[rehab] Fwd: [BANA-Announce] Press Release: BANA Actions at Fall 2015 Meeting

[David Andrews]

>BANA logo
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>Press Release
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>November 18, 2015
>For Immediate Release
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>Contact: Jennifer Dunnam, Chair
>Braille Authority of North America
>612-767-5658
>chair at brailleauthority.org
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>BANA Holds Fall Meeting in Crystal Lake, IL
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>The Braille Authority of North America (BANA) 
>held its 2015 fall meeting November 5–7 in 
>Crystal Lake, Illinois. Horizons for the Blind, 
>a BANA member organization, hosted the meeting. 
>BANA welcomed two new representatives to the 
>Board­Tracy Gaines who replaced Peggy Schuetz as 
>the representative from the California 
>Transcribers and Educators for the Blind and 
>Visually Impaired (CTEBVI) and Saul Garza, the 
>newly appointed representative of Clovernook 
>Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, replacing Kyle Key.
>
>During its three-day meeting, the BANA Board 
>reviewed and acted on semiannual reports from 
>its eighteen committees and considered committee 
>recommendations. Several committee members who 
>attended the meeting presented their committee 
>reports in person and dialogued with the Board 
>concerning matters related to their work. Two 
>members of the Ad Hoc Committee on Chemistry, 
>one of whom is the committee chair, delivered 
>their report, and the Chair of the Crafts and 
>Hobbies Committee delivered the report from her 
>committee. The Board also established the 2016 
>budget and continued planning the numerous BANA 
>projects underway, including the imminent 
>implementation of Unified English Braille (UEB) in the United States.
>
>Notable actions taken by the Board include the following:
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>The Board unanimously approved a major revision 
>of the music braille code, which had undergone 
>the scrutiny of technical and Board reviews. 
>After finalization of the electronic files, the 
>new version of the music code will be available 
>on the BANA website. The BANA Board commends the 
>members of the music braille technical committee 
>for their tireless and concentrated work on this 
>significant revision of the music code. The 
>members of the committee are all musicians as 
>well as experts in music braille transcription 
>and reading. They brought their prodigious 
>skills and knowledge to the task and made a 
>substantial donation of their personal time and 
>talent over a period of many years toward the 
>completion of this project. Visit the BANA page 
>on Facebook to see a video of the actual vote to 
>approve the revised music code at 
><http://mandrillapp.com/track/click/30489975/www.facebook.com?p=eyJzIjoiVWtEa0pTdEhJYUFOaGVKVEdxWFpFWURWS3lZIiwidiI6MSwicCI6IntcInVcIjozMDQ4OTk3NSxcInZcIjoxLFwidXJsXCI6XCJodHRwczpcXFwvXFxcL3d3dy5mYWNlYm9vay5jb21cXFwvQnJhaWxsZS1BdXRob3JpdHktb2YtTm9ydGgtQW1lcmljYS0xMjAyMDE4NzQ3MDczMjhcXFwvP2ZyZWY9dHNcIixcImlkXCI6XCJkYzgyZGVjZWFlODM0MTgzODZhZDJhMTk1NWViOGZkY1wiLFwidXJsX2lkc1wiOltcImUyOThmODUzY2IxYTBlNTU5OGU0ZjE4NjA2NTFjZGFhMWEzZDJmMDRcIl19In0>https://www.facebook.com/Braille-Authority-of-North-America-120201874707328/?fref=ts 
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>As a result of lengthy and in-depth discussions 
>over several days, the BANA Board members 
>representing United States organizations 
>approved the following statement regarding 
>braille math and technical materials as it 
>relates to the adoption of UEB in the United States.
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>The Braille Authority of North America (BANA) 
>recognizes and appreciates the genuine concerns 
>from the braille community regarding the 
>transition to Unified English Braille (UEB). 
>BANA stands by our original motion to adopt UEB 
>as a complete code as well as the implementation 
>statement issued in 2014 in which we expressed 
>that the Nemeth Code remains integral to braille 
>in the United States. The Board of BANA could 
>not reach consensus regarding the establishment 
>of a single standard code for technical 
>materials for braille in the United States. The 
>decision to use UEB or the Nemeth Code within 
>UEB context for technical materials should be 
>made based on braille readers’ individual needs.
>
>NOTE: This press release is available in HTML on 
>the BANA website at 
><http://mandrillapp.com/track/click/30489975/www.brailleauthority.org?p=eyJzIjoidlFEZHhZWG5yR2hNbDljYkRHb2l4TG5aUFRnIiwidiI6MSwicCI6IntcInVcIjozMDQ4OTk3NSxcInZcIjoxLFwidXJsXCI6XCJodHRwOlxcXC9cXFwvd3d3LmJyYWlsbGVhdXRob3JpdHkub3JnXFxcL3ByZXNzcmVsZWFzZXNcXFwvcHItMjAxNS0xMS0xOC5odG1sXCIsXCJpZFwiOlwiZGM4MmRlY2VhZTgzNDE4Mzg2YWQyYTE5NTVlYjhmZGNcIixcInVybF9pZHNcIjpbXCJhZDk0MjFiNzcwYWZiODBjZDgzYjJlYWQwNjUxMDA1ODZlMGQ1N2NkXCJdfSJ9>http://www.brailleauthority.org/pressreleases/pr-2015-11-18.html. 
>
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>You can follow the work of BANA by signing up 
>for BANA-Announce, a one-way email list that 
>disseminates news and information. To join this 
>list, send a blank email message to 
><mailto:bana-announce-subscribe at brailleauthority.org>bana-announce-subscribe at brailleauthority.org 
>and follow the directions in the confirmation 
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>
>The Board of BANA consists of appointed 
>representatives from eighteen member 
>organizations of braille producers, transcribers, teachers, and consumers.
>
>The mission of the Braille Authority of North 
>America is to assure literacy for tactile 
>readers through the standardization of braille and/or tactile graphics.
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>The purpose of BANA is to promote and to 
>facilitate the uses, teaching, and production of 
>braille. Pursuant to this purpose, BANA will 
>promulgate rules, make interpretations, and 
>render opinions pertaining to braille codes and 
>guidelines for the provisions of literary and 
>technical materials and related forms and 
>formats of embossed materials now in existence 
>or to be developed in the future for the use of 
>blind persons in North America. When 
>appropriate, BANA shall accomplish these 
>activities in international collaboration with 
>countries using English braille. In exercising 
>its function and authority, BANA shall consider 
>the effects of its decisions on other existing 
>braille codes and guidelines, forms and formats; 
>ease of production by various methods; and acceptability to readers.
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         David Andrews and long white cane Harry.
E-Mail:  dandrews at visi.com or david.andrews at nfbnet.org
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