Would you trust a stranger with your bank PIN? It’s a question Nadia Mattiazzo is forced to ask herself daily. Key Points Commonwealth Bank facing lawsuit alleging discrimination over touchscreen EFTPOS machines Blind and vision-impaired people say terminals are virtually impossible for them to use because they don’t have tactile keypad Lawsuit follows 18 months … Read more
General activities
ICEVI East Asia Regional Conference – October 2018
The ICEVI East Asia region will be hosting its Regional Conference in Manila on 16-18 October 2018. For details of the Conference, Registration Form and Abstract submission Form go to the home page of ICEVI’s website.
Blind singers break through Bangkok’s sound barrier
Strumming his guitar with ease and backed by a drummer, Singhkum Boonriang belts out covers of Thai ballads as strangers pass by on a busy Bangkok afternoon. But Singhkum is no ordinary busker — he’s one of hundreds of blind singers who perform across the Thai capital at traffic junctions, skytrain stops and other busy … Read more
WBU statement for International Women’s Day 8 March 2018
WBU is working hard to support blind and vision impaired women especially in developing countries. Read about the challenges women face and WBU’s work to help. WBU Statement for International Women’s Day 2018 The World Blind Union has voiced concern over slow progress towards full inclusion of women with visual disabilities in global development agendas. … Read more
Disability group seeks better disaster planning
The head of the Pacific Disability Forum in Fiji says recent natural disasters have highlighted the need for aid agencies to consider how they help people with disabilities during emergencies. Setareki Macanawai says stories of how some disabled people have struggled during cyclones, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis were shared at a recent regional conference … Read more
Smart device gives elderly and disabled more time to cross Hong Kong’s busy streets
Gadget activated by designated Octopus cards on trial in North Point With a single tap of a card, elderly pedestrians and those with disabilities can now get a few extra seconds to make their way across Hong Kong’s busy roads. The Transport Department on Thursday rolled out a new smart device at a pedestrian crossing … Read more
Step inside the MIT lab designing new human-computer interfaces
Suranga Nanayakkara slips a black ring onto his finger and points. He’s showing it off, but not because it’s a fancy wedding band. This ring, he explains, helps visually impaired people read by converting text into speech. Nanayakkara points at a poster on the wall more than a metre away, clicks a small button on … Read more
Braille camp teaching vision impaired children from remote and regional towns to read
It’s tough teaching kids to read, but try teaching them to read with their fingers, then add in the fact they live in remote locations and attend school over the internet. Tracey McCann is head of the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children (RIDBC) Teleschool which teaches vision impaired children to read braille. “Braille … Read more
Not so blind ambition for Robe’s remarkable Elise Lehmann
Every small town has a few local celebrities and in Robe it’s no different. Comedian Elise Lehmann recently had her celebrity status raised when ABC Backroads aired a feature on Robe. Using her unique sense of humour, Elise makes people feel at ease about her disability – however once you’ve met Elise you wouldn’t call … Read more
Hong Kong needs 1,700 guide dogs for the visually impaired, but where can the animals be trained?
When Meicy Choi took her four-month-old Labrador retriever named Don Don out on a sunny Saturday in December, she did not expect to get into a row over going to the park with her canine buddy. Don Don is not an ordinary dog. He is training to become one of fewer than 50 guide dogs … Read more