You can download a PDF version of the Canadian Federation of the Blind’s 2012 Convention, ‘The Journey’, by following this link. A text version can be found by clicking here.
Please note that pre-registration has been extended until May 8th.
You can register for the convention online in three steps.
1) Click on the Add to Cart button below.
2) Select the number of tickets you would like under Quantity.
3) Click on the button that reads “Make a payment by PayPal”.
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-tzu,
Chinese philosopher (604 BC – 531 BC)
The 2012 Canadian Federation of the Blind convention will be held in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada at Capital City Centre Hotel, 1961 Douglas Street (Corner of Douglas and Discovery Streets)
Everyone is welcome. Please pre-register by April 20th, 2012.
CONVENTION REGISTRATION INFORMATION:
The registration fee is $60 in advance, or $75 at the door. The registration fee includes Friday evening’s reception, and Saturday’s lunch and banquet.
You can pre-register for the CFB convention online at www.cfb.ca using PayPal or email money transfer, or by mailing your registration fee, along with your contact information to the Canadian Federation of the Blind.
HOTEL INFORMATION
Location: Capital City Centre Hotel
1961 Douglas Street (corner of Douglas and Discovery). Victoria, BC
Phone: (250) 382-2111 or 1-888-877-9444
Convention attendees can reserve rooms at the convention rate of $69.95 plus tax, which includes a continental breakfast. These rooms are not pre-booked, so please reserve early. Room rates are non-commissionable and subject to 17.75% taxes and surcharges.
CONVENTION ACTIVITIES
FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012
9:30 AM – 11:30 AM – Online Entrepreneurial Activities Workshop This workshop will introduce you to E-Bay and other online entrepreneurial opportunities. Presented by Mary Ellen Gabias.
11:30 AM – 2 PM – Break
2 PM – 5 PM – Adaptive Technology and Blindness Resource Exhibit Try some of the latest adaptive technology, check out Federation literature, try out an NFB long white cane and purchase CFB merchandise. The exhibit will feature HumanWare, Personal Communication Systems and others.
6 PM – 7 PM – On Site Registration
6:30 PM – 8 PM – Welcome Reception
Enjoy appetizers with your Federation family!
8 PM – A “Rowdy and Raucous” CFB Auction Join us for our auction to raise funds for the CFB. Bid on delicious items, and have a rollicking good time. This Auction definitely won’t be silent!
SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012
8 AM – 9 AM – On Site Registration
9 AM – 4:30 PM – Full-day Conference
MC: Elizabeth Lalonde, President of the Canadian Federation of the Blind Speakers at the conference will discuss topics such as Braille literacy, independence, rehabilitation, employment, expectations, empowerment, advocacy, the Federation and a positive perspective on blindness and the abilities of blind people, as well as other blindness issues.
6:30 PM – 9:00 PM – Banquet with Keynote Address
9:00 PM – Midnight – Members’ Talent Night
Chat with friends, unwind after the convention and listen to some great talent by CFB members and guests!
SUNDAY, MAY 13, 2012
9:30 AM – 11:00 AM – CFB AGM and Elections
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM – Recreational activity
Details coming soon.
Federation conventions are unlike typical conferences. They serve as a way for blind people from across distances to get together to learn from each other, to share ideas and to gain confidence and inspiration from being together.
We look forward to seeing you at the convention!
For more information about the convention or the CFB, please contact us.
Canadian Federation of the Blind (CFB)
www.cfb.ca
info@cfb.ca
(250) 598-7154
1-800-619-8789
P.O. Box 8007
Victoria, British Columbia
Canada V8W 3R7
The Canadian Federation of the Blind is proud to sponsor the following five children’s books:
Children’s Playing Safely Magazine;
Easter Story Book;
Christmas Carol Book;
The Children’s Circus Book;
Echo Troopers – A Kid’s Environmental Book.
Print copies will be distributed to hospitals and other centers serving children throughout Canada. We are especially pleased to announce that we, by the end of the year, will be able to offer downloadable Braille versions of the text of these children’s books. If you know of a child who would like copies of these publications, please write us at info@cfb.ca. .
We will publish two issues of “The Blind Canadian” targeted at educating members of the sighted public about blindness and issues blind Canadians face. Look for the magazine in early July at www.cfb.ca in print, Braille, or audio downloadable form, or request a physical copy.
Thanks to an agreement with Public Sector Publications Corporation, (PsPC), businesses will be offered the opportunity to advertise in the print edition and the print magazine will be distributed widely. To add sighted individuals or community organizations to our mailing list, write to us at info@cfb.ca. .
