Exhibition a must for blind and sighted people alike

While the world's blind and partially sighted leaders thrash out important issues at the World Blind Union (WBU) Sixth General Assembly at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from 6 to 10 December this year, a technology exhibition - which has attracted interest from all over the world - will be on show in Hall 1 A of the Convention Centre.

The exhibition will offer sighted people a rare glimpse of what it is like to be blind and will be indispensable to blind and partially sighted people who would like to familiarise themselves with the latest in assistive technology.

Technology on show will include adapted equipment and assistive solutions. Daily living and learning aids such as braille embossers, displays, note-takers, printers, translators and organisers will be available, in addition to various types of canes, slates, tools, reading machines, signature guides, adapted games, computers and software, low vision devices, other electronic aids and much, much more . The Guide-dogs Association for the Blind and Blindlib will also exhibit.

An interesting addition to the exhibition is photographer Hannah Paton's contribution. Hannah's photographs, which forms part of the SA National Council for the Blind's (SANCB) exhibition, requires co-operation between blind and sighted people to be completely understood - and yet is accessible to both.

“Sometimes sight has nothing to do with eyes. Blind people often have access to an additional dimension in their minds in the way that they experience things. It is like the capacity for colouring in a picture that is only an outline, a type of perception that sighted people often lack because things are easier for them,” she says.

The SANCB's exhibition is entitled Blind and Beethoven , which combines a compilation of Beethoven's most beautiful music with photographs expressing visual representations of the personal emotions that the music evokes in a number of blind people. An essay in braille accompanies each piece. Hannah's photos are not usual: they are tactile photos, with raised surfaces to allow blind people to “see” the images and also depicts the various aspects of the work that the SANCB is involved in; namely rehabilitation, development and prevention.

A gift shop will sell WBU products including wine, t-shirts, caps, water bottles, jackets, glasses, African curios and something special for the kids. Representatives from other African countries will be exhibiting their handy-work, which is sourced from blind people's income generating projects. Members of the public are invited to visit the shop to do their Christmas shopping and supporting a worthy cause. Glass animals from Swaziland , beaded bracelets and necklaces as well as woven baskets from KwaZulu-Natal and hand-painted tea sets from Paulpietersburg are on sale.

Entry to the exhibition is free. Donors and other interested parties can meet SANCB staff members and volunteers at the SANCB stall on the 7 December from 10am until 3pm. The stall will provide helpful information on the activities of the organisation and the services that it provides.

For any media enquiries or accreditation to attend the Assembly, please contact Victor Serakalala at 083 765 3905 or Tilda Reynecke at 073 373 9374.