by Jodie Holdback and Jordie Howell
Reprinted from Blind Citizens News, December 2000
Meeting people, socialising, diving into hard women’s issues – and no dirty dishes or nappies for a week! All this was nothing compared to the experience and inspiration that we found at the second World Blind Women’s Forum.
As participants in BCA’s young women’s project, sponsored by the National Women’s Branch, we were able to experience our first international conference. The prospect of meeting all the 12 women involved in the project, and other women from around Australia and the world, was an exciting prelude to the inspiration and friendships that we developed.
One of the highlights of the project was learning about networking and other strategies and then using them effectively in situations such as the conference. So, network we did! A whole new world opened for us. It was overwhelming but inspirational to learn about the issues that confront vision impaired and blind women in third world countries, compared to our own society. We listened to many speeches on various issues in and around these countries, which compelled us to meet women from these countries and find out more about them.
We spent a lot of time asking questions and talking to women (mainly from Africa) and felt very humble with the knowledge of how privileged we are in Australian society. It was very inspiring to hear the speeches and to talk to women who have established themselves, through perseverance and hard work, in positions of leadership.
The forum overall has made us more aware of various issues surrounding vision impaired and blind women and presented us with the challenge to be involved in helping to change things in those countries in need.