International Council on English Braille Eighth General Assembly

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International Council on English Braille (ICEB)

Eighth General Assembly

25-30 May 2024

Programme & Business Agenda

Proudly hosted by: The Braille Authority of New Zealand Aotearoa Trust

Assembly Chairman: Judith Dixon, President, International Council on English Braille

Theme: Two Centuries of Braille

Please note: The General Assembly programme is subject to change without notice. All session times are given in New Zealand Standard Time. During the General Assembly, this is 12 hours ahead of UTC.

Venue: the Grand Millennium Hotel Auckland, 71 Mayoral Drive, Corner Vincent Street, Auckland Central

Phone +64-9-366-3000

Programme & Business Agenda

Click here to download the programme in Microsoft Word format.

Saturday, 25 May

2:00-4:00 P.M. – Outgoing ICEB Executive Committee Meeting

  • Separate agenda, observers welcome
  • There will be a health and safety briefing for the venue prior to the meeting

4:00-5:00 P.M. – Registration of General Assembly Attendees

  • The registration packet will include a USB flash drive containing the Eighth General Assembly's programme, papers, reports, and other local information.
  • Braille copies will be at the registration desk for those delegates who will be attending in-person and registered as braille users. The braille will include: Programme & Business Agenda, selected reports, ICEB 2024 General Assembly Attendees, Hotel Information, and other local information.

5:00 P.M. – Welcome & Opening Reception From Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and The Braille Authority of New Zealand Aotearoa Trust

  • Opening of the Eighth General Assembly: Andrea Midgen, Chief Executive, Blind Low Vision NZ

7:30 P.M. – Close of Reception – Saturday Evening Free

 

Day 1: Sunday, 26 May

7:45-8:30 a.M. – Registration

8:30-10:00 a.M. – Session 1: Eighth General Assembly Opening

  • 8:30-9:00 a.m. – Welcoming Remarks
  • Health and Safety Briefing
  • New Zealand National Anthem
  • Welcome from The Braille Authority of New Zealand Aotearoa Trust, Maria Stevens, BANZAT Chairperson
  • Welcome from the ICEB President, Judith Dixon
  • Introduction of delegates and observers, the roll call

9:00-9:55 a.M. – Keynote Address

  • Jonathan Mosen, MNZM, Wellington, New Zealand—Safeguarding the Legacy, Investing the Inheritance
  • 9:55-10:00 a.m. – Vote of Thanks: Judith Dixon

10:00-10:30 a.M. – Tea and Coffee Break

10:30-12:00 Noon – Session 2: Business

  • Confirmation of the Minutes Secretary for the Eighth General Assembly, Frances Mary D’Andrea (U.S.)
  • Approval of the Agenda
  • Speaking protocol
  • Voting rules
  • President's report, Judith Dixon
  • Report on the 2020 Resolutions, Judith Dixon
  • First report of 2024 Resolutions Committee, Christo de Klerk, (South Africa)
  • Nominations Committee: first report, presentation of the slate, Debbie Gillespie (Canada)

12:00-12:30 P.M. – Musical Interlude

12:30-1:30 P.M. – Lunch

1:30-3:00 P.M. – Session 3: Reports

  • Country reports
    • Australia
    • Canada
    • Ireland
    • New Zealand

3:00-3:30 P.M. – Tea and Coffee Break

3:30-5:00 P.M. – Session 4: Reports

  • Country reports (continued)
    • South Africa
    • United Kingdom
    • United States

5:00 P.M. – Close of Session

5:00 P.M. – Close of Nominations for Executive Committee

  • Nominations in addition to the names on the slate are to be in the hands of Debbie Gillespie by this time.

Sunday Evening Free

 

Day 2: Monday, 27 May

7:45-8:30 a.M. – Registration

8:30-10:00 a.M. – Session 5: Business

  • Health and Safety Briefing
  • In Memoriam: A time for each ICEB member country to briefly speak about key contributors to braille who have died since the Seventh General Assembly in October 2020
  • ICEB Bylaws Committee Report: Discussion of revised Constitution and the recommendation from the Executive Committee that it be adopted, Mary Schnackenberg, CNZM (New Zealand)

10:00-10:30 a.M. – Tea and Coffee Break

10:30-12:00 Noon – Session 6: Business

  • ICEB Research Committee Report, Natalie Martiniello (Canada)
  • Treasurer's Report (Including Finance Committee Report), Jen Goulden (Canada)
  • Adoption of Minutes of Seventh General Assembly held virtually, October 2020
  • Public Relations Committee Report: Maria Stevens (New Zealand)

12:00-1:00 P.M. – Lunch

1:00-3:00 P.M. – Session 7: Reports and Papers

  • 1:00-1:30 p.m. – ICEB Code Maintenance Committee Report – Matthew Horspool (United Kingdom)
  • 1:30-2:15 p.m. – Paper 1: Gentle and Howse–Braille in the 21st Century
  • 2:15-3:00 p.m. – Paper 2: Bischke and Redford–Unified English Braille (UEB): The Transition to UEB and Its Impact Across the United States

3:00-3:30 P.M. – Tea and Coffee Break

3:30-5:00 P.M. – Session 8: Papers

  • 3:30-4:15 p.m. – Paper 3: Richards and Jarvis–Wesseling Awards: Celebrating Braille Music
  • 4:15-5:00 p.m. – Paper 4: Goulden–Expanding the Frontiers of Literacy, Developing Braille Codes for Languages Other Than English

5:00 P.M. – Close of Session: Monday Evening Free

 

