Published by the EBU Office
With the financial support of
DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities
of the European Commission
Table of contents :
Lost in the post – latest news on the EU Postal Directive
Decision postponed on reduced VAT rates on audio books in Sweden
Braille on packages of pharmaceutical products
EBU Commissions
National News
Announcements
Publications
-
New atlas of the world for blind and partially sighted people
-
NASA unveils cosmic images book in braille for blind readers
FEATURE : 2009, Louis Braille Bicentenary
-
Interview with Vincent Michel, President of CINAL (National Committee for the Celebration of Louis Braille’s Bicentenary)
Editor’s Note
Dear readers,
Welcome to EBU Newsletter N° 60.
This first issue in 2008 informs readers about developments at EU level,
including the disappointing, although expected, outcome of EBU’s campaign to
safeguard the free post scheme for the blind in a liberalised community
postal market ; EBU’s action to support the implementation of the provision
on braille labelling in the EU directive on pharmaceutical products.
A great many interesting initiatives are taken nationally and locally, but
are often unheard of beyond national frontiers. In an attempt to remedy
this, we are trying to develop a National News section. This can only be
successful if members of the EBU keep us regularly informed of inspiring
action and good practice in their countries.
You will also read about interesting new publications : the German Library
for the Blind in Leipzig has produced an accessible atlas and NASA is now
making cosmic images available to visually impaired people !
Finally, this issue features an interview with Vincent Michel, President of
the International Committee for the Celebration of Louis Braille’s
Bicentenary in 2009, who informs thoroughly about celebrations planned to
mark the year.
Enjoy your reading !
Please feel free to send your comments on the Newsletter layout and contents
to ebuoffice@euroblind.org
Lost in the post
Latest news on the EU Postal Directive
EBU has been campaigning for years now for an EU level legal safeguard for
the free postal service provided to blind and partially sighted people and
their organisations.
The liberalised postal market of tomorrow will certainly lead to pressure to
cut costs. We fear that without legal protection there is a danger that the
free postal service will suffer from this pressure and be eroded or
challenged, as it was when New Zealand liberalised its postal market some
years ago.
The revision of the Postal Services Directive provided the opportunity to
call for a legal safeguard. A clause in the directive permitting the free
service for blind people already exists. We have been calling for it to be
strengthened and become a requirement now that the directive will require
full market opening in the near future.
The European Parliament adopted two amendments at First Reading which would
have guaranteed the future of the free postal service for blind and
partially sighted people in the EU.
However, the Council removed these amendments so that the text to be voted
on at Second Reading once again gave only permission for the service rather
than a requirement for it.
At Parliament Second Reading the rules require a larger number of MEPs to
support any amendments in order for them to go through. In fact 393 of the
total number of 755 must vote in favour of an amendment for it to be adopted
at this stage.
The lead "Rapporteur" in charge of this directive is Markus Ferber,
(Germany) from the European People's Party and European Democrats (EPP-ED)
group. EBU delegations had met him twice in the last two years and both
times he was rather sceptical about supporting a requirement for the free
post service.
I met him again on Wednesday 30th January in a "last ditch" attempt to get
an agreement. He was adamant that he would fight our amendments and lobby
against them. This meant that the largest group in Parliament, the EPP-ED,
would vote in large part against us. Mr Ferber said our amendments were not
appropriate for the directive as the issue should be left to Member States.
Mr. Ferber assured me that he WAS in favour of the free service, but that it
was for Member States to provide it.
The Socialist Group in the European Parliament (PES) did back our amendments
and this delivered a large number of votes for us. The Green group also
strongly supported us.
At the Plenary Debate on Wednesday 30th our amendments were one of a couple
of major discussion items. However, Mr. Ferber concluded his summing up by
casting doubt on the very need for blind people to have a free postal
service. He suggested that, if blind people are allowed this concession, why
not wheelchair users ?!! Of course, we know that this comparison is not
valid. Whilst we know that wheelchair users face many barriers, the free
postal service exists specifically for blind and partially sighted people
because of their unique need for specially formatted information which is
usually provided by post from a distant library for the blind or other
supplier.
