Published by the EBU Office
With the financial support of
DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities
of the European Commission
Table of contents :
Goodbye Caroline, welcome Sarah
The European Commission supports EBU’s work in 2008
Discrimination and Disability Directive
Phasing out of incandescent light bulbs
National news
New ISO Standard on credit cards
Publications
FEATURE : International Women’s Day
Editor’s Note
Welcome to EBU Newsletter N° 61.
As you will see from her farewell note, Caroline is leaving EBU to explore
new and far away horizons. I’m sure you will all join in expressing our
heartfelt thanks for her commitment and dedication to EBU. Sarah Ghlamallah
will replace her and we all wish her every success in her new position.
EBU is still busy trying to advance the interests of blind and partially
sighted people at EU level. This issue tells you about our action to improve
blind and partially sighted people’s access to information and
communication, to audio books, and to adequate lighting… We hope to be able
to achieve tangible results thanks to funds made available by the European
Commission under its PROGRESS Programme.
Readers will also read about activities planned by EBU Commissions and
Steering Groups in this work period 2008-2011. Interesting initiatives are
being taken by the Elderly People’s Steering Group and the EBU Rights
Commission has devised a Plan of Action that should support the effective
implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with
Disabilities.
Our FEATURE section is devoted to International Women’s Day 2008. It
contains background information on IWD and reports on how the day was
celebrated in some EBU countries.
Please feel free to send your comments on its layout and contents to
ebuoffice@euroblind.org
Goodbye Caroline, welcome Sarah
When I started working as an Information Officer at EBU, I knew it would be
a special experience, but I had no idea to what extent. I had never worked
in this area before, but with Mokrane’s wise and patient introduction to
each new task, I believe we succeeded in building a good team for the
various EBU Office matters (1million4disability campaign, press releases,
preparation of the General Assembly, Newsletter, website etc.).
This job has been very rewarding for me, I learned a lot from all of you,
personally and professionally, and hope to have contributed the best I could
to the good functioning of EBU.
For all these reasons, I am really very sorry to announce that I am leaving
Paris and, hence, EBU as from beginning of May. The reason is that I am
going to Japan for three months to study a healing technique with a real
master, the one I thought I would never meet in my life. I am also very
sorry to cause trouble, when I started working here I thought I was done
with studying, but then I met this master and I just can’t let the
opportunity of studying with him slip away. Hopefully it won’t be long until
the Office finds the lucky person who will replace me.
Please believe that if there were a way I could continue working together
with EBU from another country, I wouldn’t hesitate a minute. Many thanks to
Mokrane with whom I really enjoyed working together and to all of you at EBU
who always made me feel welcome, as if I had joined a big family. I hope
that I am not offending anyone by leaving and will stay in touch to follow
EBU’s work from a distance.
Caroline Fakhr
My name is Sarah Ghlamallah and I will be joining the Office team at the
European Blind Union in May 2008 as the new part-time Information Officer.
I am originally from Paris but my curiosity led me to explore the world soon
after completing my secondary education. I spent a few years abroad before
eventually returning to my home city where I am now based again. I traveled
extensively in Australia, South East Asia and Africa and then went on to
study social anthropology in London, England. My prior work experiences have
been in various fields, ranging from translation to cartography and event
management. Both my formal training and personal experiences have made me
into a people-driven and culturally sensitive person. I have a strong
interest in social issues and I am very pleased to join the non-profit
sector today.
I firmly believe in social inclusion. I am looking forward to learning more
about the specific issues that are faced by the blind and partially sighted
people of Europe and I will thrive to use all my enthusiasm and skills to
make a valuable contribution to EBU. I am also sure to enjoy my new position
because the part-time shifts will allow me to remain a socially active
person. I am currently involved in volunteering as well as in side projects
such as writing and creating a cultural website.
I am very happy to embark on this exciting new journey and I look forward to
working with you all soon.
