[New-hampshire-students] Fw: NFB Imagineering Our Future: March Madness

Tue Mar 30 22:22:58 UTC 2010

Hello folks,
Here is the most recent newsletter for  you to PLEASE pass along to those 
you know, that may not have access to the internet.
I have also posted it to the NH State Channel on Newsline for those using 
the telephone service.
Thanks once again for all your help and support. Happy reading!

Marie

Imagineering Our Future
     Issue 21 March 30, 2010

In this issue:
Message from the Executive Director
What's New
Education
Braille Initiative
Advocacy
Straight Talk About Vision Loss
Technology Talk
>From the Jacobus tenBroek Library
Independence Market
Parent Outreach
Spotlight on the Imagination Fund
NFB Calendar
Citation

Message from the Executive Director
Dear Friends,

March Madness has a different meaning at the NFB Jernigan Institute. Yes, 
around the coffee machine there's the usual discussion of big upsets and 
smack talk for favorite college teams. However, the madness here has to do 
with a more delicate and life changing selection process than those 
sixty-five teams that are picked to play for a chance at the big dance. 
March is filled with sorting through applications for participation in 
upcoming educational programs like this summer's NFB Junior Science Academy.

Why madness? We receive four times as many applicants as we have spots for 
participants in our programs. We know that every blind child, every parent 
of a blind child, and every teacher of blind students would benefit from 
participating in our education programs. Until we figure out a way to get 
enough resources to spread the programs out to every corner of this country, 
we have to continue going through the madness that is the selection process. 
The stakes are high as we see so many children and families that are 
desperate for the hope and opportunity that is offered in the programs of 
the National Federation of the Blind. A recent letter from a mom said, "We 
felt like we learned more at the Beginnings and Blueprints Conference than 
any other sources combined." And this spring we are welcoming back blind 
students from the 2009 NFB Youth Slam for more training in leadership and 
self-advocacy. The stories of how their lives were changed because of their 
experience at the NFB Youth Slam and the ongoing mentorship they are 
receiving from blind people in their local community fuels our passion to do 
more.

We are tired of the madness. Blind people should not have to wait or compete 
for hope and opportunity. That is why we continue to expand and improve our 
efforts. This year's Junior Science Academy will have two sessions instead 
of the one we offered two years ago. This summer we are expanding our 
Braille enrichment program to three more states (above and beyond the two 
original states from last year). And, we are offering new education programs 
this spring and planning for new initiatives in the next year and a half.

We need to do more. The pace is increasing, the urgency is building, the 
demand for the work of the Federation is at an all time high. We need your 
support in the effort. Your time, talent, and treasure all contribute to 
helping us expand the resource pool to accomplish our goals. I would ask 
that you look over this newsletter and find the place where you can 
contribute (put your name in that bracket and let us know). Pass this 
newsletter on to friends to spread the word about our work (your college 
buddies will turn their heads when they learn that March Madness is more 
than whether or not their team advanced). And get behind our team by making 
a contribution to Team Jernigan Institute in the Race for Independence. Your 
support in all of these ways makes a huge difference in our effort to change 
what it means to be blind.

When you are standing around the coffee machine talking about March Madness 
and tipping your hat to outstanding performances on the court, remember the 
work of the National Federation of the Blind. The teamwork and 
accomplishments of the members of the Federation are outstanding, and our 
teamwork is helping put more blind people in a position to compete in the 
big dance in more fields than ever before.

Mark A. Riccobono, Executive Director, NFB Jernigan Institute

Featured NFB News
2010 Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium
The Jernigan Institute will host the 2010 Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law 
Symposium: Equality, Difference, and the Right to Live in the World, on 
April 15th and 16th. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Tom Perez 
and former Congressman Tony Coelho head the list of distinguished legal 
scholars, practitioners, and advocates who will discuss the concepts of 
equality and difference as they relate to the disabled in employment, 
education, medical treatment, and access to technology. This year, the 
symposium format has been expanded to incorporate workshops on special 
education advocacy and litigation strategies to provide disability rights 
advocates increased opportunities to collaborate and network.