Mr. Ferber and his colleagues lobbied hard for our amendments to be
rejected. However, many MEPs lobbied hard in support of our amendments.
These are too numerous to name, but in particular Richard Howitt MEP, Chair
of the Parliament’s Disability Intergroup, was tireless in our support.
In the end we lost the vote on the amendment to strengthen the wording in
Article 1 by 298 for to 335 against. This amendment read as follows:
"Member States shall ensure the provision of a free postal service for the
use of blind and partially sighted persons."
However, in an amazing moral victory, we actually won the vote on the other
amendment, a recital, by one vote: 321 for to 320 against.
The proposed wording for the recital was:
"Given the importance of postal services for blind and partially sighted
persons, it is appropriate to confirm that in a competitive and liberalised
market there should be an obligation to supply free services for blind and
partially sighted persons introduced by the Member States.
Sadly, given the need for 393 votes to pass the amendment, this was still
not sufficient to get it into the directive.
This is the end of the road in terms of getting the changes we need to this
directive. The Council will now adopt the directive without further
complications since the Parliament vote supported the compromise package
already reached between Parliament and Council.
On the positive side, we certainly raised awareness of the issue. It will
now be up to each member organisation of EBU to work at national level to
ensure that the Council's and Mr Ferber's promise that "the service is safe,
you need not worry", is actually kept in reality.
Further information from Dan Pescod, European and International Campaigns
Manager,
Dan.Pescod@rnib.org.uk
Back to contents
Decision postponed on reduced VAT rates on audio books in Sweden
Following coordinated action between the Swedish
government, the Swedish Association of the Visually Impaired (SRF) and other
organisations in Sweden on the one hand, and the EBU and the Federation of
European Publishers (FEP) on the other hand, the European Commission has
unofficially decided to postpone its decision to pursue an infringement
procedure against Sweden over their reduced rate of VAT on audio books.
Back in August 2007, the Commission had decided to launch an infringement
procedure against Sweden's VAT rate applied to audio books (6 %). They
argued that audio books could not be applied the reduced VAT rate applied to
books because they do not 'match' the definition of a book as it stands.
This is a clear case of indirect discrimination against blind, partially
sighted and print disabled people. The Swedish government, with the support
of SRF and the publishing industry met with the Commission to fight the
case.
The EBU and the FEP also sent a joint letter to the President of the
European Commission and the concerned commissioners, all European Finance
Ministers and the President of the European Parliament to protest against
this narrow and discriminating definition of a book.
We received the support of several Member States on this issue and the
President of the European Parliament indicated that he would look forward to
the European Parliament taking our concerns into account during the review
of the VAT framework scheduled for 2008.
Faced with a debate in the Council and as it put forward a proposal for
reviewing the VAT framework, the European Commission unofficially decided to
postpone the infringement procedure against Sweden until a debate over the
VAT framework has taken place in the Council and the European Parliament.
EBU will therefore continue to lobby on the issue to ensure audio books are
included in the list of items that can be applied reduced VAT rates, and
further to ensure that the definition of a book is updated to take into
account technological developments.
Further information from Anne Spinali, RNIB European Campaigns Officer,
anne.spinali@rnib.org.uk
Braille on packages of pharmaceutical products
Following the adoption in 2004 of the EU Directive on pharmaceutical
products, in particular Art. 56 A which contains special provisions aimed at
improving the accessibility to information on medicine products for persons
with a severe visual impairment, the European Standards Organization CEN has
embarked on work to establish values for the relevant industries on braille
height and other important parameters.
In parallel, and also dealt with by the same Working Group under CEN 261, SC
5, work is going on to find as many common tables / list of braille symbols
as possible. Such braille symbols are believed to be used on medicine
packages and used in as many countries as possible, provided that the
national organizations of the blind individually and specifically accept
such common representations, despite the fact that they might deviate from
the adopted national character set.
However, apart from the above mentioned braille character table, it is
indisputable that a number of countries will maintain their national
specificities i.e. braille dot combinations for certain tables that are
different from the general (recommended) table and applicable for their
country only.
To systematize all this information for the use of the packaging and
medicinal industry, and maybe even the national regulatory authorities, a
database is in the process of being developed where the common table
(voluntary to use) and all national braille tables with relevant characters
are to be found.
