Low Vision News November 2002 Issue 4 Inside this issue: * Vision 2005 Set for London * Upcoming Events * Are You Missing Your VIR? * ISLRR a Selects New Executive Committee * New ISLRR Mailing Address * ISLRR on the Web * Time to Renew for 2003 President's Message Dear ISLRR members, Welcome back from Vision 2002. By all accounts the conference was a smashing success. Thanks and congratulations on behalf of ISLRR to our Swedish members and friends for hosting it! Congratulations also to our new Executive Committee, composed of 15 hard-working members and listed elsewhere in this newsletter. Since July, the new Committee has already begun work, via email, on many new initiatives. Among them are: * Formation of several committees to develop new by-laws and increase membership; * The renovation of our ISLRR web site (check it out at http://www.islrr.org); * Participation in Vision 2005 planning; * Development of a new special interest group (SIG) on promoting the use of vision in vision rehabilitation, education, and other services (contact Anne Corn (Anne.Corn@Vanderbilt.Edu), Örjan Bäckman (Orjan.backman@lhs.se), or Mario Broginni (mbroggin@tin.it) to participate; * Establishing an ISLRR award for some aspect of excellence in research. As you all know, by now, the Royal National Institute of the Blind was chosen to host the next conference, in 2005, and there is an article in this newsletter by Deborah Beale, coordinator for the conference, about it. Also, be sure to bookmark http://www.rnib.org.uk/vision2005 for the latest developments on the next conference. At the General Meeting in Gothenburg (of which the minutes are being distributed in the same mailing as this newsletter), several members asked how they might become more involved in ISLRR activities. Here are several things we are looking for members to volunteer their talents in: * Translation of the newsletter and web site into other languages. This is important so we can get our message out to people we would otherwise not be able to reach, and because it can help our membership grow. * Marketing expertise to develop promotional materials. * Expansion of ISLRR's web site, and possible moderation of a web-based discussion list. * Articles for this newsletter, of general interest to ISLRR members. Let me close by saying that I am both delighted and honored to have been chosen as ISLRR's President for the next three years, and I thank you for the opportunity to lead the organization during what I believe will be an important growth period in our history. Wishing you all a wonderful end of year! Aries Arditi Vision 2005 Set for London - April 4-8, 2005 RNIB (The Royal National Institute of the Blind) will be hosting what we all hope will be ISLRR's, and the world's, largest conference on issues concerning Low Vision and sight problems in London, April 4-8, 2005, following on from Vision 2002 in Gothenburg. Planning for this huge event is well underway. During September 2002, RNIB have been shortlisting and moving forward on selection of the professional conference company who will work on this event. Work is also progressing in drawing together the panel of referees for abstracts, and it is expected that the major themes for the conference will be finalized by December. If you are interested in being a referee or submitting an abstract please contact, in these early days, Mark Browne at RNIB. His email address is Mark.Browne@rnib.org.uk. Later on we expect the abstract posting and assessment procedure to flow through a dedicated access point on the web, which is currently being organized. A sponsorship group and a marketing group have been formed and are commencing their work, and the British Tourist Authority and the London Tourist Board are also working hard in preparation for the event. After Christmas a lot more detail on the conference will appear on the RNIB and ISLRR web site. We are looking for assistance in marketing the conference around the world and for sponsors and exhibitors. If you can help in any of these areas please contact the conference coordinator Deborah Beale via her email at Deborah.Beale@rnib.org.uk. For those who wish to receive early information on being a delegate, leave your details on the Vision 2005 page on the RNIB web site www.rnib.org.uk and you will be sent further information as soon as it is available.( Upcoming Events Dec. 12-15, 2002 - San Diego, California Academy 2002 - Sponsored by American Academy of Optometry. Conference is being held at the San Diego Convention Center and San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina, San Diego, CA. For more information visit the website www.aaopt.org. July 25-29, 2003 - Washington, DC Advocacy -Everyone's Responsibility - Sponsored by the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Bind and Visually Impaired (AER). Conference is being held at the Wyndham Washington, DC Hotel. For more information, contact Barbara Sherr +1 (703) 823-9690 or visit the website www.aerbvi.org. Feb. 19-22, 2003 - Beverly Hills, California Vision Loss in the 21st Century - Everybody's Business - Co-sponsored by the American Foundation for the Blind and Foundation for the Junior Blind. For more information, call +1 (323) 295-4555 