In addition to founding the NFB in 1940, Dr. Jacobus tenBroek was a 
constitutional law scholar who created the concept that civil rights should 
apply to disabled Americans. His seminal 1966 Law Review article "The Right 
to Live in the World: The Disabled in the Law of Torts" is the foundation 
for the civil rights provisions of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the 
Americans with Disabilities Act. The Jernigan Institute and the Jacobus 
tenBroek Disability Law Symposium will provide disability rights advocates a 
forum in which to continue Dr. tenBroek's work toward achieving equal 
opportunity for all citizens to participate fully in the society in which we 
live.

Time is short to register or get more information on the 2010 Jacobus 
tenBroek Disability Law Symposium. Learn more about Jacobus tenBroek and the 
Jacobus tenBroek Library online.
Bolotin Award Deadline Approaches
Individuals and organizations who are making significant contributions to 
help change what it means to be blind are encouraged to apply for the Dr. 
Jacob Bolotin Award presented by the National Federation of the Blind. 
Nominations and letters of support should be completed online by March 31, 
and winners will be notified by May 15.  To be considered, nominees must 
live and work in the United States. The Federation will award $50,000 this 
year to recognize and support individuals and organizations that share and 
live the philosophy of the National Federation of the Blind and Dr. Bolotin. 
For further details, to nominate an individual or organization, or to 
support a nomination that has already been made, go to the Dr. Jacob Bolotin 
Award page.
Cane Event
Join us for our annual fundraiser, The Cane Event, on May 1, 2010! The 
evening will feature casino games, a piano bar, food, drinks, music, and 
more! The proceeds from the event benefit our Imagination Fund, which 
supports programs at the NFB Jernigan Institute and in our state affiliates. 
Reserve your tickets today!  Alternatively, you could become a Braille 
Literacy Champion, which comes with two tickets, plus you'll support a blind 
child's right to read by sponsoring a Braille book to be sent through our 
Braille Reading Pals Club.

When you become a sponsor or purchase tickets, you support us as we empower 
the blind across the country! Thank you to our current sponsors, including 
Brown, Goldstein, and Levy, LLP; Morgan Stanley Smith Barney; and Market 
Development Group.

Sign up or get more information online at thecaneevent.org or call Karen 
Zakhnini at (410) 659-9314, ext. 2297.

Education
2010 NFB Leadership and Advocacy in Washington DC (LAW) Program
We received nearly 100 LAW Program applications from interested students and 
are very sorry that we cannot take more participants. Twenty-five youth from 
across the country have been accepted to this new program and will be coming 
to the NFB Jernigan Institute next month for an exciting week of advocacy 
and historical learning.
2010 NFB Junior Science Academy
This summer the NFBJI is very pleased to offer the Junior Science Academy 
for the second time.  The response has been overwhelming-we received over 
110 applications with only thirty spots to fill between the two sessions. 
Selected applicants will be notified by April 1 of their status.
Youth Leadership Seminars
This spring, as a way to follow up with youth who participated in last 
summer's NFB Youth Slam, these participants were invited back to attend one 
of four weekend leadership seminars at the NFB Jernigan Institute. The youth 
will learn more about our philosophy on blindness, they will learn how to 
advocate for themselves as a blind person, they will learn the importance of 
good blindness skills, and they will participate in confidence building 
experiences.
Increasing Your Odds for Success