The intention is to offer this useful facility on a subscription basis, the
annual fee initially estimated to amount to approx £ 1100 plus VAT.
Further information from John Heilbrunn,
jh@dkblind.dk
EBU Commissions
Rehabilitation and Vocational Training
The new EBU Commission on Rehabilitation, Vocational Training and
Employment held its first meeting at Almasa (Sweden) on 22-24 February, 2008
under the direction of its new chairperson, Ulrika Norelius. It drew up a
programme of work for the next four years, which includes :
1. Continuing to seek implementation of EBU's "two-pronged solution" to
economic inactivity of blind and partially sighted (ps) people, agreed at
its Views Ahead Conference, Bratislava, October 2005.
2. To spread the case for retention leave guaranteed by law to all people
who experience serious sight loss while in employment.
3. To mount a study of self-employment of blind and ps people in Europe with
a view to promoting it as remunerative economic activity.
4. To study the effectiveness of anti-discrimination legislation and
legislation for quota systems and tax reductions increasing the employment
rate of blind and partially sighted people, beginning with forthcoming
legislation in Serbia.
5. To develop further the careers section on the EBU website.
6. To promote good practice in rehabilitation, as defined by the report of
the previous Commission and adopted by the General Assembly in 2007.
Further information from Ulrika Norelius, Chairperson,
ulrika.norelius@home.se
National News
Denmark : Audio description road show
In January and February 2008 the Danish Association of the Blind (DAB)
kicked off a road show with the first audio described movie in Danish. This
was a huge success : 530 sold tickets and good press coverage at every
screening.
The road show visited seven cities in Denmark : one in Sealand, one in Funen
and five in Jutland, with one screening in each city. Invited for the
screenings were DAB members as well as people with normal vision. The DAB
decided to implement the road show for two reasons : first, to give as many
members as possible the chance of experiencing the first movie in the
country with audio description, to give them a real experience in the cinema
- and not just another movie in front of the homely television ; second, to
show politicians, the movie and television industry, through media coverage,
that DAB is determined to ensure more production of audio description, both
on movies and on television
The road show has now ended and DAB is evaluating the two months event which
resulted in a lot of cosy film screenings and really good press coverage.
Further information from the Danish Association of the Blind,
jh@dkblind.dk
Italy: Computer skills for visually impaired students
Following an initiative of the Italian Ministry of Education to develop the
computer skills of teachers and students, the Italian Union of the Blind (UIC)
ran a similar training program in 2005-2006 for the following three target
groups:
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Up to 15 VI students in each of the 20 Italian regions were trained in ICT,
using assistive devices and software.
Training was also provided to ordinary and support teachers. In
particular, middle school teachers were involved to act as tutors and, by
the same token, acquire knowledge and themselves become specialized teachers
in the use of computer aids for the visually impaired.
Trainers' training was also part of the program.
A total of 100 students and 50 teachers were trained under this initiative.
Further information from the Italian Union of the Blind,
inter@uiciechi.it
Back to contents
The Netherlands :
Reading PDF with screen magnifiers and screen readers
More and more documents are edited in PDF format. People with sight problems
using screen magnifiers or screen readers often have problems reading them.
The software they use does not work as with regular Word processing programs
and the content - when displayed - is often illegible.
Whereas information about making PDF documents accessible is abundant, there
is hardly any information about how to read them. This is why Viziris has
felt it important to develop a manual on "Reading PDF with screen magnifiers
and screen readers". Because it aroused international interest, the manual
was translated from Dutch to English.
"Reading PDF with Screen Magnifiers and Screen Readers" is available in Word
and PDF on our website at :
http://www.viziris.nl/scrivo/asset.php?id=105600
Back to contents
UK : Shared space
schemes
The UK National Federation of the Blind has issued the following press
release :
The National Federation of the Blind is totally opposed to shared space
schemes that are being introduced by local authorities.
The fact that the conventional pavement and the safe pedestrian crossing
have been removed means that blind people have no idea where they are in
these shared space streets.
