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Through the Similarities and the Differences, the Blind Still Intend to Speak for the Blind

When you look at the pictures of the World Blind Union General Assembly, they look similar to those captured at the National Federation of the Blind’s national convention. Their delegates look a lot like the Federationists who attend the convention. The delegates sit at rows of tables instead of the rows of chairs to which Federationists are accustomed. But, like attendees at our conventions, they’re all sitting and listening to speakers making their presentations.

It’s only as you look closer that you realize that many of the delegates are wearing headphones. They’re not listening to music; they’re listening to the language they understand by translators courtesy of the National Federation of the Blind. The booth of translators at the back of the room is a bit different from the NFB convention, where interpreters for the deaf and hard of hearing diligently work, but these translators create the mechanism through which global discussion and action can take place. No matter how similar or different, it is inspiring to see the blind speaking for themselves.

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