Check out the latest in adaptive technology for the blind in Nanaimo on Saturday, February 4, 2012
Join members of the Canadian Federation of the Blind and HumanWare for lunch and learn more about adaptive technology solutions.
- Put your hands on a Braille note-taker and Braille Display
- Listen to a talking GPS and digital audio book player
- Look at a variety of desktop and handheld magnifiers.
Where: Diners Rendezvous 489 Wallace Street, Nanaimo, BC
When: 12pm to 2pm
Everyone is welcome to a wonderful evening of team work. The question master reads each question to the whole floor where each table elects a spokesperson to write their answer on the card. Teams of six people work collectively to win the most points. Tickets are $25.00 per person. Pizza is complimentary at half time when teams can muster more energy to tackle the final questions.
Location: 2994 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC
Time and Date: 6:30 pm, March 31, 2012
Contact person: Graeme McCreath
Order: You can purchase tickets online by following this link.
Blind Canadians are welcome to take part in this study. Compensation for
transportation is available. For those who wish to complete the online sleep
survey, $25 can go to the blindness organization of your choice, hopefully the
Canadian Federation of the Blind!
See below for more information.
Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Announcement:
Do you ever feel like your sleep patterns are different than the rest of the
world? Do you sometimes feel the unwanted urge or need to fall asleep during
the day time when you need to be awake? Do you also find that you feel just too
wide awake to fall or stay asleep during the night time? If you are blind, this
could be due to a real sleep problem related to the lack of light needed to keep
your body’s internal clock in sync with the day and night cycle. If you or
someone you know might be affected, please call 1-888-389-7033 or email
info@non24registry.com to learn about an ongoing clinical research study that is
evaluating a new investigational treatment for this type of sleep problem. When
calling or online at www.non24registry.com , you can also complete a short sleep
survey. For each completed survey, $25 will be donated to an organization that
supports individuals with blindness. You may be eligible to participate in the
clinical trial if you are between 18 and 75 years of age and are totally blind.
Volunteers will be compensated for their participation in the clinical study and
will receive study related medication, medical evaluations, and transportation
at no cost.
Annie Gallagher
Outreach Specialist
Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc.
9605 Medical Center Drive, Suite 300
Rockville, MD 20850
Annie.gallagher@vandapharma.com
Hadley School for the Blind announces the debut of a song called “Brailling Signs Is Cool To Do.” To learn more about the story of this special song and to listen to it, visit: http://www.hadley.edu/braillesong
Prior to Louis Braille’s development of “Braille,” the 6-dot reading system for the blind, in 1824, reading by the blind was laborious for those educated to finger-read by feeling embossed Roman alphabet letters. This was time consuming and cumbersome and books made in this method were large and heavy… Read more of “The Life of Louis Braille,” by Doris Belusic http://www.cfb.ca/the-life-of-louis-braille
http://www.timescolonist.com/health/White+Cane+blindness+issues/5556033/story.html
White Cane Day and blindness issues
Victoria Times-Colonist
(2011-10-15)
Ask any blind person how they feel about their white cane, and the answer,
ultimately, is that it’s an extremely valuable tool.
The white cane is basic, but it’s essential to a blind person’s ability to move
about and to be independent.
The cane is usually made of fibreglass, carbon fibre or metal. Held in one hand,
it is swung side to side, to give information about one’s route, including
obstacles, curbs, stairs and doorways. A white cane identifies a person as
legally blind.
The white cane offers capability, independence, problem-solving, safety and
empowerment to blind people. It is a symbol of freedom and pride.
The Canadian Federation of the Blind, an all-volunteer, grassroots organization
of blind people, has chosen Oct. 15 to celebrate White Cane Day. CFB wishes to
highlight the importance of the white cane, as well as to point out two issues
which negatively affect blind people in Canada.
Really good white-cane travel training or, for that matter, really good
blindnessskills training, is not available in Canada. There is no government,
publicly funded and accountable blindness skills training for anyone who needs
it.
A few lucky blind people have been able to privately fund attendance at one of
three world-renowned intensive training centres in the United States. In these
nine-month programs, blind people learn all necessary skills to live as
productive and independent citizens. Our government needs to step up to its
responsibility so that all blind people have access to this type of really good
intensive training
The second issue is quiet electric cars which cannot easily be heard by blind
pedestrians and are accidents waiting to happen.
Doris Belusic
Victoria