Local authorities that are in the process of planning or installing such
dangerous schemes should consider what a hazard and danger they are creating
for blind and partially sighted people. They should also take into account
their disability equality duty under the Disability Discrimination Act. The
local authorities that have already installed these dangerous shared space
schemes should reinstate the pavement and the pedestrian crossing so that
blind people and other pedestrians can walk safely and not be frightened by
moving traffic.
Whoever dreamt up this mad scheme has not considered at all the needs of
blind people. The idea for the driver to make eye contact with the
pedestrian is not possible for blind or partially sighted pedestrians or
even for people with learning difficulties.
The Federation calls on all local authorities to take urgent action on this
matter.
Further information from Jill Allen-King, MBE - NFB Public Relations Officer
jill.allenking@tiscali.co.uk
Back to contents
Announcements
Dates confirmed for futsal seminars in Europe
International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) has confirmed the dates for
two international futsal seminars in Europe in the first half of this year.
The seminars will be held as part of the UEFA-funded "Futsal Development
Project Europe" :
Hereford (England), 3 - 6 April :
Coaches and referees from England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the
Republic of Ireland will be invited to attend the seminars at the Royal
National College for the Blind in Hereford.
Germany, 3 - 6 July :
Representatives from Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Liechtenstein,
Switzerland and Austria will take part in the seminars.
IBSA is currently working to secure venues for two more seminars that will
take place during the second half of 2008. Turkey and Russia have expressed
interest in hosting, and full information will be posted on
www.ibsa.es as
it becomes available.
Further information from Neil O’Donovan, Chairman of IBSA Europe,
neil@ibsports.ie
Publications
New atlas of the world for blind and partially sighted people
The German Library for the Blind in Leipzig (DZB) is pleased to announce its
new atlas of the world for blind and partially sighted people in English.
The DZB world atlas consists of an overview map of the earth, ten individual maps (North and Central America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, Arctic, Antarctica, Atlantic and Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean) and statistics.
Three editions are available :
1. Relief for blind people.
2. Large print for partially sighted and sighted people.
3. Combination of both editions by matching a transparent relief map with
large print.
For more information:
http://www.dzb.de/en/media-production/reliefs/atlas-of-the-world.html
or verlag@dzb.de
NASA unveils cosmic images book in
braille for blind readers
At a ceremony on 15 January, at the National Federation of the Blind, NASA
unveiled a new book that brings majestic images taken by its Great
Observatories to the fingertips of the blind.
"Touch the Invisible Sky" is a 60-page book with colour images of nebulae,
stars, galaxies and some of the telescopes that captured the original
pictures. Each image is embossed with lines, bumps and other textures. These
raised patterns translate colours, shapes and other intricate details of the
cosmic objects, allowing visually impaired people to experience them.
Braille and large-print descriptions accompany each of the book's 28
photographs, making the book's design accessible to readers of all visual
abilities.
The book contains spectacular images from the Hubble Space Telescope,
Chandra X-ray Observatory, Spitzer Space Telescope and powerful ground-based
telescopes. The celestial objects are presented as they appear through
visible-light telescopes and different spectral regions invisible to the
naked eye, from radio to infrared, visible, ultraviolet and X-ray light.
The book introduces the concept of light and the spectrum and explains how
the different observatories complement each others' findings. Readers take a
cosmic journey beginning with images of the sun, and travel out into the
galaxy to visit relics of exploding and dying stars, as well as the
Whirlpool galaxy and colliding Antennae galaxies.
(…)"One of the greatest challenges faced by blind students who are
interested in scientific study is that certain kinds of information are not
available to them in a non-visual form," said Marc Maurer, President of the
National Federation of the Blind. "Books like this one are an invaluable
resource because they allow the blind access to information that is normally
presented through visual observation and media. Given access to this
information, blind students can study and compete in scientific fields as
well as their sighted peers."
Further information :
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/jan/HQ_08007_Braille_Book
Back to contents
FEATURE : 2009, Louis Braille Bicentenary
An interview of Vincent Michel,
President of CINAL (International Committee for the Celebration of Louis
Braille’s Bicentenary)
By Mokrane Boussaid, Director of the European Blind Union
Q : 2009 will be the 200th anniversary of Louis Braille's birth. CINAL is
coordinating a number of celebrations to mark the year. Why is the year so
important and what celebrations have you planned so far ?
