N E W S L E T T E R Published quarterly by the EBU Office N0 17 - September 1997 __________________________ CONTENTS Page . Welcome to Ute Michel, EBU Brussels Information Worker 2 . David Blunkett 3 . Stop Mr. Magoo 6 . Cooperation with developing countries - How to access EU funding 8 . Blind women, the Norwegian experience 13 . The effort to raise awareness of WEB accessibility for the disabled 15 . PBX consoles for visually handicapped operators 19 . Education of the visually impaired in Hungary 21 . EBU Highlights : - EBU Commission on Mobility and Guide Dogs 23 - EBU Commission on Activities of Multi-Handicapped Blind and Partially-Sighted People 25 - EBU Commission on Rehabilitation, Vocational Training and Employment 26 . Announcements 28 . Recent and Coming Events 33 The opinions expressed in this Newsletter are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the EBU. WELCOME TO UTE MICHEL EBU Brussels Information Worker EBU now have an Information Worker in Brussels, which will considerably enhance our work at EU level. Her name is Ute Michel and you will learn more about her in the following piece. Let us all welcome her and wish her well in her new important duties. I have been working as EBU informtion Worker in Brussels since 16 June and I apologise for not having introduced myself to you before. I have been quite busy ever since I took up post, mainly with making arrangements for the offices and collaborating with the European Parliament Disability Intergroup Secretariat on the 1998 budget procedure. After having worked for a Member of the European Parliament, I worked for the Intergroup Secretariat in the interim period between the former Secretary, leaving and her successor, Sophie Beaumont, taking up work, so I am familiar with the current issues affecting people with a disability. However, I didn't have much prior knowledge of budget procedures, and this has become a major area of work, especially as I have been appointed to a working group on the budget to assist Sophie. I also represent EBU at Disability Intergroup staff meetings - monthly meetings where the funding NGOs and the Intergroup Secretariat exchange information and discuss current affairs - and at Intergroup meetings which focus on specific topics. I have visited the Paris Office and RNIB in London to meet the people I am working with and to get familiar with the issues specifically concerning visually impaired people. I have a temporary office which has very kindly been provided by the Atelier Helen Keller, C. Van Malderenstraat 33, B-1731 Zellik. You can contact me there on +32 2 466 94 40 (phone) and +32 2 466 9286 (fax) until further notice. I am now about to move to permanent facilities kindly provided by the Blindenzorg Licht en Liefde in Brussels. My new details will soon be available from the EBU Office in Paris. By Ute Michel _______________________________________________________________ DAVID BLUNKETT The appointment of David Blunkett as Education and Employment Secretary in the new Government has come as no surprise. With education and employment both high priorities on Labour's task list, and expected to figure prominently in the Queen's Speech and subsequent policy statements, the new Minister faces a heavy agenda, and it was widely expected that he would take on the role for which he had prepared as Shadow Secretary. The appointment also came as no surprise to those who have watched the course of his career since, in May 1970 at the age of 22, he became the youngest person sitting on Sheffield City Council. In 1972 he told a New Beacon interviewer "Politics is in my blood", and indicated that he already had an eye on the House of Commons. David Blunkett was born in the Sheffield Brightside area (for which he later became MP). His father, an East Midlands Gas Board foreman, was killed in an accident at work when he was 12. Blind since birth, David went first to Sheffield's Tapton Mount school and later (having been turned down for RNIB's Worcester College) to the Royal Normal (now National) College, where he did office studies, while at the same time getting O- and A-levels through evening studies at Shrewsbury College of Technology. He started his career with a job at the Gas Board, where he gained trade union experience as a shop steward while continuing with day release studies, until eventually he got enough qualifications for a university place at Sheffield. There he studied political theory and institutions, and got a post-graduate teaching certificate in further education, going on to become an industrial tutor at Barnsley College of Technology. Having become the youngest councillor in 1970, he rose to become leader of Sheffield City Council, managing a budget of # 500 million and 35,000 employees. The Council had a reputation for efficiency and creativity, and was praised by the Audit Commission as a 'shining example'. During his years at Sheffield, David Blunkett was elected to the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Labour Party as one of the favourites of the rank and file, and became Chair of the NEC's Local Government Committee. He entered Parliament at the 1987 election as MP for Sheffield Brightside, with an increased majority which was a measure of his local popularity. At the time of his 1972 interview he made clear his attitude towards his lack of sight. "The local press ran sob stories about me being so young and blind, but I think they soon got used to me, and now I'm treated just like any other councillor. That's one thing I can't stand - the assumption that blind people are in some way 'special' .... I would be much more in favour of encouraging the state to integrate blind children into ordinary schools, for that way we would get rid of the 'special' tag and this charitable attitude towards the handicapped." He has also indicated that he does not see it as his role to speak on behalf of blind people, regarding this as the business of their organisations, but told us in a 1987 interview : "I have a concern. Whatever I do well I think is advantageous to disabled people in terms of changing people's attitude and increasing both the awareness of the public generally and the confidence of disabled people... It is not being famous that is important, it is being able to do what you like to do and have an aptitude for doing." He also spoke of the need for positive action on basic issues like jobs, incomes and public transport, which he said was central to everyone, including disabled people - rather than providing "a little bit of extra relief which is the icing on the cake rather than the ingredients". In his first few months of office at the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE), he faces a hectic timetable of action to implement Labour's plan to reduce class sizes and implement its welfare-to-work programme, among others. He has also promised a new departmental style, seeking to "unite, build a consensus, rally all the talent and experience within our country and elsewhere". Assisting him as ever in his daily work will be his curly-coated retriever, Lucy, aged four and a half - already one of the most famous and televised dogs in the country. At the DfEE, officials are reported to be briefed to discipline themselves to provide shorter submissions for the new secretary of state. And although brailling equipment is already on hand for blind members of staff, he will continue to take in the bulk of his information from tapes - his preferred medium - which will be recorded by clear-voiced officials who have been assigned to the task. * The first blind person to hold ministerial