WBU-ICEVI 2016
Notes of WBU 9th General Assembly
August 18-25, 2016
Rosen Centre Hotel
Orlando, Florida
The World Blind Union (WBU) General Assembly was preceded by the WBU Executive Committee Meeting and other WBU Pre-Assembly committee meetings. An opening reception hosted by the National Federation of Blind also took place the previous evening.
FRIDAY, aUGUST 19, 2016
General Assembly Opening Ceremony
Chair: Dr. Marc Maurer, Chair, Local Organising Committee
The Opening Session of the 9th General Assembly of the World Blind Union (WBU) was officially presided over by Dr. Marc Maurer, Chair of the local Host Committee and Immediate Past President of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB). He welcomed everyone to the Assembly, remarking the presence of WBU Past Presidents, including Maryanne Diamond, William Rowland and Euclid Herie. His opening words were followed by a beautiful rendition of the US National Anthem sang by NFB staff, Danielle Trevino.
Dr. Maurer confirmed NFB's commitment to promoting independence and equality of blind people, but not only in the United States but also of all blind and partially sighted people in all countries, through their involvement with the WBU since its foundation. He then introduced the President of the National Federation of the Blind, Mark Riccobono.
Mark Riccobono, extended a warm welcome to all members, participants and guests to the United States, a country of freedom and democracy. Stressing his eagerness to share innovations, insights and dreams with brothers and sisters from around the world, he referred to the US Constitution as being the rallying point for the blind since 1940, by which blind people have been able to speak for themselves, founded in this very principle of democracy. He highlighted that NFB was proud to show the country's success as they have been able to tackle discrimination in every aspect of life, such as education, parenting, civil representation, etc., by making use of different legal tactics and changing perceptions in media, demonstrating in this way equality in living the lives they may choose. He emphasized the importance of technology, literacy, specifically braille literacy, as they march confidently with friends within the WBU to work in these areas. He then spoke of their partnership with NASA, and showed a film given to them by NASA simulating what it was like to be in a spaceship during take-off; he reaffirmed NFB's commitment to one day having a blind or partially sighted astronaut! In his closing words, he said that low expectations were the real obstacle between blind people and their dreams; through this, he posed the question: 'why is vision necessary for some things, say, driving cars?' He then shared a video of himself driving on the Daytona International Speedway -a car for blind and partially sighted drivers!
In his opening remarks, WBU President Arnt Holte warmly welcomed all delegates and guests to the General Assembly. He extended a special thanks to our host member, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), for all the hard work in organizing the event as well as the committed volunteers to ensure the great success of the event. He mentioned that the General Assembly was an opportunity for sharing and to engage with different organizations and together find ways to solve challenges, celebrate achievements and embrace new opportunities for blind and partially sighted people.
WBU SESSION 1
Chair: Arnt Holte, WBU President
Call to Order
Penny Hartin, WBU Chief Executive Officer, read out the names of the country members present at the Assembly and the ones eligible to vote. She also read out the names of the countries not present at the opening of the GA which arrived at a later time.
The proceedings of the 8th General Assembly (2012) which had been circulated following the 8th GA as well as with the GA papers were accepted.
Appointment of Assembly Committees:
Credentials Committee
Enrique Perez, Chair
A.K. Mittal (ABU)
Charles Mossop (NA/C)
Unn Kristin Ljøner Hagen (EBU)
Resolutions Committee
Dr. Marc Maurer, Chair
John Heilbrunn (EBU)
Dr. Elly Macha (AFUB)
Monthian Buntan (WBU-AP)
Volmir Raimondi (ULAC)
Elections Committee
Terje Iversen, Chair
Javier Guemes
Patricia Leader
Marie-Camille Blais
Nominations Committee
William Rowland, Chair
Kevin Murfitt (WBU-AP)
Jim Tokos (NA/C)
Fernando Galarraga (ULAC)
Poul Lüneborg (EBU)
Amir Ashraf (ABU)
The General Assembly Committees were accepted by the Assembly.
Obituaries
Enrique Pérez, WBU Second Vice-President
Enrique Pérez read the names of WBU members and friends who had passed away during the quadrennium and outlined the contribution of many. A moment of silent followed.