Sarah Ghlamallah
The European Commission supports EBU’s work in 2008
With financial support of the European Commission
under the Community Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity
(PROGRESS), the following actions will be carried out by EBU in 2008 :
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To set up an Expert Group on Employment. The group’s work will mainly
focus on the evolution of employment of blind and partially sighted people
in the open l abour market and in the supported sector. Fact-finding study
visits to 3 countries of the European Union - Germany, Romania and Sweden -
will be held to collect information that will be analysed and compiled into
a report to be produced by the end of this year.
To set up an Expert Group on Education. The group will elaborate a
questionnaire on the education and vocational training of visually impaired
women in the European Union. Results will be analyzed and published by the
end of this year. The final report will include recommendations to help EBU
member countries improve the current situation.
To set up an Expert Group on Technology. The group will conduct a survey
on the accessibility and safety of household appliances. Recommendations for
better and safer access will be produced as part of a final report to be
published by the end of this year.
To set up an Expert Group on the UN Convention on the Rights of People
with Disabilities. As part of EBU’s strategy to support the effective
implementation of the Convention in its member countries within and outside
the EU, the group will look into and support the development of a
legislative database. Recommendations will be worked out to determine how to
make the information originating from the different countries accessible and
usable. The activity of the expert group will be continued in the coming
years, but a first report will be put together by the end of 2008.
To create and develop a database on the implementation of Articles of the
Convention that are of particular relevance to blind and partially sighted
people in all member states of the European Union. This action will be
continued in the two forthcoming years.
To hold a capacity-building seminar for blind and partially sighted women
in two EBU member countries in the Western Balkan included in the
Stabilisation and Association Process (Serbia and another country to be
determined).
To hold a seminar in Tallinn, ESTONIA (probably in October) on how to
increase women’s participation in the governing bodies of organizations of
blind and partially sighted people and on how to develop appropriate
training activities.
(A meeting of the EBU Commission for Liaising with the EU will be held prior
to the seminar.)
To set up a Steering Group and a Finance Committee
Funding will be available for the
translation of the EBU Newsletter into
French, German and Spanish.
A small ad hoc working group will investigate how to improve EBU’s
external communication and will propose appropriate solutions.
Further information from Rodolfo Cattani, inter@uiciechi.it or Yvonne Toros,
ebu.projects@wanadoo.fr
Discrimination and disability directive
The following is a press release issued by EBU on 25 April regarding the
recent EU proposal of non-discrimination legislation on the ground of
disability.
EBU welcomes Commissioner Spidla's announcement at the European Parliament
Employment and Social Affairs Committee on 2 April that the European
Commission is to propose non-discrimination legislation on the ground of
disability.
EBU has given strong support to the campaign of the European Disability
Forum (EDF) for such legislation, especially during its 1million4disability
campaign. EBU will be continuing to maintain pressure on the College of
Commissioners, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers until
the legislation is enacted.
At the same time, it is critical that such legislation adequately addresses
the situations of multiple discrimination, in which all disabled people may
find themselves, regardless of their age, sex, religion or belief, ethnic
origin or sexual orientation. EBU is therefore also calling on all EU
institutions to move forward the debate on legislative measures that will
strengthen provisions fighting discrimination on all grounds of Article 13
TEC which gives the Council, within the limits of its powers, the competence
to take appropriate action to combat discrimination based on sex, racial or
ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.
Telecoms review
Last November the European Commission presented new proposals to revise the
Telecoms Package, which governs access to electronic communications networks
and services.
These three new proposals cover :
the general framework,
users' rights,
the creation of a new European Electronic Communications Market Authority.
This piece of legislation is of great importance to blind and partially
sighted people, and to disabled people in general, as it regulates access to
information and communication. There are several problems with the
legislation as it stands and the review seeks to address some of them, but
not all, and sometimes in a limited way.
The EP coordinator Catherine Trautmann and the EP rapporteurs have been very
receptive to EBU’s concerns and have invited EBU to propose amendments,
which we did. EBU is now awaiting to see to what extent they have taken them
on board and to assess what else needs to be done. Finally, EBU is also
working with EDF to ensure our positions are coordinated.