R : The aim of this year 2009 is, of course, to pay tribute to this
brilliant inventor who made it possible for blind people throughout the
world to move from begging and marginalization, to the world of knowledge,
education and inclusion. It is also, and more than everything, to make this
year a useful year for the visually impaired in that it will help us see
what possibilities are open to us in our contemporary world.
A wide range of activities will be run all over the year. There will first
be a Memorial Day on 4 January 2009 (Louis Braille was born in Coupvray on 4
January 1809). The year will be launched by an official ceremony at the
Pantheon in Paris, the place where Louis Braille’s ashes are deposited. This
will be followed in the evening by a great organ concert at Notre-Dame de
Paris Cathedral, by Jean-Pierre Legay, a famous blind organist, with musical
works composed by blind musicians. The day will start with a Christian
religious service in the chapel of the National Institute for the Young
Blind (INJA) where Louis Braille studied and taught.
Q : A religious ceremony ?
R : Many people have asked us about this. We planned it because we were
asked to by a great number of blind people. It’s true that traditionally in
France religious orders have frequently looked after the education of blind
people : the orders of St Gabriel and St Vincent de Paul… It is also true
that many blind people have achieved social inclusion through music, in
particular through organ playing.
There were many prestigious blind musicians : Gaston Litaize, Jean Langlais,
Helmut Walcha, Louis Thiry and today Jean-Pierre Legay are names that come
immediately to mind, so it’s a bit of a tribute to a tradition. This
ceremony will be somewhat ecumenical, and all Louis Braille's admirers, be
them Jewish, Muslims or atheists, are warmly invited to join.
There will be two great pedagogical moments, the first one is a conference
on the 6-dot writing and its future staged by Association Valentin Haüy (AVH)
and INJA from 5 to 10 January. The title is self-explanatory. This will be a
gathering of specialists who will be looking at what is braille now and in
the future and at its empowering role.
A great international multidisciplinary convention, “VI 2009”, will be held
by CINAL from 18 to 20 June in Coupvray, Louis Braille’s hometown. This will
be more focused on visual impairment. On the first day, the Convention will
address what it means to be visually impaired in today's world. Here, we are
expecting testimonies from visually impaired people from various countries
telling us how they experience visual impairment today from their different
cultural backgrounds. The second day will be dedicated to social inclusion
through education and employment. The third day will be more focused on
access to culture and media : how visually impaired people can approach the
world of knowledge in the broader sense.
A major highlight of the year will be an itinerant exhibition on braille,
its forerunners and today's means of accessing information and culture,
starting from the first sketches of Valentin Haüy up to the computer of the
21st century. This exhibition will travel through France’s major cities but
also through the great European capitals : London, Brussels, Warsaw, Rome,
Madrid and maybe others. It may also go to the Southern Mediterranean
(Tunis, Morocco, Egypt and possibly Israel) thanks to a project being put
together by the French Federation of the Visually Impaired with the support
of the European Blind Union. We hope the project will be funded under the EU
Euromed Heritage IV Program. The exhibition will also be a powerful tool to
raise visually impaired people's visibility and inform about their
situation.
We also intend to stage a big cultural event in Paris : we are in touch with
2 famous blind singers, Andrea Bocelli and Stevie Wonder, and we hope they
will be available to join us.
Last but not least, we would like to conclude this year with political
recommendations to the French Parliament and Government, the European
Parliament and even to the General Assembly of the United Nations through
the World Blind Union (WBU).
This should be the main thread of 2009. It will interweave with various
other initiatives to commemorate Louis Braille's 200th birthday in France
and abroad. Of course, it is important that all these activities yield an
exchange of knowledge. Results from the Coupvray convention should not
remain within France, but be disseminated – let's be ambitious – through the
five continents.
Q : Aren't you making it difficult to those outside France who wish to
take part in the commemorations ? They may not be able to travel twice to
your country to attend each event. How do you see participation from abroad,
and how will you make sure that the international dimension is taken into
account ? After all, the blind all over the world are indebted to Louis
Braille, not just the French.
