000-4,000 deafblind people for a general population of 15 million (a prevalence of 20-27/100,000).



Denmark

A study was conducted by the Information Center for Acquired Deafblindness in Aarhus, one of the 16 Danish counties. With a population of 600,000, Aarhus county accounted for around 11 % of the general Danish population. Personal contact was made with field workers before they were asked to report every person with a combination of vision and hearing impairments they knew of. This was followed up with an interview to determine whether the reported deafblind persons fell within the working definition of acquired deafblindness. 118 people were identified as having acquired deafblindness. By extrapolation, the number of people with acquired deafblindness in the country was estimated at 1,100 (a prevalence of 22/100,000). The prevalence rate goes up to 25/100,000 when adding the 150 congenitally deafblind people identified.

The surveys give a more accurate image of different groups within the deafblind population.

The percentage of elderly deafblind people in relation to the deafblind population was estimated at :

    - 66 % in the UK
    - 67 % in the Netherlands
    - 72 % in Denmark
Prevalence of age-related deafblindness in the elderly population (over 65 years) :

In every 100,000 persons over 65 in the UK, an estimated 255 are deafblind because of old age. The Royal National Institute of the Blind have carried out a survey which shows a very high prevalence of hearing problems in visually impaired elderly people.

There are about 2 million elderly people in the Netherlands. Of that population, around 135 in every 100,000 are deafblind living in nursing and rest homes. This figure does not take into account the many elderly deafblind who live in their own homes.

In Denmark 710,000 people are over 67, 900 of whom are deafblind because of old age, i.e a prevalence in the elderly population of 127/100,000. When looking at the causes of deafblindness, we find that 82 % have acquired deafblindness in old age.



Definitions

Due to inconsistency in the definitions used, doubts are often expressed over the validity of survey findings. Figures are often seen to be an under-estimate of actual numbers.

In the surveys we have mentioned, functional definitions were used, such as :

"A person is deafblind when she/he has a severe degree of combined visual and auditory impairments. Some deafblind people are totally deaf and totally blind, while others have a residual hearing and/or residual sight. The severity of the combined visual and auditory impairments means that deafblind people cannot automatically use services for people with visual impairments or with hearing impairments... Deafblindness must therefore be regarded as a unique disability which requires special methods for coping with the functions of everyday life." (Nordic Survey)

A functional definition depends on a subjective assessment. How to define "severe" so that everyone has the same understanding of the word ? This may be overcome by using a medical definition, which makes possible to determine who belongs effectively to a given group. The validity of a survey depends on respondents sharing the same definition of what is being looked at. This is clearly raised in the surveys mentioned in this paper, when they reveal discrepancies inexplicable in demographic terms.

Although I have presented the findings of a range of surveys using different methods and conducted in different countries, and whilst findings on prevalence can be argued, it is clear that deafblindness is experienced by a substantial proportion of elderly people, and we must now find ways of assisting them.




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Fire safety in hotels

Leen PETRE
European Campaigns Manager, RNIB

The following are basic principles RNIB recommends be adhered to in terms of fire safety in hotels.

1. Blind and partially sighted people should be offered an orientation tour of the hotel on arrival and made familiar with all exit routes.

2. Where possible, preference should be given to blind and partially sighted people if a ground floor room is required and available. Rooms near to exit routes should also be offered if available.

3. Hotel staff should be made aware of any customers who have a disability and be allocated to assist them if emergency exit is needed in case of fire.

4. Signs in hotel rooms should be made available in accessible formats (large, clear print and braille). Staff should make customers aware of meeting points and be willing to read out fire information signs out on arrival.

5. Signage in and around the hotel should be clearly lit (non reflective surfaces are preferable) and appropriately placed throughout the hotel to indicate evacuation routes.

6. All fire exit routes should be kept free of any blockages/hazards (i.e. pot plants, pieces of furniture, sharp objects).

There are many ways that hotels can improve their layout and facilities to make them easier for blind and partially sighted customers to access. All hotels should consider having an access audit and customer care training in order to ensure that thought and consideration is given to guests with a sight impairment. All information regarding fire safety procedures should be made available in accessible formats (large print, braille, audio cassette, electronic formats).