One of the main issues that has not been addressed so far is the scope of
the framework and to what extent it will cover mobile communications
Internet Protocol TV and Voice over Internet Protocol. The Commission is
expected to publish a communication to clarify this.
Steve Tyler, Head of Accessibility and Innovation at RNIB, will speak at an
EP hearing to be held on 6 May to present our position.
Because there is a risk the Council weakens some of the proposals of
relevance to disabled people, EBU members will need to lobby their national
governments not to do so.
Further information and briefing material from Anne Spinali, RNIB European
Campaigns Officer, anne.spinali@rnib.org.uk
Reduced VAT on audio books
As you will remember, EBU and the Federation of European Publishers (FEP)
lobbied the European Commission to prevent the launching of an infringement
procedure against Sweden because of its low VAT rate on audio books (6 %).
Our campaign highlighted the fact that the current VAT regime was indirectly
discriminating against blind, partially sighted and other print-disabled
people, by imposing a higher VAT rates on audio books. We argued that a book
is a book, no matter what format it comes in. Thanks largely to our
lobbying, the Commission has, for the moment, decided to postpone its
decision.
In the meantime, the Commission has released a consultation on the review of
reduced VAT rates. In particular, the consultation suggests adjustments for
technical reasons and for the sake of coherence and clarity with regard to
audio books. It states that the ISBN marks any book unmistakably and should
audio books be assigned a code similar to the identification number for the
paper format, they could equally be considered as books and be eligible for
reduced rates.
This is really good news and EBU will prepare a response to the consultation
accordingly. We will also work with FEP to prepare a joint statement in
support of this technical adjustment.
The issue for all of us now is to lobby our governments to support this
adjustment, or at least not oppose it.
Further information from Anne Spinali, RNIB European Campaigns Officer,
anne.spinali@rnib.org.uk
Phasing out of incandescent light bulbs
With the aim of protecting the environment and the internal market, the
EU is working under the framework of the "Eco Design" directive (Directive
2005/32/EC on the eco-design of energy-using products (EuP), to increase the
efficiency of energy-using products. The Directive covers many areas of
life, including domestic lighting. In this area, the EU has commissioned a
study into ways to make light bulbs more energy efficient. ANEC, the
European consumer voice in standardisation, has been inputting to this
study, and RNIB has provided ANEC with our key concerns for this purpose.
The eventual outcome of the study is likely to be an EU requirement to phase
out incandescent bulbs.
Meanwhile, the UK government announced last year that it would work with UK
retailers on a "voluntary scheme" to phase out the use of traditional light
bulbs over the next couple of years, probably therefore ahead of an EU
requirement to do so.
In January 2008 RNIB met the UK government's Department for the Environment
to discuss the concerns of blind and partially sighted people
in relation to the use of low energy light bulbs. To summarize, the sorts of
concerns we hear about from people with visual impairments about low energy
bulbs are :
They take too long to come on,
They are not as bright as the incandescent (traditional) bulbs,
They cost more,
They are not "dimmable",
The quality or colour of the light is not acceptable.
In reality, we think many of these concerns will not disappear rapidly as
technology improves. RNIB will shortly be publishing a briefing on these
issues and the approach we suggest blind and partially sighted people take
to them. In the meantime, we urge other EBU members to follow this issue in
their country, and to contact ANEC should they wish to contribute to the EU
study on the issue.
Further information from Dan Pescod, European and International Campaigns
Manager, Dan.Pescod@rnib.org.uk
EBU Commissions and Steering Groups
EBU Elderly Steering Group
That the overwhelming majority of blind and partially sighted people in
Europe are of pensionable age is generally acknowledged but do we ever
question whether we are meeting their needs. Over many years the EBU
specialist group on older people has been working to draw attention to the
specific needs of older blind and partially sighted people. Unfortunately
many of our national organisations and service providers still fail to
acknowledge that their needs are different from those who might be younger
or who have been blind since birth. This is not surprising because older
people often find it difficult to make their voice heard, for them travel to
meetings, accessing meeting papers or having the confidence to speak out all
present barriers.
