1^st EBU International Conference on Education, 19-23 July 2000, Montegrotto Terme (Padua) - Italy

Final Report

Having heard the papers and brief papers presented by experts from several European countries;

Having seen that school integration, which is only fulfilled in a few countries, must be asserted all over Europe;

Considering that the status of the blind and partially sighted at mainstream schools differs greatly from one country to another;

Considering that there are still numerous unresolved problems;

Convinced that considerable improvements can be made, thanks to international co-operation and rational use of available resources

and

Considering that special schools can carry out a decisive role as educational resource centres supporting school integration;

The participants in the EBU International Conference on Education held in Montegrotto Terme, Padua (Italy) on 19/23 July 2000 on the theme "The role of associations and families in the improvement of the status of the education of the blind and partially sighted", put forward the following proposals for the European Blind Union, particularly for its Board:

1. get member organisations to obtain quality education for the blind, that is to say education that meets the specific needs of the individual allowing him/her to live a life as normal and truly integrated as possible in the social context they belong to;
2. carry out indispensable promotion in the area of education, taking care of the widespread and systematic distribution of information through the EBU web site, newsletter, the publication of official documents from the European Union and individual countries. Even though the complete transfer of positive experience from one country to another is almost always impossible, a knowledge of good results obtained elsewhere can always inspire others to draw up determinative proposals appropriate to their social reality;
3. put together projects aimed at solving specific problems and if they are capable of being realised, promote their carrying out through co-operation between associations and institutions in various countries, possibly benefiting from funding foreseen by European Union programmes. To this end, it is advisable to give as much publicity as possible to these programmes, highlighting the chance for member organisations to benefit and helping them in the completion of documentation when applying for funding;
4. plan international initiatives capable of spreading and supporting the use of Braille which is still indispensable for access to culture and the world of work for the blind. Possible practical examples are:
• offering incentives to manufacturers of Braille writing instruments (Braille slates, Braillers etc.);
• encouraging the production of adequately adapted text books, above all for the first few years at school, and reading books for children (moulds for the graphic part in relief could be used at international level, whereas the translation of the text would require commitment of time and money, which is easily sustainable);
5. set up a group of experts for the unification, completion and constant updating of special Braille codes, such as the mathematics code, scientific code, music code, computer code etc;
6. foster international co-operation so that member organisations that have resolved specific problems can help those that have not yet obtained completely satisfactory results;
7. pay particular attention to the development of technical devices and software (above all radios, televisions, cellular telephones, personal computers, accessibility to web sites, household appliances etc.) in order to prevent such developments from being another cause of exclusion of the blind and partially sighted from culture and work;
8. identify the most suitable ways for the exchange of secondary school children and university students, between organisations in different countries, making use of the ways most commonly adopted by organisations for international exchanges of the sighted, in order to promote mutual understanding between young people and the learning of foreign languages;
9. insist with the European Union and national governments that works that have to be used by the blind and partially sighted in Braille, on cassette and in digital format should not be subject to copyright;
10. foster and finance the preparation of a descriptive manual of activities that are organised in various European countries to promote meetings between blind and partially sighted children and youths attending mainstream schools (summer camps, sports activities, special learning courses etc);
11. see that exams for admission to postgraduate courses are not inaccessible for the blind and partially sighted;
12. get member organisations to promote as much co-operation as possible between special schools and mainstream schools attended by visually impaired pupils. Special schools should operate as educational resource centres supporting school integration;
13. co-operate more and more closely with the International Council for the Education of Persons with Visual Impairment (ICEVI), above all as regards the training of teachers and educators of the blind and partially sighted; also maintain contact with the European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education, which among other things, produces numerous documents that are very useful;
14. encourage the setting up of an international network of representatives of parents' associations that could co-operate with the EBU Board, as well as national associations of the blind, and support the EBU Board's demands for an improvement in life conditions for the blind and partially sighted;
15. thank the Italian Union of the Blind for the excellent organisation of the Conference and for the generous and exquisite hospitality given to all the participants.

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