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Airlines in the Doghouse Over Flights for Pets

in The Scotsman, 4 October 2004

Airlines have been challenged by an MEP to establish direct international services to Scotland's airports for pet animals, including guide dogs.

Passengers still cannot fly directly to or from Scotland with their pets, despite the operation of a government-approved Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) for the past four years, the Liberal Democrat MEP Elspeth Attwooll said, as she launched her campaign.

PETS was introduced on 28 February, 2000, to allow dogs and cats to travel between the UK and certain European countries, without going through quarantine, if they meet stringent health checks.

But the absence of animal reception facilities at any major Scottish airport means air passengers travelling to and from Scotland face the additional cost and inconvenience of transfers via England.

Currently, only Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester airports have the right facilities to check that animals meet the official document and health requirements, including a compulsory rabies vaccination.

"It is difficult to believe that no animal reception facilities exist in Scotland's airports," said Mrs Attwooll.

"This situation is particularly distressing for guide dog users because of the effects of being separated from their animals during the flight. Only a handful of European routes permit guide dogs and other assistance dogs in the cabin."

Mrs Attwooll also pledged to take the issue of additional charges for guide dog owners to Brussels, to lobby for European Union anti-discrimination laws to be used to cut charges for blind passengers.

She was prompted to act after pleas from a Scot who has been unable to travel freely to his holiday home in Spain with his guide dog, despite paying hundreds of pounds in veterinary charges.

James Mowat, from Glasgow, can travel easily to his second home in Roquetas de Mar, in Spain's Almeria province, but he faces huge difficulties on the return journey.

His nine-year-old German shepherd dog, Kirk, had already complied with the PETS scheme by being microchipped and vaccinated against rabies two years ago, at a cost of £ 200. The dog also receives annual anti-rabies boosters costing £ 48 a time.

But Mr Mowat's forthcoming trip to Spain could be in jeopardy due to the spiralling costs of transporting Kirk back to Scotland.

Mr Mowat said he could leave on a charter flight directly from Glasgow Airport, but that he was left with two more expensive options on his return.

Mr Mowat believes the whole issue of guide dogs and air travel is flawed. "As far as I am concerned, it is very right and proper that the British government should protect its citizens, as our country is currently rabies-free," he said.

"But if you are disabled, then you are exempt from road tax on your car. I see no reason why [in this case] the government cannot absorb the costs."

The Scottish Executive confirmed that the only approved direct route for animals between Scotland and the continent was the ferry service linking Rosyth and Zeebrugge, in Belgium.





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Announcements

“A World For All: Overcoming Disabilities”
Fourth ONCE’s photographic competition in the Basque country

ONCE has just announced its Fourth Photographic Competition ”A World for All : Overcoming Disabilities”, organized by its Territorial Council in the Basque Country. It is aimed at showing to the public, through still images, the many barriers that people with disabilities are faced with and rewarding the ones that will best reflect the ability to overcome them.

210 photographers from 32 countries presented 567 works in last year's third competition. The three travelling exhibitions organized with a selection of the works that participated in the competition have been visited by over 30,000 people.

The competition is open to amateur and professional photographers having their residence in Europe. Each participant is allowed to present a maximum of four works having not received any award in any other competition. Any technique or lab process may be used but the size must not exceed 30 x 40 cm.

All the works will compete in a sole category. There will be one first, second and third prize (1,500, 750 and 350 euros respectively) and two consolation prizes of 350 euros each to reward a photograph produced by a member of ONCE, and another one by a disabled person who is not an ONCE member. The jury will be made up of people with recognized prestige in the photographic field, appointed by ONCE and the Photographic Society of Guipuzcoa.

The deadline for admission of works is 12 November 2004. The decision of the jury will be published on 24 November and the awards will be presented on 2nd December.

For any additional information, you may consult the competition rules at www.once.es (Espacio Activo/La Agenda/Convocatorias), or contact ONCE’s Delegation in the Basque Country.
Tel : +34 94 470 1163,
Email : pcul@once.es



Sharing the Wind

With the goal of making motorcycling more accessible to people with disabilities, Motorcycle Ride Volunteer Network have developed an internet website and public Delphi forum, both with the following two goals :

    - To reach out to disabled people who would like to experience motorcycling but, due to their disabilities, cannot or have not ;

    - To help arrange motorcycle riding partnerships between volunteer motorcyclists and disabled enthusiasts.

