[Ohio-talk] {Disarmed} FW: NFB Imagineering Our Future: April 2012

Sat Apr 14 15:03:18 UTC 2012

Dr. J. Webster Smith

President, National Federation of the Blind of Ohio

PO Box 458 Athens, OH 45701

740-592-6326

“Changing what it means to be blind”

For more information go to nfbohio.org

From: Mark Riccobono [mailto:JerniganInstitute at nfb.org] 
Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2012 6:05 PM
To: J. W. Smith
Subject: NFB Imagineering Our Future: April 2012

 Graphic: NFBJI logo <http://testnfb.org/sites/nfb.org/files/images/NFB_JI_logo.jpg>   Imagineering Our Future

Issue 40 

April 2012

In this issue:

*	Message from the Executive Director <> 
*	What’s New <> 
*	Education <> 
*	Braille Initiative <> 
*	Research <> 
*	Advocacy <> 
*	Straight Talk About Vision Loss <> 
*	Product and Access Technology Talk <> 
*	From the tenBroek Library <> 
*	Independence Market <> 
*	Spotlight on the  <> Imagination Fund
*	NFB Calendar <> 
*	Citation <> 

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Message from the Executive Director

 Dear Friends,

Since 1940, the members of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) have been directing their own movements. Before that time, blind people did not have the same degree of freedom and independence. An essential element of that freedom and independence has been working together to direct ourselves into new realms and explore horizons that were previously unimagined.

 Mark Riccobono doing a push up with NASA Astronaut and Associate Administrator for Education Leland Melvin. <https://testnfb.org/sites/nfb.org/files/images/mark%20pushup.gif> 

Mark Riccobono Doing a Push Up

For about a decade the NFB has been working with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to create greater opportunities for the blind. I recently was invited to participate on a reduced gravity flight along with NASA Astronaut and Associate Administrator for Education, Leland Melvin. Reduced gravity flights attempt to simulate weightlessness through a series of parabolic dives. During our flight in early February, we experienced thirty-two periods of weightlessness.

My goal in flying on this trip was to explore what some of the experience would be like for a blind person seeking to be part of NASA’s astronaut program. At the beginning of the flight I needed to learn how to manage my newfound freedom of movement in ways I had never before experienced. Like early Federationists, I did not have a great wealth of experience to draw upon. My choice was simple:  I could sit in my chair, belted in, and experience weightlessness from a safe and extremely limiting position. Alternatively, I could be like those early Federationists (who were not content being confined to rocking chairs and sheltered employment) and venture out to learn how to be independent in this new environment.

 The Federation creates opportunities for blind people to expand their horizons, and provides a network of friends who provide a knowledge base from which to start. Although there are many places we have yet to go, the experience we have accumulated through the Federation is a tremendous guide in our new adventures. Whether it is a newly blind person learning to explore the world in a new way, or an ambitious blind youth seeking to explore an area not yet well known, the Federation provides a framework of knowledge and support that is unparalleled.

By the end of our reduced gravity flight I was doing summersaults and learning how to use the weightless environment to move and explore. I can’t wait until that glorious day when a blind person sits in the International Space Station and shares with us what a sustained period of time in weightlessness is like and what they learn from the experience that we can apply here to other domains. The power in our work comes from our individual experiences shared through a collective network for independence and freedom.

Your support of our work certainly plays an important role in giving blind people a greater degree of freedom than ever before in history. Where will we go next, what will be the next horizon, and how will it change our understanding of hope and freedom? Our commitment and imagination will be the only limits to the answers to those questions.

Sincerely,

 Graphic: Signature of Mark Riccobono <http://testnfb.org/sites/nfb.org/files/images/MAR_signature.jpg> 
Mark A. Riccobono, Executive Director
NFB Jernigan Institute

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Featured NFB News

Educating Future Community Leaders

 Mrs. Maurer teaching GBC Leadership students Braille <https://testnfb.org/sites/nfb.org/files/images/gbc.gif> 

Mrs. Maurer Teaching Braille

The Jernigan Institute welcomed future Baltimore community leaders partaking in the Greater Baltimore Committee Leadership program. Participants had the opportunity to learn alternative techniques and converse with our very own leaders in the National Federation of the Blind. The participants left with a new perspective of blindness and a better understanding of accessibility.  