or visit the websites www.afb.org or www.fjb.org. July 4-6, 2003 - Groningen, The Netherlands Eurosight 2003 - International BiOptic Driving Conference - In collaboration with the Bioptic Driving Network and the International Society for Low-vision Research and Rehabilitation. Conference is being held at the School of Behavior Cognitive Neurosciences. Deadline for abstract submission is March 1, 2003; early registration begins April 15, 2003. For additional information, including program schedule, invited speakers, and registration fee information, visit the website www.biopticdriving.org/conference.htm. Special note: ISLRR members receive a 10% reduction on registration fees. December 4-8, 2003 - Dallas, Texas Academy 2003 - Sponsored by American Academy of Optometry. Conference is being held at the Dallas Convention Center, Dallas, Texas. For more information visit the website www.aaopt.org. ISLRR Selects a New Executive Committee During Vision 2002 in Gothenburg, ISLRR members selected a new Executive Committee to lead the organization. Please welcome our new President, Aries Arditi (aarditi@lighthouse.org); Vice President, Susanne Trauzettel-Klosinski (setrauze@med.uni-tuebingen.de); Treasurer, Gregory Goodrich (gregory. goodrich@med.va.gov); Secretary, Gary Rubin (g.rubin@ucl.ac.uk); and Deputy Secretary Mario Broggini (mbroggin@tin.it). In addition, the following Trustees were also selected: Orjan Backman (orjan.backman@lhs.se), Tarek Badawy (tbadawy@aol.com), Ian Bruce (ian.bruce@RNIB.org.uk), Anne Corn (anne. corn@vanderbilt.edu), Stilianos Karditsas (kardi@hol.org), Jan Lovie-Kitchin (j.lovie-kitchin@qut.edu.au), Ger Van Rens (vanrens@auronet.nl), Silvia Veitzman (ividi@ig.com.br), Francois Vital Durand (vital@lyon.inserm.fr), and Kenji Yanashima (yanasima@rehab.go.jp). If you have any questions, comments or suggestions for ISLRR to consider, please do not hesitate to contact anyone of these Society leaders.( New ISLRR Mailing Address With the change of the new ISLRR Secretary, a change in ISLRR's mailing address has also taken place. General correspondence, questions or comments should be directed to: Gary Rubin, ISLRR Secretary Institute of Ophthalmology Bath Street London EC1V 9EL UK Phone +44 (0) 207 608 6989 Fax +44 (0) 207 608 6983 E-mail: Inquiries@islrr.org In addition, for quicker response and easier processing of membership applications, ISLRR has set up the following new mailing address for membership applications only: ISLRR c/o Gregory Goodrich P.O. Box 1481 Union City, CA 94587 USA( ISLRR on the Web Our web master, Kent Davis, has recently updated and completed additions to the ISLRR's website, including links to the abstracts from the Vision 2002 Conference last July in Gothenberg. Please take a moment to review the additions to this valuable member benefit at www.islrr.org! ( ISLRR International Society for Low Vision Research and Rehabilitation Dear ISLRR Member, Thank you for your continued membership in ISLRR. Together, ISLRR members continue to work for the promotion of low vision research and rehabilitation, increase and spread our knowledge within these fields, and increase rehabilitation resources and efforts throughout the world. It is time to renew your ISLRR membership for 2003. With your renewal, you will continue to receive such valuable benefits as: * the official journal of ISLRR, Visual Impairment Research, * the Society's newsletter Low Vision News, * substantial discounts to sponsored conferences in the field, * the ISLRR 2003 Membership Directory, a handy reference and networking tool, * plus much more. Your renewal form is enclosed with this newsletter. Please make any corrections to your contact information and return the completed form with your 2003 membership dues. Please note that the contact information listed on your renewal form will be used to produced the 2003 ISLRR Membership Directory, so make sure it is your current address, e-mail, phone and fax numbers. Should you have any questions, please contact me via e-mail at Inquiries@islrr.org. We look forward to serving you as a 2003 member of ISLRR. Sincerely, Gary S. Rubin, Ph.D. Professor of Visual Rehabilitation Institute of Ophthalmology Bath Street London EC1V 9EL United Kingdom Are You Missing Your Visual Impairment Re-search? We are making every attempt to stay on top of the timely distribution of the Visual Im-pairment Research. The most recent issue, VIR Vol. 3(1), has been mailed. If you are a current member and have not received this is-sue, please send an e-mail message to Lorna Frazier-Lindsey at lornafl@worldnet.att.net so that she may follow up with the publisher. Be sure to include your current address so that we can be certain the publisher has your correct mailing information. Watch for VIR Vol. 3 (2) soon. Thank you!" Send letters to: Low Vision News, c/o Lorna Frazier-Lindsey, 109 Scarsdale Drive, Stafford, VA 22554 USA Send short (500 words or less), informal reports of research results, queries on research methodology or equipment, innovative solutions to problems encountered. Copyright c by the International Society for Low-vision Research and Rehabilitation. Printed in the USA. Low Vision News is provided to members of the Society