office in the United Kingdom was Henry Fawcett, appointed Postmaster-General in the Gladstone administration in 1880, who had lost his sight in a shooting accident. He was not given a seat in the Cabinet, because of fears that his blindness would cause difficulties with confidentiality. But his period of office was a notable one - among other things he introduced the parcel post, postal orders and a small savings facility, and prepared terms for the new telephone companies. There have been a number of blind or partially sighted MPs, including Sir Tindal Robertson in the last century and Ian Fraser, later Lord Fraser, the distinguished leader of St Dunstan's, in the 1920s. [In New Beacon, June 1997, published by Royal National Institute for the Blind] _____________________________________________________________ STOP MR. MAGOO Mr. Magoo movies were first produced in the USA in 1949. The character changed somewhat over the years, but basically he was a man with very poor eyesight who did stupid things because he was disorientated and was unable to recognise his environment. Parts of the Magoo series were last shown in 1975. The Walt Disney Company is planning to release a full-length movie featuring Mr. Magoo, displaying all the old stereotypes about blind people all over again. Those who are in favour of reviving the Magoo character argue that at the end of the shows Mr. Magoo always came out as a hero who had solved all the problems facing him. Many blind and visually impaired adults, however, recall how during the time when the Magoo series was shown they as children were ridiculed and made fun of by their sighted school peers or strangers on the street, how they were spat upon, kicked and called "Magoo" or "Four Eyes". Typical examples of the behaviour Mr. Magoo displayed are : - he runs into a wall and apologises, thinking he hit another person ; - he pets a fire hydrant, mistaking it for the head of a child ; - he tells a dog to put its slippers on, mistaking it for a small child ; - he washes a gramophone record in a dish pan, thinking it is a dinner plate... What makes people laugh at Mr. Magoo in these films are the misconceptions an uninformed public has about the abilities and capabilities of blind people. These are the same misconceptions which prevent employers from hiring blind and visually impaired people for jobs for which they would be well qualified. A movie which reemphasizes these prejudices and misconceptions cannot be tolerated at a time of growing unemployment. We, too, sometimes laugh about silly things we do. However, we do so knowing that they were silly mishaps and that they are not the necessary effects of not being able to see. The majority of people who will see this movie will never have met a blind person and will not have this background information. Disney is meeting the growing number of protests with excuses like : Mr. Magoo is only doing silly things because of a false diagnosis which keeps him from wearing spectacles ; at the end of the movie, he comes out as a hero who has solved a crime. This just goes to show that they have decided to disregard the negative impact their movie will have on the lives of blind and visually impaired people - especially children - all over the world. We cannot and will not accept that blind people should be ridiculed in a Disney movie. Disney may make money from the movie, but we see it as a serious attack on our human dignity. We are shocked that at the end of this century a major film company can ignore positive developments in society and revive damaging myths about a group of handicapped people. We have to do all we can to prevent this from happening. _____________________________________________________________ COOPERATION WITH DEVELOPING COUNTRIES HOW TO ACCESS EU FUNDING The following is a presentation made at a seminar on EBU Co-operation Strategy with Central and Eastern Europe Countries and Developing Countries, held in Onnela (Finland) on April 25, 1997. This presentation will only concentrate on the European Commission's budget line which I know best, the "Community contribution towards schemes concerning developing countries carried out by NGOs", also known by the NGO family as "the NGO cofinancing budget line" - budget line B7-6000 in EU jargon. This budget line is managed by the NGO Unit (Unit B-2) of the EU Directorate General VIII, 'Development'. The NGO cofinancing budget line is reserved exclusively for development NGOs (NGDOs) whereas other funding mechanisms for projects in developing countries are also open to other actors such as research institutes, consultants and universities. About 90 % of the funds allocated under this line are for projects carried out in developing countries with the aim of improving the living conditions and prospects of vulnerable groups of people. This means that projects targeted at improving the living conditions of the disabled in developing countries can also be funded from this budget line. In 1996, projects were supported both in rural and urban areas with a notable increase in urban projects. The main sectors of intervention were health, education and training, agriculture, microfinance and small business support. The remaining 10 % are for information and education programmes aimed at raising public awareness of development issues in Europe. The NGO cofinancing budget line has been operating since 1976 and it has increased from a tiny budget to a real success story. In 1996, approximately 155 MECU were allocated to cofinance NGO development projects and 18,3 MECU to co-fund NGO awareness-raising programmes in Europe. In the same year, a total amount of approximately 578 MECU was contributed towards NGO projects through all the Commission's development cooperation budget lines. This year, 193 MECU have been allocated to the NGO cofinancing budget line - i.e an increase of 19 MECU from the previous year. The cofinancing line provides support for projects carried out by European NGDOs in all developing countries recognised as such by the OECD. These are mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and South and Central America. The quality of the relationship between the European NGO and their partners in beneficiary countries is a determining factor in the appreciation of projects. The European Commission also encourages the creation of European NGO consortia for the financing and implementation of projects. Funding arrangements As a rule, the Community cofinancing contribution does not exceed 50 % of the total project cost. In exceptional cases, however, up to 75 % of the total project cost may be covered. NGOs must provide a financial contribution of 15 % of the project's direct costs from their own funds. Administrative costs, or running costs, are covered up to 6 % of the direct costs on a flat rate basis, meaning that no specific details are needed to explain where these 6 % go to. The remaining 35 % may consist of private contributions, public funding (e.g from national ministries), contributions from local partners. These contributions may also be made in kind. Maximum duration of cofinancing is 5 years, but the most common duration of projects is around 3 years. The total amount allocated to projects varies between 12,000 and 500,000 ECU and may not be higher than 150,000 ECU per year. NGDOs wishing to apply must satisfy the criteria set out in the "General Conditions for Cofinancing" available from the Commission's NGO unit or from the Liaison Committee of the European Network of development NGOs. The current General Conditions have been in force since 1988. There are plans to review them