Blog Post; August 2021

Mandatory Declarations

We would like to take this opportunity to remind our Registered and Ordinary members to please log in to the OMAA website and update their profiles to indicate compliance with our Code of Ethics. This is becoming more urgent as we progress our professionalisation and look forward to having funding for O&M recognised via the NDIS in Australia. Please refer to the email sent 14th July 2021 for instructions on how to update your profile.

 

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

Upcoming Conferences and CPD opportunities:

  • Save Sight Institute Community Information Event: 18 September 2021, 12-4.45pm (AEST), via Zoom webinar. This event is for people living with low vision or blindness, their carers and industry professionals. It will include information on employment, education, sport, technology and research as well as breakout sessions for young adults, their families and educators. Guest speakers are Nas Campanella, Disability Affairs Reporter for ABC News and Ria Andriani, a Sydney-based braille specialist, music writer and musician. Please click here for more information and to register.
  • OMAA Online Symposium: 28 September 2021, 9.30am – 5pm (AEST). This event will be hosted by NextSense Institute, and will be held online via Zoom. The OMAA Symposium will contribute 6 PD hours towards COMS recertification. Registrations are now open.
  • International O&M Online Symposium: 26-28 January, 2022. Please consider applying to present at the Symposium. If you are selected to present, not only will you be sharing your knowledge with the international O&M community, but you will receive a complimentary presenter’s pass to the Symposium, as well as ACVREP credit for presenting. Presentation submissions will close on 17 September 2021. Join the symposium waitlist and read more at the International O&M Online Symposium website.
  • Common Eye Disorders in Childhood: An on demand 3-part webinar, delivered by NextSense, investigating the common eye disorders in children and the impact they have on development. Offers 5 CPD points towards COMS recertification.
  • Blindness and Low Vision Masterclass Series 2021: An on demand 6-part webinar, delivered by NextSense, which investigates and provides advice about specific eye conditions. Can be viewed as a complete series or separate webinars can be purchased individually. Offers 6 CPD points towards COMS recertification.

If you’re looking for other CPD opportunities, remember to check the OMAA website for suggestions. 

Are you hosting or attending an upcoming CPD event? Would you like to be able to earn points towards ACVREP recertification at the same time? Click here to find out how you can register your event.

 

Job Vacancies

Have you looked at the Job Vacancies page on the OMAA website recently? You’ll find position vacancies listed for various agencies and locations across Australasia so remember to check it regularly.

 

Access and Technology news

  • Very exciting news for the WeWALK team who were selected as Amazon’s Startup of the Year in the Innovation Awards 2021. Read more in this article and check out the announcement video.
  • The Companion Cane is a new product from Traveleyes which they claim “enables visually impaired people to be guided in a more free and independent way”. Find out more here.
  • An interesting article on spatial audio for the blind. 
  • Kellogg’s makes its cereal boxes accessible to people who are blind and vision impaired, using a world-first technology that will allow a smartphone to detect labelling and allergy information. Read more here.

 

Other news

 

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