[Mn-at-large] NFB President’s Notebook - week of 01/09/ 2017

Mon Jan 9 22:34:09 UTC 2017

President's Notebook

National Federation of the Blind

Mark A. Riccobono

<mailto:officeofthepresident at nfb.org>officeofthepresident at nfb.org

(410) 659-9314

Dear Fellow Federationists,

I had the opportunity to represent the Federation 
at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) last week. 
In talking to technology providers, it is 
encouraging to find more awareness of what 
"accessibility" means than I did years ago when I 
last attended CES. It is clear that we are living 
in an ever-connected world from cars, to homes, 
to wearables, to the physical environment. I 
think that our advocacy and technology expertise 
put the blind in a great position to take 
advantage of all of these innovations.

Technology will never be the answer. We need to 
continue to articulate our philosophy about 
blindness. I think that we need to walk carefully 
around the use of technology making sure that the 
blind continue to direct that use in our lives. 
There are many simple things that do not require 
a technology solution. However, how can we 
further leverage technology to give us increased 
access to information that is expensive or 
difficult to get in our everyday lives? It will 
be up to the National Federation of the Blind to 
define what the cutting edge of technology and 
independence is, and I am looking to the leaders 
of the Federation to help by actively participating in those discussions.

Critical Actions This Week:

Washington Seminar:
The Great Gathering-In is exactly three weeks 
from today. Please schedule appointments with 
members of your Congressional delegation for 
January 31, February 1, and February 2. Once your 
appointments are scheduled, please notify us at 
<mailto:Hillappointments at nfb.org>Hillappointments at nfb.org, 
providing as much information about each meeting 
as you can, including: date, time, meeting 
location, and (perhaps most importantly) whether 
you are meeting with a staffer or an actual member of Congress.

The 2017 
<https://nfb.org/washington-seminar>Legislative 
Fact Sheets are online. This is a great time to 
be studying our issues for the 2017 Washington 
Seminar and memorizing the fact sheets. Be sure 
to check back often for updates regarding the 
Washington Seminar in the weeks leading up to the 
Great Gathering-In on January 30 at 5:00 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Capitol.

News:

2017 BELL Academy Program launched:
On Louis Braille's birthday, January 4, we 
launched the 2017 BELL Academy Program with Wells 
Fargo. In addition to sponsoring the BELL 
Academy, Wells Fargo will provide strategic input 
into the program and offer team member volunteers at select academies.

Presidential Release:
The January Presidential Release has been posted 
to our website at 
<https://nfb.org/images/nfb/audio/pr/pr457.mp3>https://nfb.org/images/nfb/audio/pr/pr457.mp3.

EPUB 3 Training Seminar:
We will be hosting a training seminar designed to 
teach how to create and implement accessible EPUB 
3 in a variety of different settings and to 
discuss the upcoming release of the EPUB 
accessibility conformance specification. This 
event will be hosted under the auspices of the 
National Federation of the Blind (NFB) Center of 
Excellence in Nonvisual Access to Education, 
Public Information, and Commerce (CENA), with 
financial support through the Non-Visual 
Accessibility Initiative grant from the State of Maryland.

Dates to Keep in Mind:

Â·        January 30, 2017: Great Gathering-In
Â·        January 30-February 2, 2017: 
<https://nfb.org/washington-seminar>Washington Seminar
Â·        March 23, 2017: 
<https://nfb.org/ebooks-and-epub-accessibility>EPUB 3 Training Seminar
Â·        March 30-31, 2017: Jacobus tenBroek Law Symposium
Â·        March 31, 2017: Deadline for 
<http://www.nfb.org/scholarships>scholarship applications
Â·        April 15, 2017: Deadline for 
<https://nfb.org/bolotin-award-main>Jacob Bolotin Award applications
Â·        July 10-15, 2017: 
<https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm16/bm1611/bm161101.htm>National 
Convention, Rosen Shingle Creek Resort, Orlando, Florida
Â·        July 21-29, 2017: 
<http://www.blindscience.org/nfb-youth-slam>Youth Slam, Towson University
Â·        September 12-17, 2017: 
<http://blindmerchants.org/blast-2017/>BLAST, Nashville, Tennessee

The National Federation of the Blind knows that 
blindness is not the characteristic that defines 
you or your future. Every day we raise the 
expectations of blind people, because low 
expectations create obstacles between blind 
people and our dreams. You can live the life you 
want; blindness is not what holds you back.

Mark A. Riccobono
President
200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230
(410) 659-9314 | 
<mailto:officeofthepresident at nfb.org>officeofthepresident at nfb.org

<https://nfb.org/>
National Federation of the Blind

                          <http://www.facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind>
Facebook
     <https://twitter.com/NFB_Voice>
Twitter
     <https://www.youtube.com/NationsBlind>
Youtube

The National Federation of the Blind is a 
community of members and friends who believe in 
the hopes and dreams of the nationâ€™s blind. 
Every day we work together to help blind people live the lives they want.

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