This quarter's NFBJI accessible bulletin board has a casino theme and 
focuses on the five elements for success outlined in the book Freedom for 
the Blind: The Secret Is Empowerment. The green background of the board and 
the black ribbed border mimic a poker table. The center of the board 
features a two-and-a-half-foot square that protrudes from the board two 
inches and is set on an angle. The number five side of the die is face up to 
the viewer. Each of the tactile circles on the front of the die feature one 
element for success: it is OK to be blind, mastering blindness skills, 
coping with public attitudes, fitting in, and giving back. The title of the 
board-Increasing Your Odds for Success-runs around the entire perimeter of 
the die (in shiny red letters) starting at nine o'clock and continuing 
clockwise. On either side of the die are three hands of jumbo cards (five by 
seven inches) turned face down. The hands feature pictures of successful 
blind people. The cards on the right side of the board (from top to bottom) 
are of the NFB Training Center directors (Julie Deden, Shawn Mayo, and Pam 
Allen) receiving the Jacob Bolotin Award at a national NFB convention; Dr. 
Maurer, President of the NFB, sitting in a circle with children at National 
Convention; and Mark Riccobono, Executive Director for the NFB Jernigan 
Institute, demonstrating how to use a chain saw. The left side of the board 
(from top to bottom) pictures: Mr. Omvig, author of Freedom for the Blind 
and blindness advocate, giving a speech; Dr. Maurer grilling with a group of 
young people; and Ronza Othman, a staff member for the U.S. Department of 
Homeland Security, and Jesse Hartle, Government Programs Specialist for the 
NFB, posing for a picture with then-Senator Obama and Senator Durbin. 
Scattered around the hands of cards are poker chips.

Attention Federationists:  Have you or your child participated in one of the 
following National Center for Blind Youth in Science programs: Science 
Academy 2004, Rocket On! 2004, Science Academy 2005, Rocket On! 2005, 
Science Academy 2006, Rocket On! 2006, Youth Slam 2007, Jr. Science Academy 
2008, or Youth Slam 2009?  If so, we have a contest for you! Show us in a 
creative way what science means to you now. You can write a poem, essay, or 
original song lyrics, or create a piece of tactile art. The theme of this 
contest is "STEM-ulating Growth in New Fields." The top ten entries will be 
featured on the Accessible Bulletin Board in the Betsy Zaborowski Conference 
Room at the NFB Jernigan Institute, the blindscience.org Web portal, and in 
NFB publications. In addition, the creator of the first place entry will 
receive a $25 gift certificate to iTunes!

To enter this STEM-ulating contest, please visit www.blindscience.org and 
follow the STEM-ulating Growth in New Fields Contest  link for the rules and 
to fill out an online entry form. Entries are due no later than March 31, 
2010. If you have questions, please e-mail Natalie Shaheen at the NFB 
Jernigan Institute or call (410) 659-9314, extension 2293).

Braille Initiative
2010 NFB Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning (BELL) Program
On March 12-14, representatives from the five BELL sites trained at the NFB 
Jernigan Institute in preparation for this summer's BELL programs. Three new 
states will participate this year: Utah, Texas, and Virginia. Maryland and 
Georgia, participants in the pilot project for the NFBJI last summer, will 
host programs again this year. We are very pleased with all the hard work 
these sites are doing to help advance the effort to promote Braille literacy 
to young blind and low-vision children.
Onkyo Braille Essay Contest
The NFB administers the Onkyo Braille Essay Contest on behalf of the North 
America-Caribbean Region of the World Blind Union. Essays by contest 
participants, in English or their native language, must be completely 
original in nature and written in Braille. Entries of no fewer than 800 and 
no more than 1,000 words in length and submitted by April 30, 2010, are 
eligible for prizes ranging from $500-$2,000.  For more information, 
including how to apply, please visit the Onkyo Braille Essay Contest Web 
page.

If you'd like to help support the Braille literacy efforts of the NFB 
Jernigan Institute, please consider making a matching gift to the Braille 
Readers are Leaders Campaign.

Advocacy
Joint Statement on Access to Books by Americans with Print Disabilities
This month, we once again got the attention of the White House. What made 
them notice us was a joint statement from major players that are working to 
make books accessible to print disabled Americans. The participating groups 
and their constituencies were:  the Reading Rights Coalition, representing 
thirty million Americans who cannot read print due to disabilities; the 
Authors Guild, with a membership of eight thousand American writers; and the 
Association of American Publishers, whose more than three hundred members 
include most of the major commercial publishers in the United States as well 
as smaller and non-profit publishers. The statement read that "these groups 
agree to work together and through the communities they represent to ensure 
that when the marketplace offers alternative formats to print books, such as 
audio and electronic books, print-disabled consumers can access the contents 
of these alternative formats to the same extent as all other consumers."

