National Conferences

Conference 2011 in Tauranga

Around 60 people attended our Conference held at the Community Village Hall on 27 August - about a month earlier than usual to accommodate the Rugby World Cup! 

President Fraser Alexander reported on his attendance at Visions 2011 - the Foundation Fighting Blindness' recent Conference in the USA.  As well as the inspiring medical and scientific content, Fraser covered information gleaned from the leadership, technology, coping, and employment sessions, and gave an update on initiatives from Retina International, our umbrella organisation.

After lunch Minnie Baragwanath, Chief Executive of Be. Institute, spoke about her organisation - a social change enterprise that aims to inspire and enable a 100% accessible society for all New Zealanders. For the past 10 years, Minnie has worked in the disability sector advising the former Auckland City Council.  The Be. Institute has now developed a partnership with the Ministry of Social Development to lead the way in creating accessibility for the whole of New Zealand.

Dr Clive Straker, Tauranga Ophthalmologist, spoke on Macular Degeneration and other retinal disorders - what is happening at the back of the eye - and how best to cope with the condition.

As always, we concluded with refreshments and an opportunity to network and socialise.

Conference 2010 in Christchurch

On Saturday 25 September about 40 people attended our National AGM and Conference at the RNZFB Social Centre in St Albans, Christchurch.

After the welcome from local member Petronella Spicer, Fraser Alexander gave a report on his attendance at Retina International's16th World Congress held in Italy in June, and the encouraging research that has been conducted in the last two years. More about this research can be found in our November 2010 Newsletter.

Darryl Sherwood spoke about the SoundPost Orientation System that he has spent 5 years developing. It's not a navigation system, nor is it GPS. SoundPost allows users who have a small handheld remote about the size of a mobile phone to find (for example) a door, escalator, or the main reception desk in a building. When the handset is aimed at the base station, it picks up a signal that beeps to let the user know where they are, relative to where they want to be. Each handset and base station retail for about $200, so a basic system would cost about $400 to $600. Demonstrations were carried out over the lunchbreak.  More information about SoundPost is on www.povidi.com

After lunch Kiran Valabh talked about travelling in Europe as a blind person, and briefly touched on his attendance at the Macular Disease Society Conference held in Bristol, England in June 2010.

Ophthalmologist and ocular geneticist Dr Andrea Vincent (Auckland) spoke on the recently established genetic database for retinal disorders, the assistance it will provide with diagnosis and prognosis, and the changes in genes that may lead to retinal disorders. To date, only about 200 Kiwis had been genotyped; these patients were being sent letters seeking their permission to be included on the database.

Our Conference finished mid-afternoon with afternoon tea and the chance for local members and those from further afield to meet or catch up with each other.

Conference 2009 in Paraparaumu

On Saturday 26 September about 70 people attended our 2009 Conference at the Kapiti Community Centre in Paraparaumu. Winnie Laban, Labour Member for Mana, came to the morning session.

Genevieve and Bruce McLachlan of Adaptive Technology Solutions www.adaptivetech.co.nz gave a Low Vision Aids presentation, introducing the audience to two solutions for people who have difficulty reading their computer screens: Zoomtext and Guide. Hand held magnifiers were demonstrated as well as CCTV (closed circuit television) which can help a low vision person read a newspaper again. The items demonstrated remained on display throughout the day so people could try them during the lunch break and at the end of the day.

Nathan Guy, National Member for Otaki, opened the afternoon session and noted that this was the first time that Retina NZ had held its National Conference outside a main centre and it was great to see people from Hawkes Bay and Manawatu there as well as people from the greater Wellington region and Horowhenua.

Peter Turner, a Wellington-based optometrist and low vision expert gave a presentation on Macular Degeneration and talked about the Low Vision Clinic at Wellington Hospital. Don McKenzie, the retiring Chair of the RNZFB, spoke about the Macular Degeneration Trust which is being set up by some Auckland based eye professionals. Stephanie Drew introduced the attendees to Safari to Adventure, a story set in Kenya which was being sold by June Ombler to raise funds for retinal research. This work of fiction aimed at the 10 – 15 year old market costs $20.00 per copy + $4.00 p&p. Orders may be placed with Kay McKenzie (04) 567 5732.

The Conference finished mid afternoon with a Mix n Mingle session. During this time some more locals came to see the Low Vision products on display and try them for themselves.