<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class=""><div class="WordSection1" style="page: WordSection1; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" class="">Hi All,</span><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" class=""> </span><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" class="">The Smithsonian Institute’s National Portrait Gallery and the University of Michigan are recruiting blind, low-vision, and sighted adults in the Washington, DC area for four workshops to develop a model for inclusive, co-created audio description. Please see the below recruitment announcement for additional information.</span><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" class=""> </span><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" class="">The below research participant solicitation is being provided for informational purposes only. The National Federation of the Blind has no involvement in this research, but we believe that it may contribute to our research mission.</span><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class=""> </span></b><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: center;" class=""><b class=""><u class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class="">Audio Description Project: Workshop for Inclusive Co-Created Audio Description (W-ICAD)</span></u></b><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class="">The National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC, is recruiting individuals to participate in a research study on museum audio description.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;" class="">This research will challenge the current audio description practice, which relies on sighted describers. It will also develop and extend audio description usage as a tool for all visitors, from blind to sighted and anywhere inbetween. It will do this by creating and evaluating a W-ICAD (Workshop for Inclusive Co-created Audio Description) model, in which the descriptions will be co-created by blind, low vision, and sighted participants. We hope the project will show that the description process and final products will be inclusive for all visitors, regardless where they are on the vision spectrum.</span></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class=""> </span></span><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="eop"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class="">The four all-day workshops will take place at the Portrait Gallery from 10 am – 4:30 pm on June 21, 23, 25, and July 20th. In addition to participating in the workshop, participants will be asked to complete an online survey that will take about 30 minutes to complete. Lunch and snacks will be provided, and each participant will receive a $180 gift card for their time. Each participant can only participate in one workshop.</span></span><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="eop"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class="">Each workshop will be attended by three co-creators (one blind, one low vision, and one sighted), plus the program facilitator, the researcher and research assistant, and possibly one or two observers. Therefore, we are looking for a total of four blind, four low vision, and four sighted volunteers. Participants should not be highly experienced museum goers or consumers of audio descriptions. Rather, the project requires individuals who are relatively unbiased about museum audio description.</span></span><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="eop"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class="">If you are interested, please contact Vanessa Jones right away at 202-302-5050, or<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><a href="mailto:jonesve@si.edu" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193); text-decoration: underline;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class="">jonesve@si.edu</span></a><span class="eop"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class="">, as the workshop dates are fast approaching.</span></span><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" class=""> </span><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" class=""> </span><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class="">Lou Ann Blake, J.D.</span><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">Director of Research Programs, Blindness Initiatives<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class="">200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230</span><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class="">410-659-9314, extension 2221 |<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="mailto:lblake@nfb.org" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193); text-decoration: underline;" class=""><span style="color: windowtext;" class="">lblake@nfb.org</span></a></span><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125);" class=""> </span><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><a href="https://nfb.org/" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193); text-decoration: underline;" class=""><span style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0in; text-decoration: none;" class=""><img border="0" id="Picture_x0020_4" alt="Image removed by sender. National Federation of the Blind" style="" class="" apple-inline="yes" src="cid:~WRD0000.jpg"></span></a><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125);" class=""> </span><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125);" class=""> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div></div></div></blockquote></div><br class=""></body></html>