R : It’s true that this can cause problems but firstly I have to say that
consultation started at a late stage, so we didn't know about the first
conference on braille. In any case, the January conference will be dedicated
to various aspects of this writing and reading system whereas the June
convention focuses more on visual impairment. Of course, the issue of
braille will be addressed, but the main point of the convention will be to
develop, based on the various testimonials, a charter on visual impairment,
which we could call the Coupvray Charter. This will be a set of
recommendations to be put to governments of the whole world to promote the
social inclusion of the visually impaired. Again, the Coupvray Convention
will not be a specialist event on a given topic, braille, but a gathering
open to researchers, company managers, educational specialists, politicians,
the media and the greater public.
There will also be an exhibition during the convention : Institutions and
companies will be given the possibility to show what is being done in their
countries to meet the needs and aspirations of the visually impaired. I
should like to make it clear here that when I say visually impaired I mean
not just the blind but also those who are partially sighted.
In fact, the 2 events in January and June will complement each other. In
terms of logistics, we are making every effort to make sure that those who
want to join these events can afford it. I'm personally working on the June
convention in Coupvray. We're trying to put together a registration system
with various rates whereby free registration or reduced rates can apply to
poorer countries and delegates. We will also have to try to obtain reduced
airfares by approaching airlines.
Q : You've explained that an itinerant exhibition would be touring the
major capitals of Europe. Have you already made contact with organizations
of the blind or do you deal more with institutions, regular museums?
R : For the moment I would say that we are at the very first stage of all
this operation. ONCE (the Spanish Organisation of the Blind) has expressed
interest for Louis Braille’s Bicentenary, the RNIB – UK and the Belgian
Ligue Braille have too. This is at least what I can remember. Outside
Europe, the Tunisian Organisation will be a partner. But we have also made
contact with mainstream museums, including the Museum of Egyptology in
Cairo.
The major difficulty today is to build all this starting from France, to
mobilise the blind and to bring them together under a common project. We
want to know how each country will honour Louis Braille’s memory and this is
why we are looking forward to welcoming as many delegations as possible from
all over the world for the bicentenary.
Q : What do you expect from the EBU in concrete terms ?
R : We expect from the EBU : firstly, that EBU member organisations respond
to the call for contributions that will be launched for the Coupvray
convention, identifying visually impaired persons who could bring a rich
testimony for the first day, or to experts that could contribute to the
subjects of the convention – access to education, to employment, and to
culture, the role of the media…
We don’t want the convention in June to be franco-French. Although it is
natural that France has a big part in all this, the convention must remain
open to the world. If for example a Spanish, Italian or British institution
has made a particular effort for the job integration of the visually
impaired, it should be given the opportunity to come and speak at Coupvray.
The same goes for countries that are performing well in terms of access to
information (I am particularly thinking of the Nordic countries), it is
essential that they join the convention to share their knowledge and
experience with others. If a blind African has a particular testimony to
give about the way he in his country approaches visual impairment, he/she
should be given the possibility to speak up. We are expecting a larger
number of contributions than we can accommodate during the convention. But
we plan to produce all those that will have been considered of interest by
our scientific committee in print and Braille, possibly in English, French
and Spanish. They will be posted on internet… why not on the EBU website ? I
hope EBU will support us in achieving this.
I also call upon all the visually impaired in Europe and the world over to
register on the blind people’s visitors' book. I haven’t mentioned it yet
but this is an important element of the commemorations. We have decided to
open a blind visitors' book which will be deposited on 20 June in Louis
Braille’s birth home in Coupvray. Blind people are invited to enter their
names and sign the book. There will also be the possibility to write a short
text of 10 to 30 words to pay tribute to Louis Braille and to thank him
personally. This is also a way for us to finance the year : 50 Euros for
entering name, first name, place of residence and signature ; 75 Euros for
an additional text of 10 to 15 words ; 100 Euros for a text of about 30
words. EBU could help in publicizing this action as widely as possible and
even beyond the frontiers of Europe, so that the blind can express their
gratitude to Louis Braille in their own language, be it French, English,
Spanish, Italian, Czech, Slovak, Romanian, Hebrew, Arabic, Papuan, Chinese.