Africa
§ Elie Ayilo, Benin -November 2012
§ Jean Pierre Louya, Congo Brazzaville -June 2013
§ Mr. Ismaila Konate, Mali -November 2015
§ Mr. Soli Abdoul Rahamane, Niger -February 2016
§ Frances Candiru, WBU Second Vice-President, Uganda -April 2016
Asia Pacific
§ John Wilson, WBU Honorary Life member, Australia -January 2013
§ Paul Manning, New Zealand -May 2014
Asia
§ Mr. R. A. Sirisena, Sri Lanka -November 2015
§ Mr. S. L. Hettiarachchi, Sri Lanka -January 2015
Europe
§ Eric Staff, Sweden -March 2013
§ Arvo Karvinen, EBU Honorary Life Member, Finland -October 2013
§ Dr. Hans Eugen Schulze, Germany -October 2013
§ Helen Aareskjold, Norway -November 2013
§ Elsa Momrag Hogan, Norway -January 2014
§ Dr. Claude Chambet, France -February 2014
§ Alan Suttie, UK -September 2014
§ Sir Duncan Watson, UK -April 2015
Information about each person remembered was outlined, and can be found in the detailed presentation delivered by the Second Vice-President.
Credentials Committee Report
Chair: Enrique Pérez
According to Article 4, Section 1 of the Constitution, Enrique Pérez presented the report from the Credentials Committee.
§ Countries present at Assembly: 99
§ National delegates present and eligible to vote: 195
§ Number of validated proxies received: 85
§ International members eligible to vote: 8
§ Honorary Life Members present: 6
§ Number of Table Officers present: 5
§ Total number of eligible votes: 299
First Nominations Committee Report
Chair: William Rowland
William Rowland announced the members of the Nominations Committee, and reported that there was only one candidate nominated for the position of President of the WBU at the close of the election nomination for that position (Thursday, August 18 at 6:00pm): Fredric Schroeder, USA.
Fredric Schroeder was declared elected President of the World Blind Union for the next quadrennial by acclamation.
William Rowland also reported on the other nominations received at that time for the different Table Officers positions:
First Vice-President
Fernando Riaño, Spain
Second Vice-President
Diane Bergeron, Canada
Mohammed Ez-zaoui, Morocco
Dr. Elly Macha, Tanzania
Muhammed Krubally, Gambia
Fayez Al Azmi, Kuwait
Treasurer
Martine Abel-Williamson, New Zealand
Ahmad Allouzi, Jordan
Secretary General
Ajai Kumar Mittal, India
David Okon, Nigeria
Members were also reminded of the deadline for the receipt of nominations for the different positions, as established in the program.
WBU SESSION 2
Report of Work 2012–2016
Chair: Fredric Schroeder
Report on Strategic Plan 2012–2016: Arnt Holte
Arnt Holte referred to the Quadrennial report which highlighted the work achieved during the term in the different areas of the strategic plan. He made special reference to the major achievement of the Marrakesh Treaty, commended the tireless work and perseverance of the R2R team and the leadership of Maryanne Diamond and expressed his appreciation on behalf of WBU to the Open Society Institute Foundation for their financial support to the Marrakesh work. Continuous work towards more country ratifications will carry on to the next term.
Other highlights included our increased presence at the UN and its agencies and treaty bodies; he expressed thanks for the support from CBM allowing us to have a staff person to assist with this work. He referred to alliances with other international organizations allowing us to express our voice and our views in areas of importance to the blind community. He also highlighted the progress in the technology area, however emphasizing the challenges of making technology affordable in developing countries; our work in environment, independent travel, and silent cars issues -very actively working into new regulations. He also referred to SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), giving governments direction and influence them in the future.
Arnt thanked all WBU Officers and staff for their help and hard work, and to Penny Hartin in particular for her ongoing and invaluable support.
Report of Chief Executive Officer: Penny Hartin
Penny Hartin gave highlights of the work undertaken by the WBU Office. She introduced the new staff members and briefly described the work they do to support our members: Caitlin Reid, Communications Coordinator and her work in Marrakesh, Jose Viera, Human Rights Policy Advisor. Both conducted workshops during the assembly and all members were encouraged to participate. She also commended the work of the Admin staff, Ianina Rodriguez and Maggie Leung, and their work in supporting the office and WBU members and the planning and logistics of the assembly.