Over the last EBU work period a group from across Europe had been working to
find examples of good practice, form links with mainstream older peoples
organisations and to insist that those who discuss technology, transport or
leisure remember the needs of older blind people. We found examples of good
practice that specifically address older peoples needs: memory training in
Germany, friendship enrichment programmes in the Netherlands, eccentric
viewing training in Sweden and rehabilitation to address neurological vision
loss for stroke patients in the UK.
In the new EBU work period we are wishing to hear from national members from
across Europe, from agencies, programmes and individuals who are willing to
become part of a pool of expertise on meeting the needs of older blind and
partially sighted people. Your interest might be in residential or day care,
in providing specialist training or rehabilitation programmes, in the
development or modification of equipment or technology or maybe you are an
older person who would like their voice heard. We would like to hear from
you.
With your help we can establish a mechanism to monitor the work of national
and European agencies and to advocate on behalf of elderly blind people. We
want to investigate the potential for intergenerational and inter-country
activity and exchange. By working together, valuing diversity, encouraging
life long learning, we can ensure that the voice of older blind people is
heard. By pooling our expertise we also wish to create a toolbox of ideas
shared on the EBU website, with models of engagement for older people to
assist national organisations in developing good practice on engagement with
older people.
Please send your contributions to ebuoffice@euroblind.org
For further information, contact Alan Suttie, Coordinator EBU Elderly
Steering Group, Alan.Suttie@rnib.org.uk
Back to contents
EBU Rights Commission
The new EBU Rights Commission held its first meeting in Paris on 19-20
April 2008 under the direction of its new chairperson, Philippe Chazal. It
drew up the following programme of work for the next four years :
1. To promote and work towards the implementation of the UN Convention on
the Rights of Disabled People (CRPD) and its Protocol :
1.1. To produce training and educational material to support EBU members in
lobbying their national governments. In particular, the Commission will
promote and disseminate as widely as possible the Rights Statements produced
by the previous Rights Commission. It will also pursue the publication of
the European Messenger (at least once a year).
1.2. To develop a legislative database. The Commission will identify the
different areas covered by each relevant article in the CRPD and will
organise them into alphabetical indexes to ease information inputting and
retrieving. Guidance will be sought from other EBU commissions and steering
groups according to their field of expertise.
1.3. To renew the Hermes Network as the Rights Network. In order to achieve
active participation in the Rights Network, each Commission member will
interface with 3 to 4 EBU national members who are not represented on the
Commission.
1.4. To hold a mid-term review conference on the CRPD, possibly focusing on
the rights of blind and partially sighted women. This will be covered as
part of a seminar on European citizenship for which European funding is
available.
1.5. To liaise with the WBU Rights Committee over the implementation of the
CRPD in other regions of the world.
2. To carry out a study and hold a conference on the right for compensation
of costs incurred because of visual impairment (in Croatia).
3. To campaign with the European Disability Forum for a Disability Specific
Directive.
4. Cooperation with other commissions.
4.1. To work with all EBU commissions and steering groups to put together
the alphabetical indexes referred to in 1.2.
4.2. To support efforts by the EBU Commission on Rehabilitation, Vocational
Training and Employment to seek a legal right to rehabilitation for all
visually impaired people in Europe.
4.3. To support efforts by the Deafblind People Steering Group to secure a
legal right to rehabilitation and recognition of deafblindness as a unique
disability.
Further information from Philippe Chazal, Chairman EBU Rights Commission,
ph.chazal@avh.asso.fr
National News
Estonia : Blind youth on the move
Over the past years, young blind and partially sighted people in Estonia
have taken part in various projects of the European Youth Programme. This
has allowed them to visit foreign countries, attend international workshops,
make new friends, and discuss their main concerns with visually impaired
youth form other European countries.
Today, our youth has learned to implement projects they consider important
such as online dancing.
