EBU Member's Newsletter

The European Blind Union promptly expressed its support to the Croatian Blind Union in advocating and fighting for the elimination of the draft provisions containing means testing for exercising the right to disability allowance for persons belonging to the fourth (most severe) degree of disability, currently regulated by the Social Welfare Act in Croatia. EBU President Cattani sent letters of support to the Croatian President, Prime Minister, and the Minister and State Secretary of the relevant Ministry of Social Policy.

All the news from our ongoing campaigns including accessibility, political participation, social security and welfare, mobility, and our representation in different domains.

It’s good and annual practice that EBU undertakes an external evaluation of its work and functioning. Also in 2021, the external evaluator, Dominique Danau, guided EBU through that external look at what we did, what we achieved and how we worked.

A new awareness-raising video on the right to culture and sport  for blind and partially sighted persons, according to Article 30 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), is now available.

During 2021, with the financial support of the Government of Japan and the Ministry of Education and Culture of RS, the Braille Resource Center was established. The center is equipped with three sets of printers for Braille printing, two of which have the possibility of simultaneous printing of Braille and ink. The center is also equipped with ten Braille displays with 40 rows. Licensed software programs (Jaws, Windows, Duxbury) were also purchased.

The All Russia Association of the Blind (VOS) would like to inform EBU members of the newly elected VOS President - Vladimir SIPKIN (Mr), aged 69, blind.Mr Sipkin was born in 1953 in Siberia (Ekaterinburgh), he is a radio-engineer by profession.

An update from Montenegro.

We love twos and zeros… joking. Anyway, on Tuesday 22-02-2022 we at the Slovak Blind and Partially Sighted Union organize the EDI conference on accessibility for people with visual impairment under the motto: Accessible Life – More Inclusive Life.

Four young people in Scotland are supporting a campaign to encourage more first-time voters to take part in elections, especially those like themselves who have sight loss. 

All four are members of sight loss charity RNIB Scotland's 'Haggeye' youth forum and have posted short videos on its social media channel to highlight 'Welcome to Your Vote Week', which starts Monday, January 24th and is being promoted by the Electoral Commission in schools throughout the country.

Marc Workman has been appointed to the position of Chief Executive Officer of the World Blind Union. Following an extensive competition among many well-qualified candidates, Marc accepted our offer earlier this month and he has officially started in the role as of January 24.

How do you explain the solar system, Earth motions, and the seasons to someone who has never seen a sunrise or a sunset? These are the challenges that some amateur and professional astronomers are undertaking, and this is their story.

LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired is pleased to announce applications for the annual Holman Prize for Blind Ambition for 2022 are now open!

VIEWS International is currently looking for a young visually impaired, 18-30 years old who has a basic level of French. The volunteering project could last up to 9 months and the activities will be hosted in the city of Liège (Belgium).