2012 NFB National Convention Update

The 2012 convention of the National Federation of the Blind will take place in Dallas, Texas, June 30-July 5, at the Hilton Anatole Hotel at 2201 Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, Texas 75207. Make your room reservation as soon as possible with the Hilton Anatole staff only, not Hilton general reservations. Call (214) 761-7500.

Preregistration <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1046&qid=83315>  is open until May 31st. Preregistering online is faster, more convenient, and saves money. The preregistration fee for convention is $25 ($30 on-site), the cost of a banquet ticket is $50 ($60 on-site), and the cost of the BBQ is $40 ($45 on-site).

Requests for Accommodations Based on Disability: The convention of the National Federation of the Blind is designed and implemented to be accessible, especially to blind people, in that materials are offered in accessible formats and other nonvisual aids are provided. If you are an individual who requires specific accommodations based on your disability (other than the blindness-related accommodations routinely provided by the Federation) so that you may participate fully and equally in the convention, we urge you to let us know as soon as possible. Due to the size and complexity of this convention, as well as the need to appropriately plan for additional human and other resources, requests for specific accommodations must be submitted no later than May 31, 2012. In order to make a request please: 1) Preregister <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1046&qid=83315>  for the convention; and 2) Send your specific request for accommodations in writing to the attention of Mark Riccobono via e-mail at mriccobono at nfb.org. Please include your name, the dates you plan to be at the convention, information on the best way to follow up with you, and your specific request.

Sponsorship opportunities for the 2012 NFB National Convention are still available. Sponsoring the national convention is the perfect opportunity for you to meet and converse with your blind consumers and be a part of this movement to help the nation’s blind achieve complete integration into society on the basis of equality. Visit the national convention sponsor page <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1047&qid=83315>  to learn more about how your organization can become a sponsor of this important event.

The deadline for convention exhibitor application submission is Monday, May 28, 2012. Applications after this deadline will only be given consideration if space is still available, and in such a case, the exhibitor will incur a late fee of $100 per table space. Please visit the national convention <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1048&qid=83315>  Web page for exhibit hall information <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1049&qid=83315> , and contact Melissa Kobelinski <mailto:mkobelinski at nfb.org?subject=2012%20NFB%20National%20Convention>  with any questions.

UPS will be hosting a shipping counter Wednesday, July 4th.
Attendees:
12:00 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.
6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Exhibitors:
8:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Please bring your UPS account number and debit/credit card to ship your items with UPS/UPS Freight®.

Bourbon, Bowties, and Braille!

 Bourbon and Bowties logo <https://testnfb.org/sites/nfb.org/files/images/bourbon-and-bowties.gif> Bourbon and Bowties is an annual event to support local nonprofits hosted by the Quinntessential Gentleman and the Capital Grille, located in Baltimore, Maryland. This year the event will benefit the National Federation of the Blind. The event will take place May 6, 2012 at 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. For more information about the event or to purchase tickets for the event, please visit www.nfb.org/bourbon <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1050&qid=83315> .

Tickets-For-Chairty

Thinking about going to see your favorite band in concert or watching your favorite sports team live? The NFB is pleased to be partnering with Tickets-for-Charity.com <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1051&qid=83315> , where NFB supporters can get access to the best concert and sport seats in the house and benefit the NFB at the same time! Tickets-for-Charity works with some of the biggest names in entertainment and sports to offer fans premium tickets – at the same or better price you’ll find elsewhere. And each Charitable Sale™ ticket purchase benefits great causes and nationally respected charities, including the NFB. So what are you waiting for? Buy your tickets now and support the NFB! <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1051&qid=83315> 

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Education

 President Marc Maurer reading Braille wearing a Dr. Sues hat. <https://testnfb.org/sites/nfb.org/files/images/president%20marc%20maurer%20reading%20braille_0.jpg> 

President Marc Maurer reading Braille

Read Across America

On March 2nd, the National Federation of the Blind participated in Read Across America. Read Across America is an annual reading motivation and awareness program promoted by the National Education Association that encourages every child, in every community, to celebrate reading. This year, in honor of Dr. Seuss’s birthday, participants were asked to read Dr. Seuss books. The NFB community was no exception! Blind youth and adults across the United States used social media to engage in discussions about Braille and submitted videos of themselves reading Braille books.  President Marc Maurer made a special video <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1052&qid=83315>  to kick-off the celebration, in which he reads one of his favorite Dr. Seuss books. To view all submitted videos and read the hundred-plus tweets posted for Read Across America, visit the NFB Read Across America homepage <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1053&qid=83315> .