The students of the Estonian State School for the Blind and Visually
Impaired who have taken part in European projects have acquired valuable
experience, and now apply for new projects in Estonia. As an example, a
summer camp for their schoolmates was organized last year, and the next one
will be held this summer. They are ready for new ideas and challenges.
Further information from Monica Lovi, Estonian Federation of the Blind,
monsalovi@gmail.com
Norway: Government funding opportunities
The European EEA Financial Mechanisms consist of the European Economic Area
(EEA) grants and the Norway Grants. The Grants represent opportunities for
financial support and bilateral cooperation for public, private and civil
actors in 15 European countries. Through the EEA Financial Mechanisms Norway
contributes 1.134 billion euros to promote economic and social cohesion in
the enlarged EU, and to enhance the ability of the new EU/EEA countries to
participate fully in the internal market. Another goal is to strengthen
Norway’s bilateral relations with the beneficiary states. Project proposals
must be submitted to the authorities in the beneficiary states for national
appraisal before they are forwarded to the donors for decision.
Detailed information, rules, procedures and guidelines, as well as the
Memoranda of Understanding between the beneficiary states and the donors,
are available at www.eeagrants.org
The NGO funds :
Strengthening civil society and improving the capacity of non-governmental
organisations are given special attention under both the EEA Grants and the
Norway Grants. NGO funds are planned in ten beneficiary states.
In total, the NGO funds will provide around 70 million euros to the
development of civil society, which comes on top of the opportunities
offered under ordinary calls for proposals.
For general information on the NGO funds : The NGO Grants Guideline
www.ngonorway.org,
www.europaportalen.no
New ISO Standard on credit cards
The International Standards Organization has accepted the proposal I
presented two years ago in Barcelona's ISO meeting on behalf of WBU. It was
about including a blind-friendly accessible standard on major credit cards
which had been originally developed by the Accessible Design Foundation of
Japan.
This standard specifies the physical characteristics of a tactile identifier
mark used by visually impaired card-holders to easily distinguish their
cards. It defines the area on the card for the TIM (Tactile Identification
Mark) and the layout of braille style embossed dots arranged in patterns to
enable easy tactile recognition.
Further information from Kaoru Tsukamoto,
kaoru.tsukamoto@felicanetworks.co.jp
Publications
Report on supported employment
The report on supported employment has just been published. It explores the
practical workings of supported employment in different European countries.
The aim of this study is to get an impression of how supported employment is
practised, organised and understood in these countries and to use this
information to gauge the progress of Norwegian supported employment.
The study is also meant to stimulate further discussions and research on
supported employment in general. It is based on interviews in selected
supported employment services in Ireland, Finland, Portugal, Scotland,
Holland and Spain. The report discusses several aspects of supported
employment and offers recommendations for further development.
Further information from Michael J. Evans, Manager, Employment Unit
President, European Union of Supported Employment Personnel Department,
mike.evans@dundeecity.gov.uk
FEATURE : International Women’s Day
Women’s Day : a long way still to go
By Luisa Bartolucci, Coordinator EBU Women’s Steering Group
R : The aim of this year 2009 is, of course, to pay tribute to this
brilliant inventor who On Saturday 8 March the International Women’s Day (IWD)
will celebrate its 100th anniversary. This celebration has far away roots in
the International Socialist Women’s Movement. In 1907 Clara Zetkin, a leader
of the German labor movement who during the First World War founded the
Spartacus League, organised with Rosa Luxemburg, a theorist of the Marxist
revolution, who founded the Polish Socialist Party and the German Communist
Party, the first international women’s conference.
Nevertheless the Women’s Day celebration is linked to the fire that burned
up the Cottons factory in Chicago in 1908, when the 129 women factory
workers who were occupying the factory during a strike died burned alive. In
1910 in Copenhagen, during another international event it was decided to
establish an international women’s day also to commemorate the Chicago
tragedy. In the following years, also during and after the First World War,
in various parts of the world this Day started to be celebrated. It was in
the seventies that the 8 March celebration became very popular and achieved
a high level of participation, in those years the cooperation between the
women’s and feminists’ movements gradually increased.
