[vicsireland] Final Update and thanks!
- From: "Tony Murray" <Tony.G.Murray@xxxxxx>
- To: "VICS" <vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 7 Jun 2007 10:23:39 +0100
Hi VICS Members,
We're coming to the end of another VICS term, so I thought I'd send an
update.
At last year's AGM (it only seems like yesterday), we received a lot of
member's feedback and suggestions. I was anxious this term to focus the
majority of our work on projects devised from this information. My initial
reaction was... if we get through half of this stuff we'll be doing well!
Now it's a year on, and yet again we've achieved far more than I expected.
As you know, a large part of our work this year was concerned with our
technical training project. We decided to tackle the issue on three fronts.
The first was to build a learning resource on our web site. Next, we would
produce regular audio tutorials on InfoVICS. Finally, we would assemble a
team, and stage day long training sessions in various locations around the
country, so our members could easily access some actual classroom style
tuition.
I am pleased to report, that after some great work by all involved, we have
managed to hit each of our targets for this year as regards training. Every
piece of feedback I've seen has been positive, and to me that is the most
important thing. So, here's a big thanks to our travelling training team,
Brian Dalton, Joan Ann Brosnan, Nicky (The Pacemaker) Kealy, Joan Kearns,
Robbie Sandberg, Emma Tracey and Flor Lynch. Thanks too to the NCBI for
giving us the use of their centres in Dublin and Cork, we couldn't have done
it without them.
In addition to the regional training sessions, we had our open day in Galway
before Christmas. This too was a very information packed day. VICS were
honoured to have a representative from Humanware (the great Alan Davis), and
some wonderful people from Dolphin UK there to present technology, carry out
demonstrations and to answer questions. Coupled with the technology walk
throughs shown by our own team, this day worked out really well. We got a
lot of coverage in the press, thanks to Tom Langan in the West.
Anyone remember Seeing Better Ireland? Well, VICS were there spreading the
good word. We had a nice couple of days on our stand, chatting to fellow
exhibitors, handing out VICS information packs, encouraging people to join
our society, and even doing some on-the-spot technical support. I think
VICS signed up more new members in those two days than ever before!
In December of 2006, VICS participated in the E-accessible day for the
Design for All Network in DCU, to promote daisy as a format of access to
material. Brian Dalton manned the stand on the day, and he reported a lot
of interest in VICS and the DAISY technology. This society has been
promoting the DAISY format for years now, so it was good to see the word
being spread further.
Speaking of promotion, we came to a very exciting agreement with the guys
from RTE this year too. The Audioscope team wanted to feature more
technology related material on their programmes, so who better to talk bits
and bytes than VICS! It was arranged that members of the Committee would
appear on the shows regularly, to discuss up and coming technology, what
activities VICS were involved in, etc. I must say, it's going rather well!
Thanks to Dave McHugh, Bethan Collins and the Super Sub, Joe Bollard!
You will know of our dealings with Back From the Future. The guys in this
shop are really interested in delivering accessible solutions for Blind and
Visually Impaired People. This fledgling relationship between VICS and Back
From the Future will certainly grow, and I am confident it will benefit our
members even further. VICS are always interested in new accessible gadgets
and the like, and so are the shop; it can't fail!
Quite a few of our member's names were drawn out in our great Mobile Phone
deal, which was carried out in conjunction with the NCBI. This was a scheme
were we made Nokia 6680s running the latest version of Talks available for a
special reduced price. There were twenty phones, eighteen for sale, one to
be given away free by the NCBI and one to be given away by VICS. The VICS
phone is still up for grabs, and the draw will take place at the AGM. It
will be the first job of the new chairperson! Thanks to Stuart Lawler and
Des Kenny for including us in this great deal.
I'm sure you will have noticed that our very own web site
(www.vicsireland.org) has grown in the past year. Version 2.0 of the site
was put up some months ago, and it continues to grow and develop very
regularly. There is a great deal of useful information up there, and we
should all be very proud of it. I encourage our members to keep on
submitting documents they would like published on the site. Thanks to
Natasha Miskella for her excellent work and dedication to this project.
In March, VICS authored a Submission regarding the Draft of the upcoming Web
Content Accessibility guidelines version 2.0. This can be seen on our web
site in the Information section. It was good to see our society having
their voice heard on this stage, as we have been involved in campaigning for
web accessibility and usability for a long time now. Thanks to Natasha
Miskella and Gerry Ellis for producing this document.
Our mailing list has continued to be an excellent overall resource for VICS,
and our primary source in terms of technical support for our members. As
always, I would encourage you all to send in a mail if you have a question
or require clarification about anything technology related. It doesn't
matter how basic you think the issue is, send it in. Someone will help you.
As I have said before, the field of technology is so broad... we're all
beginners in many areas of this computer game! A big thanks to our moderator
Paul Traynor for looking after the list, and for continuing to spread his
vast knowledge through emails and articles on our web site.
At Saturday's AGM, VICS are going to make a very important announcement. We
have (with the help of some special friends) set-up a very exciting and
important project. It will mark a new departure for VICS, and will directly
benefit each and every one of you who choose to get involved. In time, you
will all join me in thanking Tim Culhane for this one, as he is the brains
behind it all! I'll say no more for now.
Here's one for you guys. I want to thank all of the VICS membership for
making this society the great machine it is. The Committee are there to
work for you all, so never be afraid to make your voice heard. I've met
lots of you this term, through our training and open days, and talked to
many more of you via email. We have something very special here in VICS,
and it seems to me that we are still 'on the up' as they say.
A big thanks to the outgoing Committee for everything this year. It has
been a real pleasure working with you guys. We've had a very busy one, but
all you have to do is review what we have achieved to see that it was all
worthwhile. Well done you lot!
Finally, I want to extend a very special thanks to someone who has worked
tirelessly this year on a range of our projects. If it wasn't for this
person, we wouldn't have seen half the successes we have listed above. Who
is it? You probably guessed - Brian Dalton! On a personal note, he has given
me so much support and encouragement through the term, and no task has been
too large or daunting for him. He approaches everything with cool
confidence, and never fails to get the job done. You'll all recognise his
name, as he has been involved in pretty much everything VICS related this
year. Fair play to you my friend, and I look forward to yet another beer
with you after the AGM (as if we didn't have enough last weekend).
Hope to see lots of you on Saturday.
Best wishes,
Tony Murray
VICS Chairperson
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