The Canadian Federation of the Blind held its first convention last month in Victoria British Columbia. Members and other attendees from the community enjoyed the activities and learned much from the sessions. One of our goals in holding the convention was to raise awareness about the Federation, what we do and how we can benefit blind Canadians. We succeeded in this goal, and proved to ourselves what can be accomplished with a group of strong and motivated people.

The Believe Convention included several exciting events: a cocktail party for the Right Honourable David Blunkett, who is blind and who serves as British Secretary of Work and Pensions; a conference with several speakers from the Federation; a white cane walk; and a banquet. Prior to the convention, Mr. Blunkett gave a talk in Victoria about his portfolio, and his work to promote the employment of people with disabilities in Britain. Braille pamphlets, as well as a video of the talk are available.

The cocktail party at Swans Hotel on Friday, September 16, gave everyone a chance to relax and meet the Right Honourable David Blunkett in an informal atmosphere. Members of the Canadian Federation of the Blind wish to thank Mr. Blunkett and his government for attending and supporting these events.

The CFB conference was held on Saturday, September 17 at Travelers Inn, City Centre. The conference included informative and energetic speakers from the Canadian Federation of the Blind and the National Federation of the Blind.

Elizabeth Lalonde, CFB President, spoke about the Canadian Federation of the Blind, what the organization is, where we are going and why the Federation’s work is so important. Elizabeth also gave a speech, based on her own personal experiences, about the “handicap of vision,” which discussed the difficulties inherent in relying on limited vision and the logic and benefits of using blindness skills, such as Braille and cane travel, even when one has some remaining vision.

CFB Vice-President, Mary Ellen Gabias gave a talk on “Being an Informed Rehabilitation Customer: Making Wise Choices for your Life.” Her words helped people understand the importance of demanding and receiving good rehabilitation to help blind people lead productive and independent lives.

Our guest speaker, Carla McQuillan, travelled all the way from Oregon to join us. Ms. McQuillan is president of the National Federation of the Blind of Oregon, and a member of the board of directors of the National Federation of the Blind. Ms. McQuillan is also the executive director of Main Street Montessori Association. She runs three schools, and provides parent education courses and a teacher-training program. We were fortunate to hear Ms. McQuillan speak about NFB Training Centres and their success in helping blind people achieve a solid grounding in blindness skills, a positive understanding of blindness and blind people and a sense of self-confidence. Ms. McQuillan also talked about blind children in the pre-school years. Members of the Canadian Federation of the Blind wish to thank Carla McQuillan for coming and participating in the convention and for the knowledge, wisdom and experience she shared. We also wish to thank Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, for making it possible for Ms McQuillan to attend.

Other speakers at the conference included: a video recording of Graeme McCreath, CFB member and blindness activist, about his experiences attending a physiotherapy school for the blind in England and his career as a blind physiotherapist; a moving presentation by Oriano Belusic, CFB past-President, about his experiences as a young child losing his sight in Croatia, his schooling and life in Canada and his work as a successful business person; an inspiring speech delivered by Rick Driver, CFB supporting member, called “Sharing the Same Perspective: Reflections of a Sighted Federationist;” and a talk called “Blind Children are Normal Children,” given by Karen Faris, who is blind herself, a parent of three sighted and three blind children and a long-time educator.

Following the conference, a group of us went downtown with our white canes for a refreshing walk to symbolize and promote travel skills and solidarity as a group of independent blind people.

The day closed with a banquet that featured good food, celebration, and a speech given by Dr. Paul Gabias, Associate Professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia Okanagan and long-time Federationist. Dr. Gabias spoke about the history and development of Federationism in Canada.

Note: a video recording of the CFB conference will be available before Christmas.

Another significant part of our convention included the many door prizes that added flavour to the day. CFB members would like to thank all the businesses, Organizations, and individuals who contributed door prizes to the Canadian Federation of The Blind conference. Some of these generous donors included: the Royal London Wax Museum, Silk Road Tea House, Alliance for the Equity of Blind Canadians, Free Spirit Botanicals, and individuals who donated items such as Millennium Peace Coin & Stamp sets, bottles of Wine, chocolates, and cash gifts. These gifts added to the conventions great success, and gave people a true sense of the Federations spirit.

As president, I also thank the CFB executive and other members who worked many long hours to make the convention such a success. This team effort and sense of common purpose, more than anything, embodies the Federation spirit.

WE came together and enjoyed a new and invigorating atmosphere, an environment where blind people were the majority, where we spoke for ourselves, and where we learned that anything is possible.