by Lynne Davis
In June 1975 a meeting of blind people in Melbourne decided to form a new organisation which blind people around Australia could join by right, to adopt a constitution for such an organisation, and to call it the National Federation of Blind Citizens (NFBC). Next year the organisation – now called Blind Citizens Australia – will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a national convention in June and there will be many other celebratory events throughout the year. It will be a time to reflect on what the lives of blind people were like then, how their situation has changed and the role our organisation has played in that change, as well as looking forward to what may confront us in the future.
The next issue of Blind Citizens News will be a special anniversary issue, with a focus on five decades of advocacy, shared experiences, peer support and great change, as well as what current challenges face us and what our future might be like.
We invite you to send us your suggestions about what you would like to have included in the anniversary issue. Let us know in a few sentences about your ideas for this special issue. We can’t guarantee to include it all because the length is limited, but we’ll do our best. And if you are interested in writing for this issue, please let us know that as well.
We will need to hear from you by Friday, 13th December 2024.
Please send your suggestions to sivadal@bigpond.net.au, either in the body of your message or as a Word attachment to your message.
If you are not able to send it this way, call Amila Dedovic on 1800 033 660 to talk about how you might be able to submit your idea.
We are looking forward to hearing from you!