International Workshop: "Empowering Visually Impaired People Through Education and Employment", held on 15 Dec. 2016

On December 15, 2016, we organized a celebration day for our 15 years long journey with a workshop on the theme of “Empowering Visually Impaired People Through Education and Employment”.  The workshop was held at the Nguyen Dinh Chieu School for the Blind of HCM. We exchanged ideas and experiences with our Vietnamese and international partners. 

• History of Sao Mai Center for the Blind: Carlo Pizzato and Amedeo Pignatelli /Founders and Sao Mai Advisors

• Accomplishments of Sao Mai Center for the Blind to date: Lawyer Pham Viet Thu/Vice President of HCM Save Disabled Children Association, Head of Advisory Board of Sao Mai

• National policies for people with visual impairment in the inclusive education settings: Dr. Pham Minh Muc/Director of Special Education Center, Ministry of Education & Training (the text is in Vietnamese)

• Current situations/challenges in the inclusive education for children with visual impairment and proposed effective solutions: Ms. Ha Thanh Van/Principle of the HCM NDC School for the Blind (the text is in Vietnamese)

• Role of the resource centers for higher education program in Vietnam: Sr. Le Thi Van Nga/Director of the Nhat Hong Center for the Blind (the text is in Vietnamese)

• National policies for employees with disabilities and employers in Vietnam: Mr. Le Chu Giang/Representative from DOLISA of HCM

• Employment opportunities created by VBA programs: Mr. Dinh Thanh Tung/Representative from the VBA

• Products and programs created and implemented by Sao Mai to support persons with visual impairments in education and employment: Dang Manh Cuong/Head of Tech Team, Nguyen Manh Hung/Head of Vocational Team, Dang Hoai Phuc/Executive director of Sao Mai

• Successful stories in employment: Mr. Tran Viet Linh

• Overview of ON-NET and ICEVI Projects in Vietnam- A Remarkable Journey: Mr. Larry Campbell/President Emeritus of ICEVI.

• Overview of Perkins’ Program In Asia/Pacific: Ms. Weningsih/Educational Specialist, Asia/Pacific, Perkins International

• Myanmar: Collaboration with Government, Private School to Access Inclusive Education: Ms. Kwai Nan/Executive Director, Myanmar National Association of the Blind

• Indonesia: Self-advocacy & Preparation for Employment: Ms. Aria Indrawati/Chairperson of ICEVI East Asia Region/President, Pertuni (The Indonesian Blind Association)

• Cambodia: Role Of Employment For Students with visual impairment: Ms. Sreypov Sok/Academic and Career Counseling Officer, Krousar Thmey

• Philippines: Employment: Roles of Technology/Soft Skills, Strategies and Successful Stories: Mr. Marlo Lucas/Higher Education and Job Placement Coordinator, RBI

• Malaysia: We Make The Change: AirAsia – Now Everyone Can Fly: Mr. Silatul Rahim Bin Dahman/CEO & Co-founder, Malaysian Foundation for the Blind

• Thailand: Community Services in Thailand: Mr. Winit Moonwicha/Vice Director on Special Affairs, the Christian Foundation f/t Blind in Thailand