The Women’s Day goes through a century’s worth of history in which political
movements, wars, ideologies and reconstruction found their place. Women of
many countries with different governments have had to walk a long and
difficult way on a path that has as final destination the emancipation and
liberation of women and which was often interrupted, but women always were
able to resume it with great determination.
Although nowadays this Day has become mainly a business event, we should not
neglect nor forget its deeper meaning. One hundred years after the first
battles women still strive for gender equality. Equality means to have the
same visibility and opportunities : it means concrete equal and balanced
participation in any sector of public and private life. This involves that
the fact that men and women live in complementary relationship is accepted
and valued as well as the fact that they play different roles in society.
These are the principles forming the basis of the Council of Europe’s
activity to achieve concrete gender equality : the objective of this
organisation is to push back the obstacles to the freedom and dignity of
women, eradicate gender discrimination, promote a balanced participation of
women and men in public and political life as well as to facilitate equal
opportunities mainstreaming in all programmes and policies. In the last
decades, undoubtedly remarkable progress was made in the sector of legal
protection and women status but, nevertheless, tangible equality has not
been achieved yet. This is not just prose nor a commonplace : women still
hold marginal positions in political and public life and their salary is
lower than men’s working in the same position in too many countries.
Moreover, also where women hold leadership positions or a considerable
number of seats in Parliament there is a strong resistance in changing
traditional gender roles and mass media excessively highlight extremely
traditional portraits of women. Gender inequality in institutional policy is
still a main barrier. In addition, women active in any sector of public or
political life are always subject to more criticism and if they do not prove
to be efficient or skilled they are undoubtedly over-criticised and they are
double-blamed : for not being a skilled politician and for not upholding
women’s equality cause. In many countries, politicians are presented as
ladies, if they are women, and fathers of the nation, if they are men. Women
are too often depicted with too much stereotyped images, showing prejudices
and intolerance towards women, who are, even today, too often described on
the basis of their look and paying very little attention to their personal
qualities and capacities.
Gender equality does not mean that it is necessary to take women into
consideration only when decisions have to be made ; it means instead that
women, like men, must have the power to make decisions.
Many women are still victims of poverty, violence and unemployment. It is
therefore of fundamental importance today to point out and concentrate on
the economic and other costs of inequality, to fight and monitor the various
forms of violence, from domestic abuse to subtler forms of social
repression. In the strive to achieve equality it is absolutely necessary to
raise shared awareness on equal opportunities starting even from school, we
would dare say especially from school, as this is the first place where
citizens are formed.
We should not consider this day as a thing of the past nor just business.
Let’s give to this day its right value. Let’s start from this year’s Women’s
Day and this centenary, to make new steps forward and make new and concrete
decisions that will take us closer to the goal of the real implementation of
equal opportunities.
Back to contents
EBU celebrates
International Women’s Day
The following is the Press Release issued by EBU on 8 March to mark this
year’s International Women’s Day.
The President of the European Blind Union, Lord Colin Low, congratulates all
blind and partially sighted women of Europe on the occasion of the
International Women’s Day. He is confident that EBU is on the move towards
gender equality but he acknowledges that a vision for an equal future
requires higher member participation.
The UN recognizes that while people with disabilities are at an overall
disadvantage within society, females face even more barriers. “Girls and
women of all ages with any form of disability are among the most vulnerable
and marginalized members of society,” wrote Leandro Despouy, the Rapporteur
of the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of
Minorities back in 1988. “There is therefore a need to take into account and
address their concerns in all policy-making and programming.”
Aligning itself with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities, the EBU is committed to a balanced representation in
decision-making bodies and to equal opportunities for men and women,
confirmation of which can be found in the progression of women within its
ranks. The first woman Secretary General was elected last year at the 8th
General Assembly. An Equality and Diversity Forum took place immediately
before that Assembly. The EBU has also set up a Women’s Steering Group,
whose primary concern is to ensure that gender issues are at the forefront
of its work.