Kareem A. Dale, special assistant to the President for disability policy, 
commented in his blog post from the White House Blog, One Step Closer to 
Full Access, on March 9:

Change.  Finding common ground.  These are hallmarks of this Administration. 
And today, we move one step closer to full access to books and materials for 
millions of Americans with print and other disabilities.  While much work 
remains to be done, the community of stakeholders has taken a noteworthy and 
important step forward.

The Reading Rights Coalition, the Authors Guild, and the Association of 
American Publishers have issued a joint statement stating that "the contents 
of books should be as accessible to individuals with print disabilities as 
they are to everyone else." They further agreed to work together to reach 
this desired goal.

As a person who is blind myself and thoroughly enjoys reading, I applaud 
these groups and organizations for coming together to bring about needed 
change.  We look forward to continuing to work with all Americans to support 
access to materials for persons with print disabilities.

Straight Talk About Vision Loss
A new video has been added in the Straight Talk About Vision Loss Web-based 
video series.  In Episode 29, NFBJI's executive director talks with Parnell 
Diggs, chairman of the NFB's Imagination Fund, which provides support for 
the outreach efforts of local Federation chapters throughout the United 
States as well as the research, technology, and education programs and 
initiatives of the NFB Jernigan Institute.  Parnell explains the Race for 
Independence-our imagination is putting us in the driver's seat as we speed 
toward our goal of first-class citizenship in society at an ever-increasing 
pace!  This is no traditional race-it's more about empowering the blind to 
do something most believe is impossible.

Product and Access Technology Talk
The Access Technology team has just returned from the biggest Access 
Technology conference in the United States, the 25th Annual International 
Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference, hosted by the 
California State University Northridge (CSUN) in San Diego. As previously 
mentioned, the team hosted a record number of sessions-one pre-conference 
workshop dealing with eBook accessibility and further sessions on Cell 
Phones and Mobile Devices and Optical Character Recognition: Flatbed Scanner 
vs. Camera-Based Solutions.

NFB and Blackboard jointly presented Nonvisual Accessibility in Blackboard 
Learn.  The NFB commends Blackboard's investments that will provide blind 
students with an improved and more accessible experience.  The online 
education platform's improvements remove a number of accessibility barriers. 
The NFB has awarded its gold level Nonvisual Accessibility Web Certification 
seal to the company for enhanced access in Blackboard Learn Release 9.1.

Readers of the Access Technology Blog can expect interviews, reports, and 
updates on new and/or exciting products from CSUN.  Meanwhile, an article by 
Wes Majerus of our access technology team appeared in the March 2010 Braille 
Monitor:   "Leadership in Nonvisual Accessibility in Consumer Electronics: A 
Report on the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show."

>From the tenBroek Library
More BIG NEWS from the only research library on blindness owned and 
controlled by the organized blind!! Last month we announced the public 
launch of our online catalog.

Now we are pleased and proud to announce that we have completed basic 
processing of the Jacobus tenBroek papers, and that a series-level finding 
aid is available online. If you don't know what "basic processing" means, 
and you're wondering what a "finding aid" is, you cannot do better than to 
follow the link in this paragraph. This finding aid-the result of several 
years' inventory work capped by a project funded by the U.S. National 
Archives-is exemplary of the professionalism of the tenBroek Library, 
reflecting current best practices of archivists and manuscript librarians. 
In examining the finding aid, you'll also gain further insight into the 
significance of our founding President as an activist, scholar, and 
administrator.

We will soon open the tenBroek papers for researchers. We are confident that 
scholarship based on this unique collection will have a profound effect on 
disability studies, legal history, and every other area where Jacobus 
tenBroek left his mark.

