Youth of Tomorrow Presentation

February 27th, 2021

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At 1 pm February 27th Cory Walker and Rob Schulenburg joined career transition specialist Richard Rueda on a panel discussion for VISTA Center's Youth of Tomorrow program hosted by program director Amy Jine. The presentation to 9 participants plus family and community members focused on challenges transitioning from teenager to adulthood, turning passions into careers, and the very real challenges of growing up with a visual impairment. Students asked the panel for feedback on safe travel during the current pandemic and strategies for expanding personal capacities through online social groups.

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For more information about VISTA youth programs, including Youth of Tomorrow, email Amy Jine at: ajine@vistacenter.org

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For more information about the CareersPLUS youth program run by Richard Rueda email Richard at: rrueda@societyfortheblind.org

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THE CONFERENCE FOR UNITY AND STANDARDIZATION OF KURDISH BRAILLE

February 21 & 22, 2021

Erbil, Kurdistan; Kurdish Territory Iraq

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DSI Ambassador Jwana Mustafa, in conjunction with Roshnayi and other community organizations serving the blind in Kurdistan came together for a two day event to celebrate the role of Braille in Kurdistan and to promote the standardization of the Kurdish Braille system in Iraq. Jwana proposed 10 resolutions at the conference, which were all adopted as part of the 32 formal resolutions to guide the promotion of the role of Braille moving forward in the Kurdish region of Iraq.

 

The two day conference was organized by Roshnayi, a local organization creating audiobooks in Kurdish languages for the blind and people with print disabilities. Bringing together several organizations, including DSI, the Conference for Unity and Standardization of Kurdish Braille not only agreed on the standard form of Kurdish Braille that should be used for creating Braille media in Iraqi Kurdistan, but conference delegates also proposed several strategies and benchmarks to pursue the normalization and integration of Braille into Kurdish life. Resolutions adopted by the Conference included:

 

• Braille signage in all government buildings

• Braille signage in all new construction

• Introduction of Braille as part of the elementary school general curriculum as part of cultural awareness

• Teacher training for Kurdish Braille so the new standard code is taught to all students in the territory who are blind

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The conference delegates signed a document affirming the standardization of the new Kurdish Braille code and the adoption of the resolutions for future action. The delegates will continue to meet in the coming months to keep advocating with the public and private sector and to promote public education about the role of Braille in Kurdistan's future.