in the course of 1997, but they still apply for the time being. Eligibility of NGOs In order to be eligible for cofinancing under the General Conditions, the NGO must satisfy the following criteria : - It must be an autonomous, non-profit making NGO in a Member State of the EU in accordance with the legislation in force in that State, - It must have its head office in one of the Member States of the EU, - A great proportion of its human and financial resources must be of EU origin. In order to determine whether an NGO is eligible for cofinancing, the following factors shall be taken into account : - Its experience with regard to aid for developing countries, - The nature and extent of its links with similar organisations in developing countries. Eligibility of projects Are eligible projects which : - directly meet the economic and social development needs of the people concerned, in particular the basic needs of the poorest sections of the population, - are aimed at increasing the development capacity of the beneficiaries, - are compatible with the development objectives of the country concerned and those of the Community's development cooperation policy - i.e 1) the smooth integration of developing countries into world economy ; 2) the combat against poverty ; 3) respect for human rights and democracy. NGOs can apply for projects in countries that have been suspended by the EU from official development assistance. This is because the suspension of official aid is aimed at governments and should not affect the grass roots. How to apply - There are no deadlines for this budget line and applications can be submitted throughout the year, - There is a layout/model in the General Conditions which applications should follow, - It might take around 4-9 months to get a definite answer from the NGO Unit - this depends on the time of year when applications are submitted. The best time is in the spring ; - In principle, applications can be submitted in all official languages of the EU. But in practice, only the main languages - English, French, Spanish and German - can be used successfully, at least according to what Finnish NGOs have experienced. - Experience shows that it takes about one person working full time for two months to prepare an application. - Only a very small amount of applications will be left without funding if NGOs are ready to listen to the advice given by NGO Unit officials. Only about 20 % of applications are complete when submitted. The rest need further work. Other budget lines open for NGOs There are about forty other budget lines open to NGDOs. They are also open to a large variety of other actors. These budget lines are either sectorial or geographical. Conditions and criteria vary a great deal, in particular as regards the yearly amount allocated for these budget lines. The EU contribution ranges from 40 to 100 %. The sectorial budget lines are, to mention just a few : - Food aid - Rehabilitation - Refugees - Emergency humanitarian aid - Human rights and democracy - Environment / Conservation of tropical forests - Health - Women and development - Drugs - Decentralised cooperation The geographical budget lines include : - Southern Africa European Programme in South Africa - Latin America Support for democratisation in Latin America - Asia - Mediterranean Measures to support reforms of the economic and social structures in third countries in the Mediterranean Basin. If NGOs are not very familiar with EU procedures, it is recommended to use the NGO cofinancing budget line since the NGO Unit has extensive experience in working with NGOs. Where to get information on NGO cofinancing ? DG VIII/B2 - Decentralised Cooperation, Cofinancing with NGOs Unit - has a number of administrators responsible for projects in developing countries. Telephone UK Carola Kvster : +32 2 299 3004 (Telephone) and Cheri Chapman : +32 2 295 0030 Belgium Dagmar Daschke : +32 2 299 2981 Spain, Portugal Paleo Labaen Orlando : +32 2 299 3026 France Katia Dimitrieff : +32 2 295 5128 Germany Joseph Schermesser : +32 2 299 3042 Netherlands, Austria Ilse Teufel : +32 2 299 3046 Luxembourg Cheri Chapman : +32 2 295 0030 Greece, Italy Manuela Passons : +32 2 299 3010 Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Ireland : Suvi Oinas : +32 2 299 1517 Information is also available from the NGDO Liaison Committee. In particular, the NGO Handbook is useful in order to find one's way to the Commission's funding sources. For further details, contact Karine Sohet, the Financing Secretary (Tel : +32 2 743 8769, Fax : +32 2 732 1934). By Titta Maja (Finland) EU Secretary, Service Centre for Development Cooperation _____________________________________________________________ BLIND WOMEN, THE NORWEGIAN EXPERIENCE The Women's Committee of the Norwegian Association of the Blind and Partially Sighted (NABP) started in 1990 and has now three members. Ever since then, we have arranged a number of activities for visually handicapped women in Norway. The Committee holds 2-3 national courses or seminars every year. Whilst some seminars (e.g. consciousness training and self-esteem) are exclusively for women, other courses are open for visually handicapped men as well. In particular, the Committee provides a yearly course on literature as this leads to a deeper understanding of the problems many of us encounter in life. Each literature course focuses on the work of a female author. Participants are usually asked to read a designated number of books which are later lectured on and discussed. In addition, authors are invited to give lectures on their new books and this has proved to be a great success. The Committee has had several training courses in consciousness-raising and self-esteem. This is an important area for visually handicapped women. These courses are organised as workshops where participants take an active part through thematic presentations or role playing. Some of the other courses the Committee has arranged include Women and Economy, Women in History, Movement and Body Awareness. A course on self-defense is also planned to take place in the near future. The Committee has also run courses in sports activities like skiing and canoeing and has also organised group participation in sporting events, e.g. cross-country jogging. On one occasion, up to 60 women (blind and partially sighted women, sighted friends and employees of NABP) participated in one single event. We have also arranged a very successful course in self-defence. We have tried to set up a women's network all over Norway, but due to lack of funding and secretarial help we have so far only succeeded in Oslo. In co-operation with NABP's local branches, the Committee has also run several courses and lectures of special interest to visually handicapped women. There is no organisation of disabled women in general in Norway at present. A group was started in order to prepare a program for Nordic Forum '88 which took place in Oslo. On that occasion, handicapped women had their own stand and ran seminars and other activities to focus attention on their situation. Members of the Committee also wrote a book, "Woman - or merely disabled". In conjunction with disabled women from the other Nordic countries, the Committee prepared a program for Nordic Forum '94, a pre-conference to the Forum '95 in Beijing. By Else Momrak Haugann Chair person, EBU Women's Commission __________________________________________________________ THE EFFORT TO RAISE AWARENESS OF WEB ACCESSIBILITY FOR THE DISABLED Each month, an increasing number of companies unveil new Web sites and begin to rely more on the Internet to conduct