However Lord Low recognises that while EBU is dedicated to gender equality,
it relies heavily on its national members to recruit and empower blind and
partially sighted women to take the place they deserve at all levels of
organisational life.
“Our next step is now to reactivate EBU’s Women’s Network” adds Lord Low.
“We are encouraging our member organisations to involve more women at
national and European level. The new Coordinator of the EBU Steering Group
on Women is Luisa Bartolucci, a young blind journalist from Italy. She is to
steer and be the engine behind equality efforts in EBU, and she will need
the support and commitment of as many women and men as possible in our
organisations.
IWD news
from EBU members
Bulgaria
To celebrate IWD, the Bulgarian Union of the Blind published a special issue
of their Women’s Braille Magazine with articles on the status of Bulgarian
visually impaired women. It also ran hand-knitting and cooking workshops,
and small concerts by amateur vocal choirs were given in several parts of
the country.
Further information from Jivka Pavlova, Union of the Blind in Bulgaria,
kkevo@mail.bg
Italy
The Italian Union of the Blind and Partially Sighted held two national
events. The first was a focus group discussion between offices of the IBU
and a number of journalists of important national publications and radio
stations, focusing on violence against women and against disabled women in
particular. These discussions were held in the light of the increasing
number of killings of wives in the past year.
The second was a radio webcast on 6 March. This was open to both disabled
and non-disabled women, and several issues relating to equal opportunities
were discussed by experts, including : leadership skills, home automation
and women’s access to technology, mobbing, sexual abuse in family and at the
workplace, women and literature. The EBU equality and diversity policy had a
special place in the programme : Alenka Bera, Coordinator of the Low Vision
Steering Group and active in equality and diversity issues, was interviewed
during the programme. She described at length the EBU equality and diversity
strategy and in particular told listeners about the EBU Forum held in Turkey
last October and ensuing plans. The programme was very interactive ;
listeners sent a high number of questions and comments by e-mail.
Further information from Luisa Bartolucci, Italian Union of the Blind,
inter@uiciechi.it
Slovenia
Slovenians celebrate two women’s days : the IWD on 8 March and Mother’s Day
on 25 March.
This year, the third women’s forum organized by the Union of the Blind and
Partially Sighted of Slovenia was held on 26 March in Ljubljana and looked
at “Visually impaired women and motherhood”.
Five blind and two partially sighted women of different ages shared their
experience of motherhood and nurses from the hospital of Ljubljana told
about their work with pregnant blind and partially sighted women. We were
happy to learn that more and more women with visual impairment are having
children. An adult was also invited to describe his perception of having a
blind mother.
The forum was moderated by our well-known writer and professor of journalism
in the University of Ljubljana, Dr. Manca Košir, who is very active on
disability awareness raising. The proceedings resulted in recommendations
which were sent to the responsible ministry and national institutions.
The forum was open to the public and enjoyed good media coverage : articles
were published in several newspapers and weekly magazines. Our communication
efforts resulted in an invitation to talk about the forum in the morning
talk show of the national television. A documentary report about blind
mothers’ lives on one of the commercial TV stations is also planned.
We are also planning activities for the coming period : a three-day knitting
and cooking course in May at the seaside and in October in the mountains ; a
traditional blind and partially sighted women meeting in September in the
small town of Ptuj in the north-east part of Slovenia.
I am convinced that our event showed the public that blind mothers are
independent women fully capable of taking care of their children and
families, of course with the support of their partners and the help of
society.
Further information from Barbara Krejči Piry, Union of the Blind and
Partially Sighted of Slovenia,
barbara.krejci-piry@guest.arnes.si
Situation
of women in developing countries
On 8 March, women around the world will celebrate International Women's Day.
While things have changed remarkably for many women in the last hundred
years, this is not so for disabled women living in developing countries.