Day 3: Tuesday, 28 May

7:45-8:30 a.M. – Registration

8:30-10:00 a.M. – Session 9: Papers

  • Health and Safety Briefing
  • 8:30-9:15 a.m. – Paper 5: Argote-Perez–BRAILLECOR: Learning Method: A New Approach to Braille Teaching for both Blind and Sighted People, Suitable for any Alphabet and Language
  • 9:15-10:00 a.m. – Paper 6: Herzberg–Teaching Students in Grades 2-5 How to Access, Interpret, and Create Tactile Line Plots, Pictographs, and Bar Graphs

10:00-10:30 a.M. – Tea and Coffee Break

10:30-12:00 Noon – Session 10: Business

  • 10:30-10:45 a.m. – CMC Technical Committee Report – Clive Lansink (New Zealand)
  • 10:45-11:25 a.m. – Midnote Address: Dr. Jonathan Godfrey, ONZM, Palmerston North, New Zealand—Get a job that you love and never work another day in your life
  • 11:25-11:30 A.M. – Vote of Thanks: James Bowden

11:30-12:00 Noon

  • World Braille Council, Accessible Books Consortium, and Marrakesh Treaty: Martine Abel-Williamson, QSM, President, World Blind Union
  • African Forum: Christo de Klerk (South Africa)

12:00-1:00 P.M. – Lunch

1:00-3:00 P.M. – Session 11: Reports and Papers

  • 1:00-1:30 p.m. – ICEB Music Committee Report – Jordie Howell (Australia)
  • 1:30-2:15 p.m. – Paper 7: Richards and Griffiths–Braille Music Our Way: Introducing a new and unique approach to music literacy through Braille
  • 2:15-3:00 P.M. – Paper 8: Morley Wilkins, Kyrkjebø, and Hu–Tools and techniques to advance music braille production, file-sharing and use

3:00-3:15 P.M. – Tea and Coffee Break

3:15 – Depart for Museum

3:30-5:00 P.M. – Tour of the New Zealand Maritime Museum (Audio Described)

  • The entry charges are NZD 15.00 for each Aucklander and NZD 39.00 for each person who is not an Aucklander, including international visitors.

Tuesday Evening Free

 

Day 4: Wednesday, 29 May

7:45-8:30 a.M. – Registration

8:30-10:00 a.M. – Session 12: Business and Short Presentations

  • Health and Safety Briefing
  • 8:30-8:45 Nominations Committee second report, to be followed by election of the Executive Committee if additional nominations have been received, Debbie Gillespie (Canada)
  • 8:45-10:00 a.m. – Short presentations—Demonstration session presenters will provide short overviews of their projects (10-15 min each)
    • Presentation 1: Stilson and Free–The Journey of the Monarch, Why Partnerships, Innovation, and a New Braille Standard Were Essential to Creating a Dynamic Tactile Display
    • Presentation 2: Dang and Le Anh—Sao Mai Braille
    • Presentation 3: Foulkes, Seger, and O'Callaghan–Braille Literacy and Tactile Learning: Developing Educational Materials for Students who are Blind or Low Vision
    • Presentation 4: Holloway—Accessible 3D models and interactive tactile learning tools, Monash University Inclusive Technologies and the Australia and New Zealand Accessible Graphics Group (ANZAGG)
    • Presentation 5: HumanWare products: presenter to be advised
    • Presentation 6: Skilton—Pacific Vision International
    • Presentation 7: Cohen—Surtitles with braille and speech using mainstream software, New Zealand Opera

10:00-10:30 a.M. – Tea and Coffee Break

10:30-12:00 Noon – Session 13: Demonstration Session

  • Demonstrations with presenters from Session 12

12:00-1:00 P.M. – Lunch

1:00-3:00 P.M. – Session 14: Business and Papers

  • 1:00-1:30 – Braille Technology Committee report, James Bowden (United Kingdom)
  • 1:30-2:15 p.m. – Paper 9: Free and Stilson–An International Effort to Update Braille for a Dynamic and Personalized Future
  • 2:15-3:00 P.M. – Paper 10: Holloway, Butler, Reinders, Cracknell, and Marriott–Refreshable Tactile Displays, Research to Help Guide Reform to Tactile Graphics Access

3:00-3:30 P.M. – Tea and Coffee Break

3:30-5:00 P.M. – Session 15: Discussion

  • UEB at 20: Code Maintenance Committee Discussion, Matthew Horspool (United Kingdom), Clive Lansink (New Zealand)

6:00 P.M. – Presidential Dinner

  • Master of Ceremonies: Dr. Greg Morgan
  • Guest Speaker: Tom Schnackenberg, OBE
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Day 5: Thursday, 30 May

7:45-8:30 a.M. – Registration

8:30-10:00 a.M. – Session 16: Papers

  • Health and Safety Briefing
  • 8:30-9:15 a.m. – Paper 11: Dunnam–Writing Braille: Two Centuries of Tools and Techniques, and How We Can Strengthen Them for the Future
  • 9:15-10:00 a.m. – Paper 12: Horspool–Multi-Line Braille Displays, So What? Considering the practical use and ongoing development of multi-line braille displays from a user perspective

10:00-10:30 a.M. – Tea and Coffee Break

10:30-12:00 Noon – Session 17: Business

  • Resolutions Committee report: Discussion and adoption of Eighth General Assembly resolutions
  • Introduction of incoming ICEB President and Executive Committee
  • Closing comments and thank-yous
  • 11:55 Close from Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei

12:00 Noon – Close of General Assembly

12:00-1:00 P.M. – Lunch

1:00-3:00 P.M. – Incoming ICEB Executive Committee Meeting

  • Separate agenda, observers welcome

Last updated 25 April 2024