business. Web developers, hired at premium prices, create visually brilliant sites with snazzy graphics, and businesses wait for customers to take the bait. But even the well-intentioned developers rarely consider the impact that these hip graphics will have on the accessibility of the site for the visually impaired, especially because, more often than not, vital text-based descriptions of the images, which can be sounded out by screen-reader technologies, are not included. Giving the disabled full access to the Internet, in particular the World Wide Web, is a challenge several industry groups are confronting. Earlier this month, the World Wide Web Consortium, based in Cambridge, Mass., announced the Web Accessibility Initiative to drive the creation of technologies that make it easier for people with disabilities to use the Web, and to increase awareness about access issues among Web developers. The Consortium, directed by Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, is developing descriptive video and captioning enhancements to HTML and XML, and trying to find ways to support speech output. The United States Department of Education and the National Science Foundation have pledged $ 800,000 to work toward this goal. Several private corporations, including International Business Machines and Microsoft are also sponsoring the initiative. "Given the explosive growth in the use of the World Wide Web for publishing, electronic commerce, lifelong learning and the delivery of government services, it is vital that the Web be accessible to everyone", President Clinton wrote in a letter to the World Wide Web Consortium. The letter continues: "The Web Accessibility Initiative will develop the tools, technology, and guidelines to make it possible to display information in ways that are available to all users". According to the National Economic Council at the White House, there are approximately 49 million people in the United States with varying disabilities. This figure does not include the 34 million people who will be over 65-years-old by the year 2000 and who will begin to find that their eyes take a little longer to focus or that their hands aren't as nimble across the keyboards as they once were. These people, like everyone else, increasingly need access not only to the Internet but also to the private networks known as intranets that are widely used by companies to disseminate work-related information to their employees. "Inaccessibility goes beyond just not being able to surf the Web for fun," said Linda Hazzan, the vice president of marketing at SoftQuad, a Toronto company that produces accessibility aids as well as publishing tools for corporate intranets and the Internet. "It jeopardizes people's jobs when they are not able to operate on the intranet on an equal basis as their colleagues". The legal ramification for either losing one's job or not being promoted because of access problems are serious. The Americans with Disability Act and the 1996 Telecommunications Act legislate that employers could be held liable for not accommodating or providing accessibility to employees with disabilities. "The liability factor for businesses to ensure accessibility is rising at lightning-like speed", said Mike Paciello, executive director of the Yuri Rubinsky Insight Foundation, a non-profit organization in Nashua, N.H., founded to pursue equal Web access for the disabled. "If ever there was an impetus to encourage and ensure accessibility by the industry, now is the time". Luckily, the disabled will not need any major innovations to surf the Web, especially since many adaptive technologies already exist. It's mostly a matter of getting programmers to integrate these aids into their applications. SoftQuad is releasing an update of its HoTMetaL PRO, an HTML authoring tool, that includes an auto-prompting mechanism that helps Web developers to make sure a Web document they are creating is accessible. "The prompting technology actually prompts authors while they are creating content and also shows them how to make their content more accessible", Hazzan said. "Imagine a spell checker: well this is an adaptability checker". HoTMetaL PRO will also include an on-screen keyboard to assist Web authors who have physical disabilities. Microsoft is also deeply involved in creating tools to make applications adaptable for the disabled. "Microsoft has made the technology available," said Charles Opperman, program manager of accessibility and disabilities at Microsoft, referring to Internet Explorer 3.0's accessibility aids and the MS Active Accessibility, a developer's programming tool. "Now it's an cultural issue to get people aware of the issues of providing textual descriptions and to implement sites that are accessible to the visually impaired". Internet Explorer 3.0 aids include a feature called High Contrast Mode, which makes a screen more visible by automatically rendering an HTML page in a high contrast color selected by the user. It also allows people to navigate the Web using keyboards instead of a mouse because the adaptive technologies help the user determine where the hypertext links are on the page. MS Active Accessibility is a tool that software developers can use to make their programs accessible. Although there are development tools that help make HTML-based Web sites more accessible, Java, the programming language developed by Sun Microsytems, is rapidly becoming ubiquitous and is posing a host of new accessibility problems for the disabled. "We are investigating Java's accessibility right now", said Phill Jenkins, a program manager for Special Needs Architecture and Technical Planning at IBM. "Our goal is to have a screen-reader that supports Java applications and Java operating systems". But currently, no adaptive tools exist to make Java accessible even as it spreads and appears on increasingly more Web sites. "As a technologist, it is very depressing to think that advances in technology are taking away jobs from people who have a disability", said Jim Miller, the World Wide Web Consortium's technology and society domain leader, not specifically referring to Java. "If technology were used well, it should have the opposite consequences". Paciello added: "Sun Microsystems have recently announced their Java Accessibility team, which shows that the very fiber of Web programming and applications will include the needs of people with disabilities". History has also shown that any gains for the disabled community often result in benefits for the mainstream. "Screen readers can help people who are able bodied but are temporarily not able to use their eyes because their eyes are busy doing some other task", said David Singer, program manager for Advanced Internet Technology at IBM. "It can help make people more efficient". By Sandeep Junnarkar In New York Times, 30 April 1997 __________________________________________________________ PBX CONSOLES FOR VISUALLY HANDICAPPED OPERATORS People with visual handicaps have for many years been able to find employment as switchboard operators. The European Blind Union estimates that there are about 27,000 employed in this way in the Community. In some Member States, this form of employment is afforded legal protection while in others new anti-discrimination measures (such as the UK's Disability Discrimination Act) will increase pressure upon employers to ensure that their facilities and practices do not exclude disabled work-people. Legislation of this kind, while not placing any direct constraints upon the designn of telephone terminal equipment, does create a market demand for equipment