Project Innovation

Thirty blind students from all across the country will be chosen to attend the first NFB Project Innovation, taking place at the NFB Jernigan Institute July 24th - 29th, 2012. This pioneering program designed for middle- and high school-aged youth will focus on fostering a sense of innovation and autonomy in students by allowing them to determine their course of study during the week of the program. Students will ultimately focus on one investigation that they will then showcase at the end of the program during the Innovators Expo. In addition, students will have the opportunity to learn about multiple branches of science that will be explored throughout the program through extension activities. To learn more about this great new program, visit BlindScience.org <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1054&qid=83315> .

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Braille Initiative

Onkyo Braille Essay Contest

Sponsored by Onkyo Corporation and the Braille Mainichi

The Onkyo Braille Essay Contest is being administered by the National Federation of the Blind on behalf of the North America-Caribbean Region of the World Blind Union.

Essays must be written by contest participants, in English or their native language, in Braille, and must be completely original in nature. Entries should be no fewer than 800 words and no more than 1,000 words in length. There will be two groups of competitors: one Junior group, aged 25 and under; and one Senior group, aged 26 and up, with prizes ranging from $500-$2,000.

Essay topics:

1.	How do you acquire knowledge and information through Braille or audio devices? (Illustrate with some interesting personal stories/episodes.)
2.	How can blind persons become independent by learning Braille or music?
3.	Individual concept about world peace from the viewpoint of persons with disabilities.

All essays must be received by April 30, 2012.

Visit the NFB Web site <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1055&qid=83315>  for more information and an application.  The application is also attached here, in PDF and BRF format.

Please contact Trisha Tatam at (410) 659-9314, extension 2510, or ttatam at nfb.org if you have any questions.

American Action Fund Makes Free Braille Books Available Online

The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults (AAF) is making its free Braille books for blind children available online as downloadable BRF files.  Since 1997, the AAF has provided popular and award-winning children’s books, including titles from popular series, to blind children throughout the United States as well as to libraries and other organizations that serve blind children.  The books have been and will continue to be distributed by mail, but now readers and libraries will also be able to download them from the American Action Fund Web site.  <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1056&qid=83315> The BRF files are ready to be used on Braille notetakers and other Braille-aware devices.

Barbara Loos, president of the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults, said: “The American Action Fund is pleased to make our free Braille books for blind children available on the Internet.  Technology is making Braille more widely available than ever before, and we are proud to become part of this exciting trend.”

Dr. Marc Maurer, AAF executive director, said: “Braille literacy is one of the highest predictors of success in later life for blind students, so we want to do everything in our power to ensure that blind children have free and easy access to Braille books.  This initiative will set blind children on a path to achievement and independence—not to mention giving them the simple joy of reading a good book.”

Congratulations to the 2011 Certificants of the National Certification in Literary Braille (NCLB) Exam

Donna Brostek Lee
Lawrenceburg, Kentucky

Karen DiDomenico
White Hall, Maryland

Cindi Eskew
Saltillo, Mississippi

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Research

Hoby Wedler, a graduate of the NFB Rocket On! Science Academy, a PhD candidate at UC Davis, and an instructor at the 2011 NFB Youth Slam, was recently on Capital Public Radio with his research advisor Dean Tantillo. They were interviewed about studying chemistry as a blind graduate student.

The interview is located at http://www.capradio.org/169660 <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1057&qid=83315> 

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Advocacy

On Tuesday March 13, the United States Senate allowed Senator Portman's Amendment 1742 to the surface transportation bill, S. 1813, to be considered on the floor. Senator Portman's amendment sought to allow states to open commercial ventures on federal highways and interstates. Currently, the only commercial activity permitted at such rest stops is the operation of vending machines by blind entrepreneurs under the Randolph-Sheppard Act. Therefore, this policy would have dramatically impacted the livelihood of these blind entrepreneurs.

Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: “This amendment would threaten the livelihoods of hundreds of blind entrepreneurs in the United States who depend on revenue from rest stop vending machines.  With an unemployment rate among blind Americans that exceeds 70 percent, such a move is deeply irresponsible, as these entrepreneurs will lose their businesses and be forced to rely on public assistance.  We urge Congress to reject this ill-considered and reckless proposal.”