Independence Market

We are pleased to announce the release of Touch the Earth: A Multimedia Book 
About the Earth's Biomes.  This new large print/Braille and tactile image 
book created in partnership with the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration is designed for junior high and high school students to 
supplement their learning about the different ecosystems of the Earth's 
continents. Copies of the book can be purchased through the NFB Independence 
Market by calling (410) 659-9314, extension 2216, or by visiting our 
e-commerce site. Books are $20 and include two instructional DVDs and a 
print/Braille tactile poster map.

For further information about NFB literature, please e-mail the Independence 
Market staff.

Parent Outreach
Braille Reading Pals Club-A Pre-Literacy Program for Blind and Low-Vision 
Children
The new, improved Braille Reading Pals Club will commence on April 1. Online 
registration is now open for families of blind and low-vision children ages 
birth to seven. Our registration is already over three hundred after being 
open only for a few weeks. Please e-mail the Braille Reading Pals Club if 
you have questions.  The Braille Reading Pals Club is co-sponsored by the 
National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC).
2010 NFB Youth Track at National Convention
It's coming...the 2010 annual Youth Track at the National Convention, and it's 
bringing with it some new additions. We will continue to facilitate the NFB 
Youth Track for high school students ages 14-18, but this year we will also 
have a Junior Youth Track for students ages 11-14. More details and agenda 
information (timed to coincide with the main convention week and activities 
of the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children) can be found in 
upcoming editions of the Braille Monitor and Future Reflections.

For those of you who are students ages 14-18, listen up. We would like to 
announce that on Tuesday, July 6, the NFB Youth Track will host a 
"Throw-Back" Party.  Come dressed in your favorite digs from your favorite 
decade. The evening will be filled with music and dancing from across the 
decades as well as exciting contests. Come test your hips at the hula hoop 
contest, name that movie theme song, or show us your best Michael Jackson 
impersonation. It's never too early to start planning which decade you'll 
represent.

Spotlight on the Imagination Fund

In establishing the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute on 
January 30, 2004, the nation's organized blind movement committed itself to 
pushing the boundaries of imagination and innovation in work with the blind. 
With its programs of research, training, and technological development, the 
Institute has inspired millions of people to look toward a tomorrow where 
the world for blind people is better than it is today.

During 2010, the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute is 
working with students and faculty at the Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory 
at Virginia Tech University's Mechanical Engineering Department to develop 
the world's first road-ready vehicle which can be driven by a blind person 
without sighted assistance. Members of the National Federation of the Blind 
were able to examine some of the interface technology that is being 
considered for this ground-breaking initiative at the annual Washington 
Seminar in February 2010. Using tactile information, members navigated a 
simulated driving course. Parnell Diggs (pictured holding the wheel of the 
demonstration vehicle, left) said, "The Blind Driver Challenge is important 
because it demonstrates that, given sufficient access to information, the 
average blind person can make rational, sound decisions-even behind the 
wheel."

This work is being made possible by the men and women who support the 
National Federation of the Blind Imagination Fund. You can read about the 
Race for Independence and the Blind Driver Challenge project in the article 
"What Should I Imagine," found in the March issue of the Braille Monitor. To 
get involved in this exciting campaign, please visit www.imaginationfund.org 
or www.raceforindependence.org.  Come on: Let's race!

NFB Calendar
It's time to prepare for the 2010 National Convention:
Make room reservations for the 2010 National Convention by writing directly 
to the Hilton Anatole Hotel, 2201 Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, Texas 75207, or 
calling (214) 761-7500.

Avoid the lines and save money when you pre-register with the NFB.  With 
online conference registration by May 31st, the pre-registration fee for 
convention is $15 ($20 on-site), the cost of a banquet ticket is $40 ($45 
on-site), and the cost of the BBQ tickets is $40 ($45 on-site).
If you are interested in becoming an exhibitor, complete an online 
application on the Exhibitor Information page.
Show your support of the blind across the country by becoming a convention 
sponsor! For more information, please e-mail Karen Zakhnini or call (410) 
659-9314, ext. 2297.

Register as an Imaginator in the Race for Independence, then achieve your 
fundraising goal. This will earn you the opportunity to visit the exclusive 
showroom for the Blind Driver Challenge vehicle in the Hilton Anatole hotel, 
and you can even compete for the right to serve as a beta tester during the 
2010 National Convention of some of the technology being used in this 
prototype automobile.
See you in Dallas!