Q : Is the program for the year already finalised ? I am asking because a
number of organisations are still thinking of joining the commemorations in
2009. Is there still a way to include new initiatives in the program to be
coordinated by CINAL ? For example, here at EBU we recently ran the 2007
ONKYO Braille Essay Contest. Since 2009 also coincides with the 25th
anniversary of EBU, we are thinking of publishing 25 of the best essays. Do
you think this can find its place ?
R : What I have just presented is the general outline of the program. I have
not mentioned all the planned activities. For example, there will be a
literary competition called “Saying what cannot be seen”. Of course, there
is still room for local and international events but we need to finalize the
program within 3 or 4 months, say by 30 June. You will understand that we
will need time to deal with hotel reservations and make all the other
necessary arrangements. That involves a huge budget and we are, at the
moment, still looking for sponsors. We've already secured sponsorship from
France Télévision, Radio France and a number of other media.
Q : We haven’t had much feedback from the recent call at the EBU General
Assembly in October 2007 to set up national braille clubs. One such club was
formed in Italy and is an effective source of funding for the Louis Braille
Museum in Coupvray. Is this something CINAL will promote during the year ?
R : I cannot give a clear answer now, but this is something we should
certainly consider. I myself wish that by the end of 2009 the issue of how
to fund the Museum in Coupvray can be solved. It's not acceptable that the
French Federation bares most of the financial burden to keep the museum
running (I'm speaking here in my capacity as Secretary General of the French
Federation !). It should not be difficult to solve this problem. After all,
the upkeep of the Museum does not require a huge budget, not more than 100
000 Euros a year. We should be able to get there thanks to an international
collective effort. Of course we'll also be looking into funding
possibilities by the French public authorities, but again, we are not
talking about the Louvre Museum here. Coupvray is small and I cannot imagine
that no durable financial solution is found.
Further information from Vincent Michel,
cinal@cinal.fr
Back to contents
CINAL PROGRAM
Sunday 4th January 2009 : Anniversary of Louis Braille’s birth
10:00 a.m. Solemn mass in the chapel of the National Institute of the Young
Blind (Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles, INJA), boulevard des Invalides
in Paris. This is the place where Louis Braille studied and taught. This
mass will be broadcasted on France Culture.
11:00 a.m. Reception at INJA.
3:00 p.m. Official Louis Braille’s Year opening ceremony at the Panthéon
with the highest national and international authorities.
8:30 p.m. Concert of great organ by blind organists in Notre-Dame de Paris
with works composed by blind musicians.
Monday 5th January
9:30 – 10:00 a.m. Inaugural session : Louis Braille and his time (official
speeches).
10:00 – 12:30 a.m. Birth of the braille system and first applications
(3 speakers).
2:30 – 4:00 p.m. The braille system and its applications : mathematics,
music, Information technologies (3 speakers).
4:30 – 5:30 p.m. Practical application – 4 workshops :
1. Information technologies and braille display
2. Music – Scanning and the transcription of a score
3. Cartography and relief drawings
4. Braille and games (chess game, cards, scrabble, crosswords…)
Tuesday 6th January
9:00 – 10:30 a.m. Braille in the world and in various languages
(4 speakers)
11:30 – 12:30 a.m. Adapting braille codes and difficulties (Round Table)
2:30 – 4:00 p.m. Braille unification : success and obstacles
(2 speakers)
4:30 – 5:30 p.m. Users’ perspectives throughout the world
(Round Table).
Braille in the developing countries
5:30 – 7 :00 p.m. Inauguration of the new media library of the Association
Valentin Haüy.
Wednesday 7th January : The future prospects of braille
9:00 – 10:30 a.m. Braille facing new technologies – complement or
competition (3 speakers)
- Braille and school integration.
- Braille and professional integration.
- Braille and digital library.
11:00 – 12:30 a.m. Round Table : Braille in daily life.
2:30 – 4:00 p.m. Let’s play with braille (play workshops, team competitions
with prizes, competitions’ results planned in 2008)
4:30 – 5:00 p.m. Official closure
8:00 p.m. Closing banquet
Thursday 8th January
9:00 – 12:00 a.m. Following the footsteps of the brilliant inventor :
- Group visits of the AVH and INJA museums (both holding exhibitions).
