by Ben Clare
What better time than the auspicious occasion of BCA’s 50th anniversary to pause and reflect on the great success of the association in the disability advocacy space, both within Australia and globally?
Focusing on our work internationally, we’ve been involved in everything from assisting neighbouring countries to establish and support robust blindness advocacy groups to being at the forefront of Marrakesh Treaty formation, negotiation and implementation, and everything in between. Our efforts in this work have been and continue to be spearheaded by dedicated and extremely hardworking individuals who totally believe in equality for all blind people around the world, improved access to services, education and adherence to human rights as spelled out in such instruments as the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (UNCRPD.) BCA recognises the value of partnerships, equal in nature and that are mutually beneficial, and this has been demonstrated widely over the years.
Our work at BCA predates the current incarnation of the World Blind Union and we were there right from the start with BCA members assuming leadership positions within the WBU and disability advocacy in general. Major players in the international space have included Bill Jolley, David Blyth and Maryanne Diamond (both of whom became President of the WBU).
Also very active in the international space has been the highly successful author, lawyer and advocate, Professor Ron McCallum AO, who, amongst a multitude of impressive achievements is somewhat of an architect of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (UNCRPD,) contributing content to the instrument and overseeing its implementation and oversight through chairing committees and being the official UN rapporteur.
The following are a few of the highlights of activities and successes over the years:
- Australia hosted the WBU General Assembly in Melbourne in November 2000. It was preceded by an international blind women’s forum.
- After the Assembly Maryanne Diamond became chair of the WBU women’s committee which developed a mentoring and leadership kit for blind women which was translated into several languages.
- BCA led some international projects which were run in Fiji and Vietnam, the Vietnamese project focussed on braille literacy for women.
- BCA supported the DAISY consortium.
- June 2013 the Marrakesh Treaty to facilitate access to published works for persons who are blind, vision impaired or otherwise print disabled was adopted.
This leadership in the international advocacy space continues today with ongoing commitment from BCA to work with likeminded organisations around the world, including WBU. Regionally, BCA is a member of the Pacific Disability Forum, represented by our current Vice President, Helen Freris, with ongoing input from the BCA membership.
BCA is proud of its contribution to international advocacy efforts, perhaps symbolised by the creation of the David Blyth Award, bestowed biennially in recognition of David’s work in BCA and the WBU.