March 31, 2010  Deadline to apply for a 2010 NFB Scholarship, thirty awards 
ranging from $3,000 to $12,000, plus a trip to the 2010 National Convention, 
for blind postsecondary scholars.

March 31, 2010  Final day to submit nominations online for the 2010 Dr. 
Jacob Bolotin Award Program.  Please visit the Application Information and 
Materials page for more information.

April 1, 2010  Program year begins for Braille Reading Pals Club, A 
Pre-Literacy Program for Blind and Low-Vision Children, Sponsored by the 
National Federation of the Blind and the National Organization of Parents of 
Blind Children (NOPBC)

April 15-16, 2010  2010 Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium, National 
Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute.

April 16-20, 2010  NFB Leadership and Advocacy in Washington (LAW) Program, 
for blind students in grades 6-9, National Federation of the Blind Jernigan 
Institute and Washington, D.C.

April 30, 2010  Deadline for Onkyo Braille Essay Contest, administered by 
the NFB for the North America-Caribbean Region of the World Blind Union.

May 1, 2010  The Cane Event, National Federation of the Blind Jernigan 
Institute.
Our annual fundraiser features casino games, live entertainment, heavy hors 
d'oeuvres, drinks, dancing, and more!  The proceeds from the evening benefit 
our Imagination Fund, supporting programs at the NFB Jernigan Institute and 
in our state affiliates.  For more information, tickets, or to become a 
sponsor of The Cane Event, e-mail Karen Zakhnini or call (410) 659-9314, 
ext. 2297.

May 31, 2010  Deadline to pre-register online for the 2010 NFB National 
Convention, Hilton Anatole Hotel, Dallas, Texas.

June 10-12, 2010  Research in the Rockies international seminar devoted to 
Braille reading and writing, Denver, Colorado.  For more information, please 
contact Dr. Judith Chwalow, NFB Jernigan Institute Director of Research.

July 3-8, 2010  NFB National Convention, Hilton Anatole Hotel, Dallas, 
Texas.
The annual meeting of the NFB and the largest gathering of the blind in the 
country, drawing approximately three thousand blind people from all across 
the United States.  Become a convention sponsor or exhibitor -contact Karen 
Zakhnini, (410) 659-9314, ext. 2297.

July 28-August 1 and August 4-8, 2010   2010 NFB Junior Science Academy, A 
STEM program for blind children in grades 3-6 offered by the NFBJI's 
National Center for Blind Youth in Science (NCBYS).  See a video about the 
2009 NFB Youth Slam science academy for high school students.

Coming Summer 2011-NFB National Convention in Orlando, Florida!

Citation
 It seems to me that the point of education is not so much to teach somebody 
something-transferring knowledge from the informed to the uninformed-as it 
is to stimulate curiosity and the excitement of discovery in the minds of 
those being taught. A book is a dull object until the cover is opened, and 
some of them don't change with that event. However, the others do, and the 
excitement, the thrill, and the joy that are stimulated change the people 
who do the opening.

    -Dr. Marc Maurer, "Opening Minds with Knowledge: Intellectual Property 
in a Digital World," an address given at the Library of Congress, January 
21, 2010, March 2010 Braille Monitor

Back to Top

Thank you for reading the NFB Jernigan Institute's Imagineering Our Future.

Support the Jernigan Institute through the Imagination Fund

Interesting links:
Archive of Straight Talk about Vision Loss videos

National Center for Blind Youth in Science

Access Technology Tips

Blogs:
Access Technology

Voice of the Nation's Blind

Publication archives:
Voice of the Diabetic

Future Reflections

Braille Monitor

Visit us at nfb.org

Jernigan Institute, National Federation of the Blind
200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place, Baltimore, MD 21230
(410) 659-9314      Fax (410) 659-5129      E-mail JerniganInstitute at nfb.org
Visit us at www.nfb.org

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