The General Assembly of the World Blind Union took place in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on the first week of September. On Thursday 4th September, EBU members gathered together to share information on current matters. EBU's president Tytti Matsinen briefly presented the way EBU's committees, working groups and forums currently work. EBU's Executive Director Lars Bosselman shared that a mid-term review of the implementation of EBU's current strategy is taking place during the autumn 2025. Francesca Sbianchi, the Chair of Advocacy Committee reminded members of the Advocacy Committee meeting in Lithuania in October and gave a brief update on the campaign on Accessible Household Appliances. The initiative to seek recognition for the use and dissemination of Braille as intangible UNESCO cultural heritage was presented in more detail and EBU members in at least Spain, Italy and Finland are working on achieving recognition on national level while in France and Germany the national recognition has already been received and the respective national governments are working on submitting an application to UNESCO in the spring 2026. As a conclusion Ana Pelaez gave an excellent update on the situation on violence against women with disabilities from the European perspective. She strongly encouraged the EBU community to report human rights violations not only to the UN CRPD committee but also to other UN bodies observing the implementation of other human rights treaties such as the Convention on rights of the child (CRC) and Convention on Eliminating All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
Following the General Assembly, the World Blind Union announced the newly elected Table Officers for the 2025–2029 term
The 2025–2029 WBU Table Officers
- President: Santosh Kumar Rungta (India)
- First Vice President: Cristina Chamorro (Spain)
- Second Vice President: Yaw Ofori-Debra (Ghana)
- Secretary General: Moises Bauer Luiz (Brazil)
- Treasurer: Alejandro Antonio Paz Ambrosio (Guatemala)
- Immediate Past President: Martine Abel-Williamson (New Zealand)
EBU wishes them well and looks forward to working together with them.