Due to the advocacy of the National Federation of the Blind, Senator Portman's Amendment 1742 was voted down by a count of 86 to 12 by the United States Senate. 

Fair Wages

Text FAIRWAGES to 27138 to subscribe to text message updates about the fair wage issue.

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Straight Talk About Vision Loss

A special edition of the Straight Talk About Vision Loss series is up! In it, Mark Riccobono talks with Anil Lewis about the outrageous practice of paying disabled workers less than the federal minimum wage and the legislation posed to end this practice: the Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act.

 <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1058&qid=83315> Straight Talk About Vision Loss, Episode 38

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Product and Access Technology Talk

Explore and learn more about the up-and-coming Access Technology events!

Inaugural Training the Trainers Seminar

Training the Trainers Seminar will take place May 9-11, 2012. This exciting seminar addresses technology’s constant state of flux.  New devices, software, and services are being implemented in business and education on what seems like a daily basis. Blind and low-vision users need access to these same technologies in order to compete with their sighted peers. Access technology vendors are constantly working to help consumers meet these needs.  With the challenges come opportunities for users, and the people who train and support them.  This two-and-a-half-day seminar is designed to provide trainers and content creators with the information they need about these powerful tools to ensure that their blind and low-vision users can succeed in their endeavors. This exciting seminar will cover, among other topics, the following:

*	Screen access software
*	Braille
*	DAISY eBooks
*	Tactile graphics creation
*	Apple’s iDevices
*	Mac computers
*	Notetakers
*	Low-vision solutions

Registration is limited and closes April 15, 2012.  To learn more or register for this event, visit the Training the Trainers Seminar <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1059&qid=83315>  homepage.

Inclusive Publishing and E-Book Distribution: Access for People with Print Disabilities

June 8-9, 2012, the NFB will be co-hosting a day-and-a-half-long event on Inclusive Publishing and E-Book Distribution: Access for People with Print Disabilities with the DAISY consortium. This event will focus on accessibility for digital books with a number of interesting sessions presented by leaders from industry-leading companies. The following are some of the topics that will be covered:

*	An overview of present levels of accessibility in the market
*	The place of accessibility standards in e-book systems
*	The browser-based reading system
*	Accessible math, science, and other advanced topics
*	The place of DAISY in today’s e-book landscape

For more information about this event, visit the Inclusive Publishing and E-Book Distribution: Access for People with Print Disabilities <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1060&qid=83315>  homepage.  

Tactile Graphics Conference

The Tactile Graphics Conference will take place November 30 – December 1, 2012. The conference will include a variety of general topic sessions, with afternoon breakout sessions on a variety of technical topics, such as:

*	When are tactile graphics necessary?
*	How to create and evaluate tactile graphics
*	Basic techniques for creating tactile graphics
*	Advanced techniques for creating tactile graphics
*	When should 3D models be used?
*	How can 3D models be created?
*	What works, what doesn’t?

There will be opportunities to network with other attendees, vendors, and presenters. In addition, exhibitors will present their products during session breaks. Those wishing to present at the NFB Tactile Graphics Conference <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1061&qid=83315>  should visit the event homepage for further information.

The Access Technology Blog <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1062&qid=83315>  is home to noteworthy access technology news. Current entries include articles about: iOS 5.1 support (or rather, lack thereof) for the HIMS and Baum Braille displays; the new QRead e-text reader; and news app accessibility.

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From the tenBroek Library

Bust of Jacobus tenBroek 

  Bust of Jacobus tenBroek at 1969 convention <http://testnfb.org/sites/nfb.org/files/images/Jacobus_tenBroek_bust.jpg> 

The Hunt for the Bust of Jacobus tenBroek: Part Two of Three

In the first episode of this exciting tale, tenBroek Library staff members had encountered a photo of a bust of Jacobus tenBroek—and soon learned that no one around the Jernigan Institute knew anything about the bust itself.  Without any new leads after contacting tenBroek's family, the search continued in various nooks and crannies around the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute. Eventually a bust was found but it turned out to be, not Jacobus tenBroek, but—of all people—Anwar Sadat, the late president of Egypt who was assassinated in 1981. 

This is where the adventure left off around two years ago and, for the time being, the hunt for the bust was set aside. 