which is accessible to disabled people. The ad hoc group on Telecoms for People with Special Needs (TPSN) therefore considered whether regulation of terminal equipment in this respect was necessary or desirable. It was demonstrated to the Group that, in Member States where employment legislation was effective, there was a viable market for PBX equipment with facilities for visually handicapped operators and this market was being readily addressed by manufacturers. It was also shown that the precise manner of meeting the requirement would necessarily vary according to the nature of the PBX equiment, because the visually handicapped operator console is 'behind' the PBX and will have a local interface to it. The nature of this interface will depend upon the PBX manufacturer's system architecture and circuitry, and consequently the scope for introducing a European standard interface is limited. The Group also recognised that the nature of the work of a switchboard operator was subject to change, as technological develop! ! ments altered the traditional concept of the PBX, and there were signs that the duties of a new generation of operators might demand a higher level of visual acuity ; possibly more than could be matched with technical adaptations for visually impaired people. Therefore, while the idea of a standard interface could not be ruled out, its exact nature would be in some doubt, as would its lasting value. Wider introduction of direct dialling-in facilities, and changes in working patterns with the larger PBXs, could result in more opportunities for employment of visually handicapped people as operators of small and medium PBXs. Unfortunately, this is a sector where the costs of specially interfaced consoles might be prohibitive, nevertheless a social support (funding) is provided in some Member States. The ad hoc group concluded that it would not be desirable, either for industry or for visually handicapped operators, to seek to impose a standard interface in an arbitrary way. It was not convinced, however, that market forces alone would achieve a satisfactory outcome, as there was already some evidence that European liberalisation of terminal equipment supply was weakening the effect of national technical regulations aimed at ensuring availability of suitable facilities. A broad regulatory requirement within the framework o the CTE Directive remained as a possibility. If a general Essential Requirement to maximise accessibility were to be adopted, it would be reasonable to add a specific requirement in respect of PBX equipment. This specific requirement might call for incorporation of a means of enabling visual signals to be presented in alternative modalities for the assistance of visually handicapped operators, through the use of appropriate accesory equipment where necessary. In TPSN's Report to TRAC (Technical Regulations Applications Committee), September 1997 __________________________________________________________ EDUCATION OF THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED IN HUNGARY The first Hungarian institutions of special education were founded at the beginning of the 19th century. Special education in Hungary has a great tradition and many of the country's outstanding special educators such as Paul Ranschburg and Gusztav Barczi are well-known outside Central Europe. Hungary has about eleven million inhabitants. The definition of visual impairment - based on visual acuity, visual field and the prognosis of eye disease - is used to select those children who qualify for special education. If a child has less than 0.3 visual acuity, he or she requires such help. The main causes of visual impairment in Hungary are retinopathy caused by premature birth and virus infections during the first months of pregnancy. There are in all about 1,500 visually impaired children (age 0-15 years) nationwide. - 90 % of the blind and low vision children attend special schools. - One third of the partially sighted children attend schools for the partially sighted in Budapest and in Debrecen. The other two thirds attend local schools. The 1993 Education Act gives parents the right to choose a school for their impaired child. Special educational help for visually impaired children in mainstream schools has not yet been fully developped in our country. The State Assessment Committee diagnoses the visually impaired child, counsels parents and gives advice to nurses, special teachers and other colleagues in mainstream schools and nurseries. Visually impaired children attend primary schools for the blind for 9 years. The basic curriculum is equivalent to that of mainstream schools. Schools for the visually impaired form an integrated part of the Hungarian primary school system. The oldest educational institution, the state primary boarding school for the blind in Budapest, was founded in 1825. Today it is a modern, well-equipped school and training centre, which provides excellent academic, social and leisure facilities with a view to promoting the children's self esteem and personal growth. The institution has a nursery and a department for multiply impaired children. The school also gives help to those blind children in mainstream education, and to their parents and teachers. In addition, there are two catholic schools for the blind, one in Budapest and one in Pecs. The Laszlo Batthyanyi Home for the Blind in Budapest has physically disabled blind and partially sighted children and is also involved in the education of the deafblind. Most blind and partially sighted youngsters go to mainstream secondary schools. Those who cannot get into high schools or vocational schools can take special courses organized and run by the Hungarian Federation for the Blind and Partially Sighted. Talented visually impaired youngsters usually go on to attend universities and colleges. At the Gusztav Barczi Training College students are given the opportunity to study and observe the education and training of the blind and partially sighted. After graduating from the college they become teachers for the visually impaired. According to the Education Act the Hungarian state is responsible for financing the basic education and rehabilitation of the visually impaired. Nowadays many civil and religious organisations provide assistance to enhance the quality of special education. In the last years the Hilton-Perkins Foundation has contributed greatly to developing professional expertise and to raising training levels in the education of the visually impaired, especially of deafblind and multiply impaired children. By Dr Emmy Csocsan Head of the Department of Education, Gusztav Barczi Training College for Teachers in ICEVI European Newsletter, June 1995 _____________________________________________________________ E B U H I G H L I G H T S EBU COMMISSION ON MOBILITY AND GUIDE DOGS The Commission met for the first time in this working period in Palermo, Sicily, on 2-3 May 1997. Members first took stock of work carried out by the previous Commission. It was generally recognised that guide dog had been given too high a priority at the expense of mobility and transport issues. To secure a more balanced approach, it was decided to set up the following three working groups : Guide Dogs, Public Transport and Road Safety. A Plan of Action for this working period was discussed and will include among other items : - Quarantine regulations and other guide dog issues : The Commission recommended the EBU Board to take action to the effect that : . There should be free access to guide dogs throughout Europe, . There should be no charge for guide dogs when