Here, disabled women and girls face triple discrimination - being disabled,
being poor and being female. Disabled women and girls are also more
vulnerable to HIV/AIDs and rape and if a disabled woman becomes pregnant,
they are likely to be abandoned - facing the added stigma of being an
unmarried mother.
Action on Disability and Development (ADD) recognised that disabled people's
organisations consisted mostly of disabled men which meant that they were
not able to discuss openly issues that directly affected them. So ADD began
working with existing groups to ensure that specific support was provided
for disabled women and girls. As part of this support, ADD encourages
disabled women's groups to participate in events to mark International
Women's Day.
Further information http://www.add.org.uk
Coming Events |
EBU Board
17
– 18 May 2008
The Netherlands
26 – 28 September 2008
Rethimno
(Crete)
Contact : Birgitta Blokland, EBU Secretary General
Email : bjb202@hotmail.com
EBU Commissions
14
- 15 June 2008
CATANIA (Italy)
Commission on Mobility and Transport
Contact : Jill Allen-King
jill.allenking@tiscali.co.uk
Other organisations
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
20 - 21 May 2008
HELSINKI
(Finland)
Seminar “What is the added value of the UN Convention
on the Rights of Disabled Persons ?”
http://www.vike.fi
(Deadline for registration : 9 May 2008)
22 - 23 May 2008
KRANJSKA GORA (Slovenia)
Conference on the UN Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities : From Words to Reality ?,
organised under the Slovenian Presidency of the EU.
The key themes of the Conference will be : living in
the community for persons with disabilities,
employment, assuring accessibility to buildings, and
information and communication.
Contact : Senka ZERIC
Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs
senka.zeric@gov.si
Tel : +386 1 369 7618
(Deadfline for registration : 30 April 2008)
26 - 27 May 2008
TRIER
(Germany)
The EU Anti-Discrimination Directives 2000/43 and 2000/78 in practice : an in-depth analysis
This seminar will cover the detailed contents of the
two European anti-discrimination directives,
providing participants with a sound basis and a
practical input for practice in this field.
http://www.era.int/web/en/html/nodes_main/4_2127_474/conferences_0000_Date/5_1796_5760.htm
9 – 10 June 2008
TRIER
(Germany)
The EU Anti-Discrimination Directives 2000/43 and 2000/78 in practice :
exchange of good practices and recent developments
This seminar will aim at creating a forum for the exchange of experiences
and good practices in dealing with European anti-discrimination law,
focusing on certain specific aspects of the directives and some of the
latest developments in this field.
http://www.era.int/web/en/html/nodes_main/4_1649_490/4_1087_539/5_1070_66.htm
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
25 – 29 June 2008 Slovakia
"Put in Motion" Youth SeminarThe main themes of the seminar will be to :
- exchange experiences and good practice among participants from different regions regarding work in youth field,- present organisations such as WBU, EBU and other regional member organisations,- present for our non-EU fellows the EU Youth in Action Programme and its opportunities for young visually impaired people from both EU and non-EU countries,- present and underline new features of the Youth in Action Programme which has been running since January 2007,
- present voluntary work carried out by visually impaired youth, - encourage young visually impaired leaders to be more active and develop international affairs,- establish closer relations and networks in order to prepare future projects together.
Contact : Stanislav Sokol, EBU Youth Steering Group Member,
Email : international@netopier.sk
30 June – 3 July 2008
NANTES (France)
3rd World Forum on Human Rights
http://www.spidh.org/?id=162&L=3
3 – 6 July 2008
Germany
International futsal seminar
Contact : Neil O’Donovan, Chairman of IBSA Europe,
neil@ibsports.ie
4 – 5 July 2008
HELSINKI (Finland)
15th Retina International World Congress
The Congress is organised by Retina Finland, full
member and one of the founders of Retina
International. Leading specialists from all over the
world will give lectures about the latest research
and treatment of hereditary retinal dystrophies,
genetics and other topics. For the first time they
will report on test results made on human beings. The
programme is targeted at both patients and
scientists.
www.retina.fi/congress
Contact : Retina Office,
retinitis@kolumbus.fi
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
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