- Louis Braille’s ashes route and group visits of Louis Braille’s tomb at
the Panthéon and/or visit of the house where Louis Braille was born.
Evening : Oratorio Opera in tribute to Louis Braille.
4 – 8 January : « L’écriture à 6 points et son avenir » (« The 6-dot
writing system and its future »), International Seminar on Braille 2009,
sponsored by CINAL and organised by the AVH and INJA.
Interpretation: French and English.
14 February – 20 June : Itinerant exhibition « The braille system and
its contemporary reality ».
18 - 20 June : International Conference V.I. 2009 Coupvray :
International and multidisciplinary convention « 200 years after Louis
Braille, the blind and visually impaired in the contemporary world ».
Interpretation : French, English, Spanish, German and Italian.
Thursday 18th June : The visually impaired person in the contemporary
world or living without seeing.
Friday 19th June : Visual impairment and integration.
Saturday 20th June : Visual impairment and access to knowledge.
At the end of the conference, the prize for the literary competition « Say
what you can’t see » will take place.
The conference will end with the voting of a charter, the « Coupvray Charter
», recommending the main measures to be taken in order to promote the
citizenship of visually impaired people.
Saturday 20th June : Concert in Coupvray
Blind artists (Gilbert Montagné, Andrea Bocelli and Stevie Wonder) pay a
tribute to Louis Braille.
Fall 2009 : Political statements in the national Parliaments and in
the European Parliament on the basis of the « Coupvray Charter ».
Further information from Vincent Michel,
cinal@cinal.fr
Coming Events |
EBU Board
17
– 18 May 2008
The Netherlands
25
– 27 September 2008 Rethimnon
(Crete)
Contact : Birgitta Blokland, EBU Secretary General
Email : bjb202@hotmail.com
Other organisations
3 – 6 April 2008
HEREFORD
(England)
International futsal seminar
Contact : Neil O’Donovan, Chairman of IBSA Europe,
neil@ibsports.ie
25 – 30 April 2008
ZAGREB
(Croatia)
6th EBU Deafblind Conference and Second European Deafblind Blind Union
General Assembly
Contact : Tajana Tarczay, project coordinator,
edbu2007@dodir.hr
16 – 20 June 2008
PONTEVEDRA (Spain)
First International Congress for Blind and
Partially Sighted Children
Hosted by the Spanish National Organisation of the Blind (ONCE) and the
World Blind Union Children’s Committee.
Contact : Ana Pelaez, rrii@once.es
3 – 6 July 2008
Germany
International futsal seminar
Contact : Neil O’Donovan, Chairman of IBSA Europe,
neil@ibsports.ie
6 - 10 July 2008 MONTREAL (Canada)
9th International Conference on Low Vision
The Conference will feature plenary and concurrent sessions during which
distinguished academics and researchers will present the results of their work
on vision science research, services of rehabilitation and psychosocial
aspects of reintegration.
www.vision2008.ca
9 - 11 July 2008
LINZ
(Austria)
11th International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special
Needs.
“eQuality: A Global Challenge” - Equal Access to the Information Society as
a Global Challenge
www.icchp.org
16 – 22 August 2008
GENEVA (Switzerland)
7th General Assembly and 4th Women’s Forum of the World Blind Union
www.wbu2008.ch
25 – 28 August 2008
QUEBEC
(Canada)
21st World Congress Rehabilitation International.
Disability Rights and Social Participation : Ensuring a Society for All
The Congress theme showcases the new United Nations Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities, which provides the framework for the
development of good policies, actions and projects to drastically improve
the living conditions of hundreds of millions of people worldwide with
disabilities.
The RI-Québec 2008 World Congress also presents an opportunity to connect to
more than 1,500 of experts, researchers, disability rights advocates,
government representatives, service providers, civil society leaders during
three days of an extensive program, events and sightseeing tours of
beautiful Québec City. It is a chance to meet exhibitors from around the
world showcasing their brand new products and services.
The RI network, consisting of more than 700 organizations in approximately
100 countries, is a catalyst for developing innovative approaches and
providing solutions. Its mission is to promote social change, inclusion and
rights of people with disabilities.
www.riquebec2008.org or www.riglobal.org