In 2010, President Marc Maurer commissioned Ann Cunningham—well-known to Federationists as a tactile artist and art instructor at the Colorado Center for the Blind—to produce a bas-relief portrait of tenBroek.  When it arrived in Baltimore a few months later, we noted that the bas-relief portrait of tenBroek—as good as it is—did not exactly match the bust of Kenneth Jernigan that sits in the fourth-floor lobby.  This sparked a conversation about the existing bust of tenBroek or, at least, once existed. The conversation aroused Dr. Marc Maurer’s interest, and he asked us to see whether we could locate the bust.  And thus the hunt resumed!

All this interest in the bust occurred while the archival staff was continuing work on the tenBroek papers and other manuscript collections.  An exciting new manuscript collection came our way when Al Calhoun—grandson of the late NFB globetrotter, Isabelle Grant—noticed that Lou Ann Blake had published an article about his grandmother in the Braille Monitor.  Al contacted Lou Ann and offered to donate to the Jernigan Institute some papers of his grandmother that he had preserved since her death in 1977.  The process of getting this material—and the exciting things we found in Al’s cartons—we will feature in a future Imagineering newsletter.

With the new possession of the valuable material about Isabelle Grant, a search developed to discover what additional materials may exist at other libraries.  Sure enough, the esteemed Bancroft Library at the University of California (Cal-Berkeley) had a collection of Isabelle Grant papers.  (The Bancroft, incidentally, has a number of other collections—and oral history interview transcripts—that are important to blind history: check it out with a keyword search for “Bancroft Library” on THE BLIND CAT <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1063&qid=83315> .) Some years earlier Cal had hoped to acquire the tenBroek papers, however, Hazel tenBroek decided to give her husband’s papers to the NFB.  The Bancroft’s Isabelle Grant collection was thought to make a great addition to the existing historical papers located in the tenBroek Library. It was hoped that since the papers had been there for decades but were still unprocessed, Bancroft would not mind giving the papers to the tenBroek Library.  Thus, correspondence began with Berkeley but despite all efforts made, the university did not wish to part with the papers.

In the course of discussing Isabelle Grant, it was realized that since Jacobus tenBroek had been a professor at Cal-Berkeley, he might have been memorialized in Berkeley with a bust, such as had been seen in the photos from the 1969 NFB Convention.   Although the librarians at Bancroft were unwilling to give up the Isabelle Grant papers, they very graciously agreed to poke around in odd corners of the Berkeley campus to see if the bust had landed anywhere there. (Effort was put into this endeavor as a staff member in the university administration, who was unaware where the request had come from, contacted the tenBroek Library to see if we had it!)

Within the last few months, there was a dramatic development in the hunt for the bust—a development that leads to the conclusion that the bust is not in California and has never been there. Stay tuned to learn more about why this conclusion was made and further developments on the hunt!

*****

The most significant single resource of the tenBroek Library is the Professional and Personal Papers of Jacobus tenBroek. Dr. tenBroek (1911-1968) was a towering figure in many areas. The NFB as he built it in the 1940s and 1950s adumbrated many of the features of today’s disability rights movement, most importantly by asserting that the blind must speak for themselves as consumers and as a demographic minority that experiences discrimination. Historical documents and materials related to blindness and leaders within the NFB organization, such as Dr. tenBroek, are important to establishing a well-rounded documentation of the movement. To learn more about the tenBroek Library and the collections available, visit the tenBroek Library homepage <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1064&qid=83315> .

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Independence Market

The National Federation of the Blind publishes magazines, articles, and brochures about various aspects of blindness.  These materials provide information about our organizational activities, share information and resources about coping with vision loss, and promote our positive approach to living successfully with blindness.  The NFB Independence Market is the conduit through which we distribute our literature to our members and friends and to the general public.

>From time to time, articles of particular interest are reprinted from our flagship publication, the Braille Monitor.  Here is the list of articles that have been added to our collection during the last six months. 

The first three articles are related to the business of the 2011 NFB National Convention.

*	2011 Presidential Report by Marc Maurer <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1065&qid=83315> 
*	2011 Banquet Speech: Opportunity, Danger, and the Balance of Risk by Marc Maurer <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1066&qid=83315> 
*	 <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1067&qid=83315> Resolutions Adopted by the 2011 National Convention

The next reprint is drawn from the presentation made at our national convention by the blind person who drove the "Blind Driver Challenge" vehicle at the Daytona International Speedway in January 2011.  He discusses his personal experiences and the impact this demonstration had on our movement.

