Marc Proulx is a member of the AEBC's Brantford chapter.  Blind since the age of 12, Marc has tried time and again to secure employment and end his dependence on the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) for survival.  He has not had much success with that effort.  But rather than simply complaining about the discrimination that employers often exercise (intentionally and otherwise) against blind and partially-sighted applicants, Marc has essentially gone into business for himself - as a clown.

In a recent profile published in Brantford's The Advocate, Marc is quoted as saying:

This recent condo.ca blog post describes an innovative challenge to university students in Ontario. The "Innovative Designs for Accessibility" (IDEA) is a contest organized by the Council of Ontario Universities and the Ontario Government and includes a cash prize for the winner. The challenge is to consult with industry, government, and the disability community to identify access barriers and to come up with creative, cost-effective, and practical solutions. The winner will be announced at an event at the Ontario Centres of Excellence Discovery Conference in May 2012.

What Did I Learn Today

I am enrolled at Ryerson University, taking part-time distance courses towards a degree in Disability Studies.  I am registered with the Access Centre, Ryerson’s accommodation provider for students with disabilities.  This week, the Access Centre circulated a survey to students in an attempt to evaluate and improve the services they provide.   I thought to myself, here is an opportunity to recognize those things the Centre does well, make suggestions about those services where improvements should be made, and to discuss my views on accommodation versus accessibility.

Greetings fellow AEBC members and I hope that wherever you are, all is well in your neck of the woods.  Ah yes!  February will shortly be a blur in our minds and March will soon be here.  

I would like to start by thanking the number of you who took the time to email me this past month and I am very appreciative.  Remember now, strength lies in numbers and our voice can only be made stronger if we all pull together. 

As usual, I will have a question for you at the end of my update; a very important one which I am asking for your considered feedback.  So please, take a moment to read and email me at djodhan@blindcanadians.ca or you can share your responses with us on the members list.

My quotation for this month is as follows:

For the last 27 years, the International Conference On Technology & Disability has been the premier event on Accessibility, Job Accommodation & Adaptive Computer Technology in North America, providing an inclusive setting for researchers, practitioners, exhibitors, end users, speakers and other participants to share knowledge and best practices. It regularly draws thousands of participants, hundreds of exhibitors and assistive/adaptive technology manufacturers and researchers from around the world.

This year, Jeffrey Stark, the chair of CWDO's Technology Committee, will be attending the conference in California. He has offered to take your questions, interests and other requests to the participants of the conference.

What follows is a call for submissions to an exhibit that will be held on the University of Alberta campus. The photographers do not need to live in Edmonton to have their photos qualify for the exhibition. I encourage anyone that is interested to submit some photos.

In Focus: Blind Photographers Challenge Visual Expectations

In Focus is an exhibition of photographs taken by blind and partially sighted individuals. This exhibition will explore the built environment. The photographs will feature urban spaces, including interior or exterior human-made places, such as buildings, streets, parks, rooms, and objects.

Call for Submissions

We are seeking blind or partially sighted individuals to submit photographs to the In Focus exhibition. 

Going to the theatre has taken on a whole new meaning for me since I was introduced to live audio description 1 year ago. I have been to 5 performances so far, and I highly recommend this experience to others who are blind or partially sighted.

VocalEye's live audio description is provided as a service through Kickstart Disability Arts & Culture and is the first initiative of its kind in Canada.

Here is how VocalEye is described on their website:

An article posted on SportsOttawa.com a few days ago was brought to my attention, which details how it is that 2008 Paralympian Jon Dunkerley is being sued for $350,000 in damages over a 2010 jogging collision.  You can read the original article at http://sportsottawa.com/content/blind-lawsuit.

Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations states “Knowledge is power.  Information is liberating.  Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family”.  I believe this statement should be our guide in everything we do.  We have opportunities to learn something new everyday.   Learning can be through formal education, classes at our local community centre, reading a newspaper or interacting with others.  Learning and education are lifelong activities and I have decided to try to learn something new everyday.  When my children were in elementary school I would ask them at dinner, “What did you learn today?”  Now I ask myself, “What did I learn today?”