Penny thanked CNIB for their support to the Toronto Office, commended CBM for their 5th year funding support, acknowledged the Canadian Trillium grant towards Aspiro Project and the support of FOSI towards our work on the Marrakesh Treaty. She thanked members for their continued support and encouraged all members to also support the work of the WBU through paying their fees. The office opened 10 years ago with the purpose of supporting WBU members and pointed out that our members constitute our primary source of sustainable funding. She further explained that doing international fundraising for operations of the office is difficult as most foundations or other entities are project-based funders.
Lastly, Penny mentioned that this assembly was the last one for her in her role as CEO as she will retire before the next one. She encouraged everyone to keep in contact with the office to maintain communication in both directions. She thanked all for their support and friendship. Fred Schroeder thanked Penny for all her work and commitment to WBU.
Report of Treasurer: A.K. Mittal
The Treasurer delivered a brief report on financial accounts for 2013-2016, which had been distributed to members prior to the Assembly. Overall the financial monitoring was good and administered effectively from Toronto. Eight meetings of the Finance committee were held during the term. He acknowledged the NABP donation of 100K in 2013, the continued committed core support from some of our members and the one from Germany who joined the group since 2014 as a Gold sponsor. He also acknowledged the support of $10K from Vanda Pharmaceuticals in 2013. In addition to these, three project applications were approved in 2016: $30K from Vanda Pharmaceuticals toward communications area, a two-year project supported by FOSI (Foundation Open Society Institute) towards the ratification and implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty, and the Human Rights and Advocacy Project supported by CBM for an annual budget of approximately $74K. He reiterated that these were project based funds and other resources would still need to be generated towards WBU core operations. He also reported about the transfer of assets and programs from the World Braille Foundation to WBU that would take place during the next quadrennial. In terms of membership, he reported that fee relief was granted to 27 members during the term and reminded members to fulfill their fees payment in a timely manner.
Report of WBU Membership: Penny Hartin
The CEO reported that 7 new requests for membership had been approved since the last GA in Bangkok. 5 National Members: Tonga, South Sudan, Djibouti, Macau (as part of the Chinese delegation), and Bhutan. One International Member: The International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF). One Associate: REMOD from Central African Republic. They were all welcomed to the WBU by the Assembly.
It was pointed out that 3 international members withdrew their membership, largely due to economic issues and some associate members were removed due to non payment of fees for over four years. It was also reported that 2 national members were inactive: Singapore and Latvia.
The status of the WBU membership at the time of the GA was: 164 national members, 2 inactive members, 5 special members, giving a total of 179 number of countries including countries represented by the Caribbean grouped member (15), 44 country members non-financial. 13 international members, 2 non-financial. 23 Honorary Life Members, and 16 associate members.
The above 4 reports were moved and accepted by acclamation.
WBU SESSION 3
Universal Design, accessible travel, transportation and tourism
Chair: A.K. Mittal, WBU Treasurer
A Panel presentation discussing various aspects of access to the environment and transportation.
Presentation on Shared Spaces: Martine Abel-Williamson
Full presentation available on the website
Presentation on Quiet Vehicles: Fredric Schroeder
Presentation on International Travel with a Guide Dog: Martine Abel-Williamson
Full presentation available on the website
WBU SESSION 4
Chair: Enrique Pérez, WBU Second Vice-President
Rehabilitation for Blind and Partially Sighted Persons
Presentation of Survey Results: Rebecca Sheffield (AFB)
The survey was coordinated by the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB); it was finalized in January 2016 and sent to the full membership in the three WBU languages. The survey compiled methods and statistics for residential and community rehabilitation services for users -who receives or does not receive services, what kind of services and location. Rebecca Sheffield, the chief researcher for the study, summarized the results, which had been pre-circulated to the members prior to the Assembly and which is available on the WBU website. The presentation was followed by a discussion period pointing out the key issues in developing countries -rehabilitation, health, communications, social development, employment, and accessibility to services. It was highlighted the importance of achieving the SDGs and the need to engage the governments, private bodies and NGOs to attain improved service delivery. It was a passionate discussion where members highlighted the importance of sharing different realities.
Full presentation available on the website.
Delegates were reminded that the deadline for resolutions submissions would close at 6:00 pm on Friday, August 19th.
The day closed with evening sessions of the women's network.