Event: National Federation of the Blind Annual Convention

Dates: July 3–July 8, 2009

Place: Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center
          400 Renaissance Center
          Detroit, Michigan 48243

Attention Editors:

Senator Levin, Representative Dingell, and Martha Reeves to Participate in March for Independence

At 7:00 a.m. on Monday, July 6, over one thousand blind people will gather in Detroit for the third annual March for Independence. The Motor City March for Independence is a 5K march demonstrating the independent spirit of the nation's organized blind, their friends, family, and supporters. The honorary chairs of the march are Congressman John Dingell and Detroit Councilwoman Martha Reeves, who will be participating alongside members of the National Federation of the Blind from every state in the nation. Senator Carl Levin and the Honorable Dave McCurdy, President of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, will also participate. The march will start at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center, continue along the beautiful Detroit RiverWalk, and culminate in an inspiring rally at Rivard Plaza and Pavilion.

Attention Education Editors:

The National Organization of Parents of Blind Children to Hold Braille Carnival

On Friday, July 3, from 10:15 a.m. to noon, the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC) will hold a Braille carnival for children ages five to thirteen. Blind youth will participate in a variety of tactile games that employ Braille in diverse and exciting ways––showing them that Braille can be educational and fun. The importance of Braille in a blind child’s life cannot be overstated right now, as only 10 percent of blind children are learning Braille, thus leaving 90 percent functionally illiterate.

Other exciting events for blind children and their parents will be held throughout the week. On Friday, July 3, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m., NOPBC will be holding hands-on chemistry experiments for blind youth, ages kindergarten through twelfth grade.

Founded in 1983, the NOPBC is a national membership organization of parents and friends of blind children reaching out to each other to provide vital support, encouragement, and information. There are over three thousand members in all fifty states and divisions or parent contacts in about thirty states plus Puerto Rico.

Attention Technology Editors:

New Features of Groundbreaking Reading Service NFB-NEWSLINE® to Be Demonstrated at Convention

NFB-NEWSLINE®, the largest electronic newspaper service for blind and disabled persons in the world, offers over 275 newspapers and magazines as well as TV listings to over 65,000 subscribers through a standard touch-tone telephone­––or on the web.

In March 2009, NFB-NEWSLINE® Online was launched, giving subscribers even more options for accessing their favorite publications. In conjunction with NFB-NEWSLINE® Online, another new feature was added to enhance the subscriber’s experience online: Web News on Demand.

Through the easy-to-use Web News on Demand feature, subscribers can, for the first time ever, visit a secure Web site that offers a customizable reading experience and the ability to send entire publications, particular sections, or single articles to their e-mail inbox.

Another new addition to the service, NFB- NEWSLINE® In Your Pocket, is a dynamic software application that a subscriber installs on his or her computer. Through an Internet connection, this software automatically downloads the publications of the subscriber’s choice to his or her portable digital talking book player (such as the Victor Reader Stream or Icon/Braille+).

These groundbreaking new features will be demonstrated at the convention all day on Friday, July 3, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and on Saturday, July 4, from 3:00. to 10:00 p.m.

Attention Sports and Life Style Editors:

Award-winning Device for Blind Swimmers to Be Demonstrated at Convention

As part of the program of the NFB’s Sports and Recreation Division, many different sporting events will be held at the national convention. Blind people are often told they cannot participate in physical activities such as swimming, and the Sports and Recreation Division works to dispel that misconception with exciting activities throughout the convention.

On Friday, July 3, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., University of Notre Dame Swim Coach Annie Sawicki, part of the AdapTap team that designed an award-winning device for blind swimmers, will conduct a swimming workshop. The AdapTap device is a guidance network of in-water touch rods (Tappers) attached to pool lane markers in order to allow blind swimmers to maintain awareness of their proximity to lane side and end boundaries. The Tappers’ strategic placement, flexibility, and soft tactile ends are intended to painlessly guide blind swimmers, improving pool safety and enhancing swimmer performance during recreational and competitive pool swimming.

NOTE: The entire convention agenda is available at www.nfb.org.