travelling on any form of transport, or when entering any building or another country, . There should be no restrictions that prevent a guide dog owner travelling with their guide dog anywhere in Europe. - Concessionary fares : This item will be looked upon in the light of EBU Resolution 96-17. Particular attention will be given to the effects of the privatisation of transborder railway services on concessions for the visually impaired. - Mobility training / availability and standards - Implementation of EBU Board Resolutions 16 and 17 (see EBU Newsletter Special Issue, December 1996) - Standards for pedestrian crossings - List of items to be passed to other EBU Commissions : Members recognised the importance of exchanging information and expertise with other Commissions, in particular with : Technical Commission (ticket machines, barriers, audio and tactile road crossings), Social Rights Commission (concessionary fares), Women's Commission (vulnerability of women on public transport), Elderly Commission (mobility needs of the elderly) and EBU/EU Liaison Commission (EU-related matters). - Access to public buildings including for guide dog owners - Road safety issues - Access to all forms of public transport, road, rail, air and sea - Legislation to prevent discrimination against blind people, including guide dog owners - A two-day conference on guide dog issues and mobility/transport : It was hoped that this conference could be held in the UK in 1999 when quarantine regulations would have changed so that all guide dog owners could attend with their guide dogs. The next meeting of the Commission will be held in Prague (Czech Republic) on 6-7 December 1997. For further details please contact : Jill Allen-King, MBE Chair, EBU Commission on Mobility and Guide Dogs c/o RNIB, 224 Great Portland Street, London W1N 6AA (UK) Tel : +44 171 388 1266, Fax : +44 171 388 3160 _____________________________________________________________ EBU Commission on Activities of Multi-Handicapped Blind and Partially-Sighted People The Commission held its first meeting in this new working period at Doorn, the Netherlands, on 27-29 May 1997. Members first considered changing the name of the Commission to : EBU Commission for Multi-Disabled Visually Impaired People. This would reflect the fact that multi-disabled visually impaired people (MDVI) are unable to represent themselves because of their multi-handicap. Indeed, there are no MDVI people on the Commission (two members are parents while the others are professionals). It was agreed to recommend this change of name to the EBU Board for consideration. Discussion followed on areas of interest for the Commission during the period 1997-99. These include : - Development of MDVI people's full potential through training of trans-disciplinary teams. In particular, members stressed the need for parents and professionals to work in close partnership. - Communication skills : These were felt to be very important for MDVI people. Hence the need for the development of specially adapted technology, the writing of suitable software and more research into language development. Experience shows that sport and music can also help develop communication skills. Finally, members highlighted the need for more effective communication between professionals themselves and between professionals and families. The Commission contemplates to hold a conference/workshop in 1998. Funding possibilities were discussed and will be explored further. The Commission will meet again in Ustron (Poland) on 14-16 November 1997. _____________________________________________________________ EBU COMMISSION ON REHABILITATION, VOCATIONAL TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT The first meeting of the Commission in this working period took place in Bydgoszcz, Poland, on 7-8 June 1997. Apart from the Chair and Vice-Chair, no Commission member had served on the previous Commission. Therefore, to ensure continuity, much time was devoted to thoroughly reviewing work carried out over the previous term (1993-1996). Then, Commission members considered and adopted the following Plan of Action : 1) To finalise the survey on telephony and the visually impaired, with particular emphasis on vocational training. Adaptability of telecommunications equipment is another important issue to be considered in close cooperation with the EBU Technical Commission. 2) To finalise the survey on physiotherapy and the visually impaired, and to promote the recognition of physiotherapy as a suitable occupation for blind and partially sighted people in all European countries. 3) To complete, translate and disseminate the Glossary of Basic Terms Used in Rehabilitation. 4) To follow up the setting up of an EBU network of resource persons with a view to exchanging experience and expertise in rehabilitation. 5) To analyse new trends in vocational training for the visually impaired and promote cooperation between vocational training centers in Europe. 6) To assess job opportunities in manual work. 7) To hold a conference on the employment of visually impaired youth, possibly in cooperation with the EBU Youth Commission. 8) To implement EBU Resolutions 96-9, 96-10, 96-11 and 96-12, as well as WBU Resolution 96-12 - all these Resolutions (see EBU Newsletter Special Issue, December 1996) relate to the UN Standard Rules. 9) To implement WBU Resolution 96-9 on the lack of access for blind girls and women to education, rehabilitation, health services and vocational training. Plan of Action items were distributed between Commission members who will be responsible for their implementation. The Commission intends to hold its next meeting by the end of this year, possibly in France. _____________________________________________________________ A N N O U N C E M E N T S Peace Festival in Turkey In May 1997, the Balkan Consultative Committee of the European Blind Union held a meeting in Struga Pyrom, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The Committee decided to organise a Peace Festival in Istanbul, Turkey, in May 1998. The Turkish Federation of the Blind will host this major event and would highly appreciate any suggestions about the Festival programme - i.e in what fields your country would be willing to participate and what activities could be carried out during the Festival. Possible activities are, to name but a few, music, sports, chess contests, exhibitions, pannels about the importance of peace. To make the Peace Festival a success story, the Turkish Federation of the Blind count on the participation and contribution of all organisations of/for the blind in Europe. Please send us your suggestions in order to help us arrange a successful festival. Omer Inal Durmus President, Turkish Federation of the Blind Halitaga Cad. 84/3, Istanbul Tel/Fax : +216 418 04 00 _____________________________________________________________ Manufacture of Perkins braillers in South Africa The South African National Council for the Blind (SANCB) is proud to announce the manufacture in South Africa of Perkins braillers. Manufacture will be at BayGen Manufacturing Company (BPM) in Cape Town, the factory which is famous for the production of the clockwork radio. Marketing of the braillers will be in the hands of the SANCB in Pretoria. Manufacture in South Africa means a dramatic reduction in the price of Perkins braillers from $ 660.00 to $ 475.00 (26 %). Through generous sponsorship a further reduction of $ 100.00 to $ 375.00 (40 %) will be available to individuals and NGOs in developing countries. Workers at BPM have been trained in America and will be using high quality equipment