Kia ora Tatou,
Hello to all of us,
This week I am so pleased to be hosting Peter Allen and Natalie McLean from My Life My Voice here in Whakatū – Nelson. To have time to kōrero kanohi ke to kanohi – be in the presence of one another and to talk, is an enriching and collaborative process that is enhancing our shared communities.
Here is their message to the deafblind community and the wider pan disability sector.
—
This is an Enabling Good Lives Social Movement
We are travelling regionally, with our next two stops being Invercargill, followed by Tāmaki Makaurau – Auckland to connect with local whaikaha/disability communities about unfolding the Enabling Good Lives approach.
There are three messages for discussion:
- How the Enabling Good Lives approach is owned by whaikaha/disabled people;
- Enhancing the understanding of the eight principles that belong to us;
- The importance of unity and collaboration to develop our strong disability voice.
This is early in the coming week so if you are in Invercargill get ready!
- Monday, 11 March, 10am-1pm and 5:30pm-8:30pm;
- Tuesday 12 March, 10am-1pm and 3:30pm-6:30pm.
Venue: Club Southland, 115 Leet Street, Invercargill.
Contact Nat on 022 065 0912 to book or just walk in.
Some kai will be provided.
Peter and Natalie have kindly agreed to spend some time with the Deafblind Nelson gathering tomorrow (Saturday) before they head to Invercargill.
—–
International Women’s Day – 8 March
Yes, it’s today and it’s for every gender to celebrate our women and girls, our successes, and especially those in need of our support, as well as our wahine toa – women of strength! Sarah, Aimee and I couldn’t possibly name all our personal role models! No matter who you are I encourage you to take time today to celebrate a woman in your life and her positive contribution!
The UN Women theme for 2024 is Count Her In: Invest in Women. Accelerate Progress. This social media posting was done by the Samoa Audit Office:
“Happy International Women’s Day!
We celebrate and applaud the achievements and contributions of women worldwide.
As we commemorate #IWD2024, we reaffirm our commitment to creating a more inclusive and equitable society.
We recognize the importance of investing in women to accelerate progress. By empowering women in leadership, embracing diversity, and nurturing an inclusive workplace culture, we drive positive change within our organization, and hope to inspire others to do the same.”
They also released their report on a recent Governance and Leadership Women Symposium and suggested that people “Join us in amplifying the voices of women, and advancing progress towards a more equitable society.”
—–
Article: Sheep may be key to reducing hearing loss
RNZ National, Nine to Noon programme on 8 March.
Scientists from the University of Auckland medical school are working to developing a device to deliver medication deep into the ear to help prevent deafness.
Hearing researcher Dr Haruna Suzuki-Kerr says it is particularly difficult to diagnose and treat issues in the human inner ear. Anatomically the interior of sheep ears are similar to the human ear and they are crucial to the research.
Sheep may be key to reducing hearing loss (Nine To Noon 9:40am, 9:23 minutes)
—–
Career Opportunity – Secretary General, International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI)
With the imminent retirement of Dr MNG Mani, CEO of ICEVI, we are inviting applications for the new position of Secretary General. I am pleased to share the Job Advertisement and Position Description for wide distribution across your networks.
The application deadline is 31st March 2024 and the proposed start date is 1 June 2024 (negotiable).
Full details of the position are provided in the Job Advertisement and Position Description, available on the ICEVI website.
Career opportunity: ICEVI Secretary General job advertisement
Applications and inquiries are to be directed to the ICEVI President, care of the Secretariat.
Email: ceo201922@gmail.com.
Sincerely,
Dr Frances Gentle
President, International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI); & Lecturer, NextSense and Macquarie University (Australia)
—–
Events
Accessible Technology Users Group
This information was shared by Thomas Bryan.
The next Zoom meeting of the Accessible Technology Users group will be on Wednesday 13th of March at 8:00 pm Melbourne time (10:00 pm New Zealand time).
The guest speaker will be Hans Wiberg from Be My Eyes. Hans will be explaining how Be My Eyes works and telling us about and demonstrating the relatively new Be My AI feature. After the presentation from Hans we will have a 15 minute time of Information Exchange.
For further information about this meeting please email Adam Morris.
—–
Other newsletters
DPA Information Exchange: 2 March 2024
The D*List website is an online culture magazine that creates space for disabled people to tell their own stories through features, columns and news reporting.
This week we are including an additional link straight to The D*List Delivered, where their newsletter can be accessed as well as the link to the website (further below).
The D*List Delivered (Substack)
Following is a link to have a browse of The D*List website or sign up to receive their weekly newsletter:
Following is a link to have a browse of The D*List website or sign up to receive their weekly newsletter.
Be Seen be Heard be Connected Weekly Update
Please note, access to our weekly be Seen Be Heard Be Connected emails is also available on our website via our events page, at the following link.
News and events (Deafblind Association New Zealand)
Ngā mihi mahana,
Warm regards,
Amanda
—–
Event reminders
7 to 24 March, Auckland Arts Festival 2024
Details were provided in 9 February update.
Contact information follows.
Email: access@aaf.co.nz.
Phone/text: 022 306 2206.
Access & Inclusion (Auckland Arts Festival)
2024 Audio Described Nationwide Events Booklet
The events list with booklet page numbers was provided in the 23 February update. The full calendar is available as a word document via the following link:
2024 Events Information (DOCX 60 KB)
25 to 31 May, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland – International Council on English Braille 8th General Assembly
June 2024 Deafblind Awareness month – Yarn bombing
#DbIYarnBombing2024 – information was provided in 21 January update.
2024 Activity Deafblind International Youth Network (DbIYN)
Monday 30 September to Friday 4 October in Disneyland Paris.
Expression of Interest: please contact simon.allison@sense.org.uk.
Thursday 3 October Deafblind UK Online Conference 2024. Theme: “Standing out and fitting in”. The conference is free and all are welcome.
—–
Ongoing
No Labels on Wellington Access Radio
You can listen to this edition of the show on Wellington Access Radio on Tuesday just after 1:00pm, or the following Tuesday at the same time.
“If you miss the scheduled show, you can check it out later online at the link below.
No Labels (Wellington Access Radio)
Or you can subscribe to the show via your preferred podcast player to check out this episode or previous episodes of the show.
—
Entertainment with Able
Able is a not-for-profit organisation working towards a more inclusive Aotearoa, believing everyone should be able to access news, entertainment and culture. Funded by NZ On Air, they’re Aotearoa’s leading provider of media access services, including captioning services, subtitling and audio description.
Listings are available at the following browser links.
A link to Able’s website to subscribe to the weekly newsletter with listings and picks of the week follows.
—–
Deafblind Association New Zealand access to TellMe
See TellMe numbers for your area
—–
End of report and this week’s update.
Amanda Stevens
Executive Officer
Taringa Turi Kāpō Rōpū
Deafblind Association New Zealand