*	The Spirit of the Journey: The Blind Driver Challenge and the Direction of Our Movement by Mark A. Riccobono <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1068&qid=83315> 

The next two articles focus on our efforts to eliminate the legislative loophole that permits payment of subminimum wages to blind people and workers with other disabilities.

*	No More Subminimum Wages: The Time Is Now! by Fredric K. Schroeder <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1069&qid=83315> 
*	Fair Wages for People with Disabilities by Anil Lewis <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1070&qid=83315> 

The following article details our struggle to obtain appropriate accommodations for blind students taking the bar exam.

*	Victories in Our Ongoing Saga with the National Conference of Bar Examiners by Scott C. Labarre <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1071&qid=83315> 

The final reprint is a transcription of a classic Federation piece that previously was only available on audio cassette.

• Why I am a Federationist by Kenneth Jernigan <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1072&qid=83315> 

In addition to the reprints, the audio version <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1073&qid=83315>  of this Jernigan presentation was recently digitized and is now available on our Web site as well. 

To review the literature offerings available through the NFB Independence Market, please visit our literature page <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1074&qid=83315> .

To order copies of any of the above articles in print or Braille, please e-mail the Independence Market <mailto:independencemarket at nfb.org>  or contact us by phone at 410-659-9314, extension 2216.

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Spotlight on the Imagination Fund 

The Imagination Fund is a great way for non-NFB members to contribute to the cause and be a part of the movement. As an NFB member, you can assist nonmembers in giving by asking them to text the word BLIND to 85944 to make a $10 donation or by asking them to mail a check to:

National Federation of the Blind
Imagination Fund
200 East Wells Street
at Jernigan Place
Baltimore, Maryland 21224 

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NFB Calendar

April 13-18, 2012       NFB Leadership and Advocacy in Washington, D.C., Program (LAW Program <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1075&qid=83315> )

April 15, 2012            Registration <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1059&qid=83315>  for Training the Trainers Seminar ends

April 19-20, 2012      Jacobus tenBroek Law Symposium <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1076&qid=83315> 

April 30, 2012           Last day to submit essays for the Onkyo Braille Essay Contest

May 9-11, 2012        Training the Trainers Seminar <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1059&qid=83315> 

May 28, 2012           Deadline for national convention exhibitor application <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1077&qid=83315>  submission for non-affiliates and affiliates. Submissions after this deadline will only be given consideration if space is still available, and in such a case, the exhibitor will incur a late fee of $100 per table space.

May 31, 2012            Preregistration <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1046&qid=83315>  ends for 2012 NFB National Convention

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Citation

Technology is transforming the way we create, share, and gain knowledge. If built universally and implemented effectively, technology will make the passion and skill of our greatest teachers even more powerful as we nurture the next generation of our nation’s leaders. If we fail to include accessibility in that technology, we will set this generation of students with disabilities back decades. The cost to those individuals and to our country is too great and the opportunity is too promising to stand by and let that happen.

– Mark A. Riccobono, Testimony for the Hearing on “The Promise of Accessible Technology: Challenges and Opportunities” <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1078&qid=83315> 

Our heartfelt thank you to IVONA Text-To-Speech for their in-kind donation of the IVONA accessibility package for Meet the Blind Month!

IVONA Text-to-Speech graciously provided IVONA accessibility packages for Meet the Blind Month. The software develops and delivers speech synthesis solutions that lead the TTS market in natural voice quality, accuracy, and ease of use. Their products incorporate innovative, leading-edge technologies and customer-driven enhancements that continue to earn awards and recognition by leading industry analysts and organizations, including the annual Blizzard Challenge and ASR News Speech Accuracy Study. Ivona Text-to-Speech logo <https://testnfb.org/sites/nfb.org/files/images/ivona-logo.gif> 

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

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Interesting links:

Archive of Straight Talk about Vision Loss videos <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1081&qid=83315> 

National Center for Blind Youth in Science <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1054&qid=83315> 

Access Technology Tips <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1082&qid=83315> 

TeachBlind Students.org <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1083&qid=83315> 

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Blogs:

Access Technology <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1084&qid=83315> 

Voice of the Nation’s Blind <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1085&qid=83315> 

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Publication archives:

Future Reflections <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1086&qid=83315> 

Braille Monitor <https://testnfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=1087&qid=83315> 

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