similar to that at Howe Press near Boston. This ensures that South Africa Perkins braillers will be produced to the same high standard that has always been associated with this product. Production in South Africa started in July 1997. By agreement with Perkins School for the Blind, South African Perkins braillers will be marketed worldwide. Our purpose is to announce the project internationally to blind people and their organizations and to call for support in making the project a success. We count on you to place all your future orders with the SANCB as well as to order braillers in greater quantities, and in so doing to place more braillers in the hands of blind persons. We acknowledge with gratitude the role of Perkins School for the Blind in this joint venture intended to produce an affordable brailler for blind people everywhere. For further information contact Estelle Oosthuizen at tel : +27 12 346 1171 or 1177 _____________________________________________________________ Overbrook School for the Blind International Program Leadership Training Opportunity for Blind Youth Do you know a future leader in the blindness community ? A young man or woman, blind or visually impaired, who has the intelligence, energy and determination to make a difference in the lives of visually impaired persons in your country ? The International Program at Overbrook School for the Blind in Philadelphia is open to candidates from throughout the world who demonstrate these leadership qualities and who are interested in participating in a one-year academic and training program. Now in its twelth year, the Program has announced the start of the admissions process for the 1998-99 academic year. You are invited to nominate candidates who meet the qualifications required for admission and who would benefit from taking part in the program. To qualify, a participant must : - be blind or partially sighted - be between the ages of 16 and 21 at the start of the program - be in good academic standing - have a basic knowledge of English - be interested in adaptive computer technology for the blind - demonstrate independence and leadership skills The Admissions Committee reviews all nominations and invites appropriate candidates to complete a full application. The International Program is designed to develop leadership capabilities of young blind and partially sighted individuals from around the world, to provide them with the skills they will need to succeed in higher education and the workplace, and to help improve the situation of other blind and visually impaired persons in their country. Courses in adaptive computer technology, English as a second language and leadership development form the core of the curriculum, while emphasis is also placed on learning in an inter-cultural environment. Educational field trips, music programs and sports activities are also offered. For information and admissions materials, contact : Lawrence F. Campbell, Admissions Committee International Program, Overbrook School for the Blind 6333 Malvern Avenue, Philadelphia, PA. 19151-2597 (USA) Tel : +1 215 878 8700, Fax : +1 215 878 8886, E-mail : larry@obs.org _____________________________________________________________ Classic Massage International Course for the Blind or Partially Sighted Malmv (Sweden) The programme, which is to start in August 1998, will be divided into two semesters, preceded by a four week preparatory course. The preparatory course is designed to : help students realise what working as a masseur/masseuse actually entails ; teach basic skeletal anatomy ; individually evaluate the students' abilities to complete a course in classic massage ; and adapt classrooms and teaching materials to the needs of these students. Part 1 - Basic Course - seeks to ensure that students become thoroughly acquainted with the following subjects : structure and functions of the human body ; origins of massage ; massage techniques and applications ; relationship with patients ; self-care in the form of fitness and ergonomics. Part 2 - Advanced Course - is to impart in-depth knowledge of the structure and functions of the human body, massage techniques and applications, co-operation with patients, and self-care in the form of fitness and ergonomics ; familiarize students with special massage and applications, supervised massage therapy for clients, different types of complementary medical treatments, electrotherapy and the conditions they will have to fulfill if they wish to start their own business or cooperatives. Teaching will consist of lectures, instructions, massage treatment, both supervised and independent. The teaching staff includes two certified masseurs, a physiotherapist, three lecturers, a physician, a psychologist, practising professionals in the field of complementary medical treatment areas as well as personnel from the Vision Resource Division of Ami-Syd. Admission requirements : Applicants must have completed upper secondary education and have sufficient knowledge of English for studies at university level. For those who are not native English speakers, an internationally recognised test of English proficiency is required (e.g. TOEFL-test, ELTS or Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency). The course will be held at Malmv University College of Health Sciences and accomodation in self-contained student housing will be available near the college. For further details please contact : Lars Lind Ami-Syd (Employability Institute for Disabled People through their Working Life Services) P.O. Box 8188, S-200 41 Malmv (Sweden) Tel : +46 41 32 18 39, Fax : +46 40 32 18 16 E-mail : lars.lind@hadar.amu.se ____________________________________________________________ RECENT AND COMING EVENTS EBU BOARD AND COMMISSIONS 9 - 10 August 1997 : EBU Commission on Access to Culture and Information. Contact person : Kurt Nielsen, c/o Danish Association of the Blind, Thoravej 35, DK 2400 Copenhagen (Denmark). Tel : +45 31 19 88 44 ; Fax : +45 38 33 11 37 ; E-mail : int.dept.dk-blind@post.uni-c.dk 19 - 20 September 1997 ALMASA, Sweden : EBU Board. Contact person : Norbert Mueller, EBU Secretary General c/o Deutsches Blindenbildungswerk, Haupstrasse 40, D-79576 Weil-am-Rhein (Germany). Tel : +49 7621 799230 ; Fax : +49 7621 799231 ; E-mail : n.mueller@hit.handshake.de or nmueller@stepnet.de 2 - 5 October 1997 ALMASA, Sweden : EBU Commission on Activities of Elderly Blind and Visually Impaired People. Contact person : Bengt Hoflin, c/o Swedish Association of the Visually Impaired, Sandsborgsvdgen 52, S-122 88 Enskede (Sweden). Tel : +46 8 39 90 00 ; Fax : +46 8 39 91 77 ; E-mail : erst@srf.iris.se 3 - 5 October 1997 APELDOORN, Netherlands : EBU Commission on Activities of the Partially Sighted. Contact person : Berry den Brinker, c/o Dutch Union of the Blind and Partially Sighted, P.O. Box 2344, 3500 GH Utrecht (The Netherlands). Tel : +31 30 2 93 11 41 ; Fax : +31 30 2 93 25 44 ; E-mail : berry@fbw.vu.nl 10 - 11 October 1997 GIARDINI NAXOS, Sicily : European Seminar "Braille as a fundamental factor of equal opportunities for the blind in access to information". Organised with the support of the Commission of the European Union, the seminar is designed to promote the use of braille as the essential means of communication and information for visually impaired people. Contact person : Rodolfo Cattani, c/o Unione Italiana Ciechi, Via Borgognona 38, I-00187 Roma (Italy). Tel : +39 6 699 883 75 ; Fax : +39 6 699 88328 ; E-mail : inter@uiciechi.it 13 - 14 October 1997 MINSK, Belarus : EBU Commission on Education. Contact person : Enzo Tioli, c/o Unione Italiana Ciechi, Via Borgognona 38, I-00187 Roma (Italy). Tel : +39 6 699 88375 ; Fax : +39 6 699 88328 ; E-mail : inter@uiciechi.it 14 - 15 October 1997 MINSK, Belarus : EBU Commission on Social Rights. Contact person : Tony Aston, 2 Greenlands Close, Burgess Hill, West Sussex RH15 0AR (United Kingdom). Tel : +44 1444 870462 ; Fax : +44 1444 258557. 