If you cannot ride because you are blind or partially-sighted, visit the MRVN website,
at www.motorcycleridevolunteernetwork.org
and the MRVN Delphi Forum, at :
http://forums.delphiforums.com/mrvn/start

or contact Gary K. Foote
gary@newenglandbikers.com



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Coming events

EBU Board

    9 December 2004, CAPE TOWN (South Africa)
    Contact : Vaclav Polasek, EBU Secretary General
    Tel : +420 2 2146 2246
    Fax : +420 2 2146 2145
    E-mail : polasek@sons.cz


EBU Commissions

    2-3 October 2004, BERLIN (Germany)
    Commission on Access for Blind and Partially Sighted People
    Contact : Peter Brass
    Email : mail@pbrass.de


    2-3 October 2004, MADRID (Spain)
    Commission on Equality and Diversity
    Contact : María José Sánchez Lorenzo
    Email : mjsanchez@fundaciononce.es


    9–10 October 2004, HANNOVER (Germany)
    Deafblind Working Group
    Contact : Serguei Sirotkine
    Email : sukhov@vos.org.ru


    23-24 October 2004, HELSINKI (Finland)
    Commission for Liaising with the EU
    Contact : Rodolfo Cattani
    Email : inter@uiciechi.it


    5–7 November 2004, TIRRENIA (Italy)
    Commission on the Rights of Blind and Partially sighted People
    Contact : Tony Aston
    Email : taston@enterprise.net


    January 2005, PARIS (France)
    Commission for Multi-handicapped Visually Impaired and Deafblind People
    Contact : Henri Faivre
    Email : CLAPEAHA@wanadoo.fr
    To be confirmed




Other Organisations

27-29 October 2004, VIENNA (Austria)
e-Challenges 2004 Conference and Exhibition
This is the fourteenth in a series of annual conferences supported by the European Commission, which regularly attracts over 500 delegates from commercial, government and research organisations around the world. This year's conference themes include eBusiness, eGovernment, eWork, eEurope 2005 and ICT Take-up by SMEs, and International Collaboration. It will also look forward to the future by focusing on the thematic priorities of FP6. The European Research Area and research priorities and trends for the future will also be discussed.
More information is available on the conference website, at :
www.echallenges.org
or from : e2004@adera.fr


3–4 November 2004, ISLANTILLA (Spain)
First International Congress on Tourism for All
For more information on the Congress, visit :
www.euroblind.org/fichiersGB/conftourism.htm
or contact ONCE Foundation at :
Tel : +34 91 506 89 90
Fax : +34 91 506 89 22
Email : cturismo@fundaciononce.es


10–13 November 2004, DUSSELDORF (Germany)
RehaCare International, leading trade fair for those with special care and those requiring needs.
More information is available on the fair website, at : www.rehacare.de


11-12 November 2004, STOCKHOLM (Sweden)
International Conference « Tactile reading – tactile understanding : Learning processes, knowledge, and communication »
For programme, registration form, and information about the conference, please visit :
www.tpb.se/english/Braille_Authority/tactileconference.htm


15 November 2004, THE HAGUE (The Netherlands)
Symposium on the empowerment of people with disabilities in developing countries
For programme, registration form, and information about the conference, please visit : www.dcdd.nl
or contact the Dutch Coalition on Disability and Development at : dcdd@dcdd.nl


15-16 November 2004, STRASBOURG (France)
Changing employment cultures : Practice to Policy under Equal
Held within the framework of the Equal Community Initiative of the European Commission, this conference will raise awareness of the Community Fund's impact by their support towards individuals with a view to their integration into the labour market and of its investment to put the European Employment Strategy into practice.
Contact person : Bettina Kausch
Tel : +49 30 4437 9155
Email : b.kausch@iba-berlin.de


24 November 2004, LONDON (UK)
Broadband for All ? Meeting the needs of disabled people and older people - A PhoneAbility meeting
This meeting will explore the facilities offered by current broadband services, how consumers sign up for them and what they need to access them. Both fixed line and mobile services will be considered as well as reference to what the future may hold. The emphasis will be on how these services and facilities address the needs of people with disabilities and older people. The content of the seminar will be largely non-technical and concentrate on the human interaction with the services and service providers.

