.: Introduction

Welcome to South Africa! As your hosts, we hope that your stay here will be a memorable one and that you will find time to explore some of the rich diversity that this country and Cape Town, in particular, have to offer.

Preceding the General Assembly will be the Women's Forum, the African Union of the Blind (AFUB) General Assembly and a meeting of the International Federation of Library Associations: Libraries for the Blind Section.

.: Meeting Schedule

Africa Women's Forum - 28 ;29 and 30 November 2004
African Union of the Blind General Assembly - 1 and 2 December 2004
World Blind Union Women's Assembly - 3 and 4 December 2004
World Blind Union General Assembly - 6 - 10 December 2004

.: Local Organising Committee

The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the SANCB has nominated a Local Organising Committee which is based on a portfolio system. This committee is chaired by Dr William Rowland.

The administration of the Assembly is to be managed by the League of Friends of the Blind (Lofob), an affiliate of the SANCB. Philip Bam, its Executive Director, is the General Manager of the Assembly and Adam Ely, Lofob's Director of Operations, the Treasurer. Shahiemah Edwards, LOFOB's Director of Administration will look after registrations and reception of delegates and Marina Clarke of the SANCB is responsible for matters pertaining to the venue and exhibitions.

.: About Cape Town

Cape Town is recognised as one of the top tourist destinations in the world. The top 6 tourist destinations in South Africa are to be found within one hour's drive from the City Centre. These are: The Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, Table Mountain, Cape Point, the Winelands, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens( with a braille trail) and Robben Island.

The City itself is an ideal destination for interesting and diverse social programmes and is perfectly located for pre-and post conference excursions. Furthermore, the warmth, hospitality and genuine friendliness of Cape Town's culturally diverse people, add that special dimension to the tourist's stay.

.: The Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC)

The state of the art Convention Centre completed in April 2003 further boosts Cape Town's position as Africa's most popular Convention city. It offers a purpose built, flexible facility with 10 000m² of dedicated exhibition space, two raked fixed seating auditoria providing for 1500 and 600 delegates respectively and a grand 2 000m² ballroom with magnificent city views and the flexibility of up to 33 break-away rooms. The Assembly will meet in the ballroom.

The centre offers event organisers a state-of-the-art facility, with high tech infrastructure. A deluxe 483-room Arabella Sheraton Grand Hotel is also integrated into the centre.

The CTICC is within walking distance of Cape Town's leading recreational amenities, cultural attractions and shopping centres including the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront.

.: Geography

Situated at the southern tip of Africa and spread over 1.2 million square kilometres, South Africa is bordered by five countries to the north, hosts Lesotho within its borders and is washed by the Atlantic and Indian Oceans on its West and East coasts respectively. Cape Town is at the southern most point of the continent of Africa.

The population of approximately 44,6 million people inhabits nine provinces. South Africa has Pretoria as its Executive capital and Cape Town as its Legislative capital.

.: History

South Africa was first inhabited by the nomadic Khoisan people along the Southern coast and migrating tribes from the North. Explorers from Portugal and the Netherlands were the first Europeans these early South Africans were exposed to. A colony was established by the Dutch East India Company as a food station for ships on the trade route in 1652.

Due to its strategic position, various European nations competed for control. After the Anglo Boer War (1899-1902), the two Boer republics and the two British colonies combined to form the Union of South Africa, part of the British Commonwealth, in 1910.

After 1910, the treatment of the black majority was the major political issue. Following its victory at the polls in 1948, the National Party implemented legislation aimed at what was termed "separate development" (Apartheid), creating independent Bantustans where black South Africans were meant to live according to their tribal classification. This was meant to do away with the black majority as South Africa became a "country of minorities".

Faced with isolation from the international community, increasing internal unrest and the added pressure of economic sanctions, which eventually made it impossible for the country to survive, meaningful political reforms started in 1990 which culminated in the country's first democratic election on the 27th of April 1994.

.: Economy

Since its re-entry into the international community in 1994, South Africa's economy has grown rapidly. The mining, manufacturing and agricultural sectors are the most important contributors to the economy.

Given its history, the country's greatest economic challenge is the eradication of poverty that is the legacy of Apartheid. This is further exacerbated by an estimated 40% unemployment rate.

Rapidly developing sectors in the economy are the clothing and textiles industry which in 2001 produced a 51% year on year increase on its exports to the United States, and the conference and exhibition industry which created 246 000 new jobs in 2001.

.: The Victoria and Alfred Waterfront

Nestling between Table Bay and Table Mountain in the heart of Cape Town's working harbour, the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront is South Africa's most visited destination. Set against a backdrop of magnificent sea and mountain views, the waterfront offers its visitors a wide range of entertainment options like boat trips, an aquarium, museums, shopping and cinemas. These entertainment venues are intermingled with imaginative office locations, world-class hotels and luxury apartments in the residential marina.

.: Cuisine

The pace of living and eating typical of Cape Town is one that meanders rather than rushes. Its cuisine combines the excellent quality of local breads, fresh fruit, vegetables, fish and meats and world class wines, with the culinary skills of a range of settlers who arrived in waves over the centuries. The Portuguese, Dutch, British, French Huguenots, Malays and Indonesians reflect the myriad and diverse strands of a food culture which has become characteristically Capetonian.

Those, whose palates tend more towards the familiar, will find most of the international fast food franchises adequately represented as well.

.: The South African National Council for the Blind

Founded in 1929, the SANCB has 109 affiliates and is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2004. Together with the SANCB, these affiliates provide a range of specialised services nationally and locally. Various organisations of the Blind are engaged in advocacy and promote specific interests such as employment creation.

Not unaffected by the context within which it functions, the SANCB has been involved in an ongoing process of transformation since 1995. The governing body of the organisation now consists of a majority of blind and a majority of black members.

.: Youth

The South African Blind Youth Organisation (SABYO) came into being on the 7th of April 2001, chose to become a wing of the SANCB and has two representatives serving on the National Executive Committee (NEC) of Council. A youth co-ordinator has been appointed who is responsible for the administration of SABYO, networking with other youth organisations and ensuring that SABYO's programmes are implemented countrywide. Presently these programmes address issues affecting blind and partially sighted youth in the spheres of education, employment and HIV/AIDS.

.: Women

On the 24th of January 2003, a new South African women's movement was born. Having chosen the name: South African Blind Women in Action (SABWIA), visually disabled women from all over the country have committed themselves to ensuring that the collective voice of blind and partially sighted women would be heard, that their rights would be acknowledged and their dignity protected. To this end, the organisation has garnered the support of the Office on the Status of Women in the Presidency and is working to be included within the provincial councils for the blind. Their focus is currently rehabilitation, family management and the creation of awareness of the impact (or lack thereof) that democracy has had on the lives of blind and partially sighted women in South Africa.

.: Conclusion

South Africa has been blessed with a unique wealth of fauna and flora, a vast treasure of mineral wealth and a kaleidoscope of fascinating people and cultures. It is this rich diversity of people that is South Africa's greatest asset and its greatest challenge, as South Africans work as one nation to create a better life for all.

The South African National Council for the Blind commits itself to fulfilling its role as the principal organisation serving the interests of blind and partially sighted people in the country and to sharing its resources and expertise with our brothers and sisters in Africa.