7 - 9 November 1997 COPENHAGEN, Denmark : EBU Commission on Cooperation with Blind and Partially People in Developing Countries Contact person : Armin Kappallo, c/o Deutscher Blindenverband e.V., Bismarckallee 30, 53173 Bonn (Germany). Tel : +49 228 95 58 20, Fax : +49 228 35 77 19. 14 - 16 November 1997 USTRON, Poland : EBU Commission on Activities of Activities of Multihandicapped Blind and Partially-Sighted People. Contact person : Isobel Yule, c/o RNIB Multiple Disability and Care Contracts Service, 7 The Square, 111 Broad Street, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 1AS (UK). Tel : +44 121 643 9912, Fax : +44 121 643 1738, E-mail : iyule@dircon.uk 28 - 29 November 1997 RHODES, Greece : EBU Board. Contact person : Norbert Mueller, EBU Secretary General 5 - 7 December 1997 (or 21-23 November 1997) : EBU Commission on the Advancement of the Interests of Blind and Partially-Sighted Women. Contact person : Else Momrak Haugann, c/o Norges Blindeforbund, PB 5900, Hegdehaugen, 0308 Oslo 3 (Norway). Tel : +47 22 46 69 90 ; Fax : +47 22 69 35 55 ; E-mail : e.m.haugann@admin.uio.no 5 - 7 December 1997 FREDERICIA, Denmark : EBU Commission on Technical Devices and Services. Contact person : Jaap van Lelieveld, c/o Dutch Union of the Blind and Partially Sighted, P.O. Box 2344, 3500 GH Utrecht (The Netherlands). Tel : +31 30 2 93 11 41 ; Fax : +31 30 2 93 25 44 ; E-mail : jaap.van.lelieveld@inter.nl.net 6 - 7 December 1997 : EBU Commission on Mobility and Guide Dogs. Contact person : Jill Allen-King, c/o Royal National Institute for the Blind, 224 Great Portland Street, London W1N 6AA (United Kindgom). Tel : +44 171 388 1266 ; Fax : +44 171 388 3160. 5 - 8 December 1997, Sweden : EBU Commission for Liaising with the European Union. Contact person : Rodolfo Cattani, c/o Unione Italiana Ciechi, Via Borgognona 38, 00187 Roma (Italy). Tel : +39 9 699 883 75 ; Fax : +39 6 699 883 28 ; E-mail : inter@uiciechi.it Late 1997 or early 1998, Turkey : Hermes Network Seminar, organised by the EBU Commission on Social Rights. Contact person : Tony Aston, 2 Greenlands Close, Burgess Hill, West Sussex RH15 0AR (United Kingdom). Tel : +44 1444 870462 ; Fax : +44 1444 258557. 13 - 14 February 1998, Luxembourg : EBU Board. Contact person : Norbert Mueller, EBU Secretary General * * * * * E.U. EVENTS 29 September - 2 October 1997 THESSALONIKI, Greece : 4th European Conference for the Advancement of Assistive Technology. Aimed at people working or interested in rehabilitation and assistive technology, the AAATE Conference will take stock of experiences and solutions to problems in the field of rehabilitation. Contact : Biotrast, 111 Mitropoleos Street, 546-22 Thessaloniki (Greece). Tel : +30 312 77 904 ; Fax : +30 312 77 960 ; E-mail : biotrast@biotrast.techpath.gr 23 - 26 October 1997 COPENHAGEN, Denmark : European Regional Symposium - Basic social values in a changing world Organised by the International Council on Social Welfare as a follow-up on the 1995 UN World Summit for Social Development, the Symposium shall throw light on the social development and consequences for the welfare society in Europe as a whole, focus in Central and Eastern European countries and especially the Baltic countries. The programme will be built around the following issues : New pressures, new demands and new opportunities for social policy in Western, Central and Eastern European countries ; How do we prevent growing insecurity and social disintegration in Europe ; NGOs in European integration ; Pre-conditions of NGO activities in EEC countries. Contact : ICSW-Denmark, Kvaegtorvsgade 2, DK-1710 Copenhagen 5 (Denmark). Tel : +45 33 25 13 51, Fax : +45 33 25 18 71. 30 - 31 October 1997 BRUSSELS, Belgium : Cost 335 Seminar on Passengers' Accessibility of Heavy Rail Systems. Cost 335 is a COST (European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research) action, signed by 13 countries, which brings together experts from railways, industry and governments of both EU and non-EU Member States to exchange experience and draw up good practice and recommendations, which can be followed at national and at European levels, to facilitate travel and mobility of all pasengers. This seminar, organised with the support of the European Commission, will address key current issues in EU rail policy and look in depth at topics specific to the disabled and elderly. It is open to practitioners and policy makers in the rail industry and to representatives of rail passenger user groups with an experience in disability issues. Contact person : Ms Margaret White-Branagan, Conference Organization Unit, European Commission, Rue de la Loi 200, B-1049 Brussels (Belgium). Tel : +32 2 295 6650, Fax : +32 2 295 3736, e-mail : margaret.white-branagan@scic.cec.be 1998 STOCKHOLM, Sweden : 1998 European Cities within Reach Conference. The Conference will present results of work carried out from 1994 to 1997 and act as a catalyst for future initiatives. Contact person : Marcus Weisen, The Royal National Institute for the Blind, 224 Great Portland Street, London W1N 6AA (United Kingdom). Tel : +44 171 388 1266 ; Fax : +44 171 388 2034. * * * * * OTHER ORGANISATIONS 13 - 19 September 1997 PAIPA, Colombia : Sixth Helen Keller Conference on Services for Deafblind Persons. This conference will be hosted by the newly founded Colombian Association of the Deafblind. The theme of the conference will be "Rights and services for deafblind people in accordance with the Standard Rules of the United Nations". Contact person : Mrs Ximena Serpa, Coordinator POSCAL Programme, Calle 108 No 20 A-13, Santafi de Bogota (Colombia). Fax : +57 1 619 0337 ; E-mail : poscalxs@openway.com.co 25 - 26 September 1997 or 30 - 31 October 1997 BUDAPEST, Hungary : International Conference on Rights and Exceptions organized by the Imprimatur Project and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. Contact person : Sarah Keates, Imprimatur/IFLA, c/o The British Library, Boston Spa, Wetherby LS23 7BQ (United Kingdom). Tel : +44 1937 546 254 ; Fax : +44 1937 546 478 ; E-mail : ifla@bl.uk 9 - 13 October 1997 MINSK, Belarus : 3rd International Conference on Education of Blind and Partially-Sighted Children. Contact : 3rd International Conference, Byelorussian Association of the Visually Handicapped, 7 Amuratorskaya Street, 220004 Minsk (Belarus). Tel : +375 172 23 25 06 ; Fax : +375 172 23 86 41 22 - 25 October 1997 DUSSELDORF, Germany : REHA International. Reha International sets out to achieve the integration of disabled people and those suffering from chronic illnesses, and is the largest exhibition of its kind in the world. It provides a meeting place for both professionals and those with disabilities. More than 700 exhibitors from 25 different countries will be demonstrating their range of care and rehabilitation products. Contact : Messegesellschaft MbH, Postfach 10 10 16, D-40001 D|sseldorf (Germany). Tel : +49 211 45 60 01, Fax : +49 211 45 60 668, Internet : http://www.tradefair.de 15 - 16 November 1997 BRUSSELS, Belgium : "The role of physical activities adapted for the visually impaired in education - a contribution towards integration". Contact person : Andri De Prins, GRICCA, 65 rue Potaerdegat, 1080 Brussels (Belgium), GSM (00 32) 075 28 91 30. ________ Next issue : December 1997