Registration forms and further information are available from phoneability@konekt.co.uk

PhoneAbility is an independent charity working with policy issues concerned with the provision of access for disabled and elderly people to modern communication systems.


18 - 19 November 2004, BIRMINGHAM (England)
RNIB Techshare 2004
RNIB's international conference on technology and the role it plays in learning, work and life for people with sight problems.
More information is available on the conference website, at :
www.rnib.org.uk/techshare
or from techshare@rnib.org.uk
Tel: +44 870 013 9555


26 - 27 November 2004, BERNE (Switzerland)
Info Vision 04
Organised by the Swiss Federation of the Blind, Info Vision 04 is an exhibition of electronic aids for blind, partially sighted and deaf-blind people.
Sessions and workshops will be conducted and/or translated into French or German.
More information is available in German and French on the exhibition website, at : www.info-vision.de
or from : info@sbv-fsa.ch


28 November-2 December 2004, CAPE TOWN (South Africa)
5th AFUB General Assembly : Changing what it means to be blind
This AFUB 5th General Assembly will include a cocktail of activities beginning with the Women's Forum, region meetings, launching of AFUB HIV/AIDS campaign and a number of entertainment interludes. Delegates will take stock of the achievements of the Union during the last four years (2000-2004) and will approve the Union's 4-year strategic plan for 2005-2008. The Assembly will then culminate in the election of the new Board of Officers and members of the Women's Committee who will direct the Union's policy in the next quadrennial.

An exhibition of equipment and crafts made by the blind will be held throughout the General Assembly and all persons interested in exhibiting at this unique event are invited to contact the organisers.

Registration forms are available from AFUB website, at : www.afub.net
or from AFUB Secretariat :
P.O Box 72872
Embakasi - Nairobi (Kenya)
Tel : +254 2 823989
Fax : +254 2 823776 / 821700
Email : afub@kenyaweb.com

3-4 December 2004, CAPE TOWN
3rd WBU Women’s Forum

6 - 10 December 2004, CAPE TOWN
6th WBU General Assembly
Contact : WBU Secretary General
E-mail : umc@once.es
or info@wbucapetown2004.org.za
Website : www.wbucapetown2004.org.za


7-12 December 2004, RIO DE JANEIRO (Brazil)
Designing for the 21st century - An international Conference on Universal Design
More information available from www.designfor21st.org.
E-mail : info@AdaptiveEnvironments.org


2005

4 - 8 April, LONDON (UK)
VISION 2005
The world’s largest conference on issues concerning people with sight problems will be hosted by RNIB in London from 4–8 April 2005. The Vision 2005 conference and exhibition will draw together the world’s leading researchers and providers of services, equipment and products. It will be held at a prestigious centre in Parliament Square, Westminster. The conference is organised under the auspices of the International Society for Low Vision Research and Rehabilitation. Now in its eighth year, the conference is renowned amongst eye health professionals and specialists throughout the world for offering the latest in scientific research and the best opportunities for networking.
More information is available from :
Tel : +44 20 7391 2329
Fax : +44 20 7391 2079
Email : vision2005@rnib.org.uk


1-4 August 2005, GLASGOW (United Kingdom)
International Special Education Conference :
Inclusion: Celebrating Diversity ?
To keep up with news, please keep checking the conference website at www.isec2005.org.uk
Questions about the programme and registration :
ISEC 2005 Conference Administrator
Tel : +44 141 950 3234
Email : isec.2005@strath.ac.uk


2–7 August 2005, PRESNOV (Slovakia)
6th European Conference of Deafblind International
For more information about the conference, please visit
www.dbiconference.sk
Or contact Anna Misinova, Conference Secretariat, at :
Tel/fax : +421 51 7582 485
Email : conference@dbiconference.sk


14-18 August 2005, CHEMNITZ (Germany)
ICEVI European Conference : Education, Aiming for Excellence
Contact : e.fuchs@vbs-gs.de.
Website : www.icevi-europe.org


19-22 September 2005, LILLE (France)
8th European conference for the advancement of assistive technology in Europe
The Association for the advancement of Assistive Technology in Europe organises its 8th conference in Lille (France) in 2005. This biannual conference is an opportunity for people to discuss new developments, trends and researches in the field of Assistive Technology.

Information regarding this conference is available at : www.aaate2005.com


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