RNIB

✍️ Phew! Exam season is coming to an end and results will soon be on their way! We're proud to have produced over 600 accessible educational exams in the last academic year for blind and partially sighted students. Our work with schools, universities, exam boards and educational providers has ensured students receive equal access to their education. Mathematics, sciences, foreign languages, music and more, there's no subject paper too complex to be made accessible. If you work in an educational setting and would like to make your documents accessible, contact [email protected] for more details. #Accessibility #AccessibleFormat #WorkingWithRNIB [Image Description: A graph where all the information is represented in braille. The vertical axis is titled cumulative frequency and the words length (mm) on the horizontal axis. Numbers range from 0-60 vertically and 0-100 horizontally. The line contained within the graph rises exponentially as both cumulative frequency and length increase.]

We are delighted to be awarded The Charity Awards Campaigning and Advocacy Award for our campaign to stop the closure of over 800 ticket offices across England and at Glasgow Central Station. The Government scrapped its proposals to close them in a stunning U-turn last October. As well as taking part directly in the consultation on the proposals, almost 2,000 blind and partially sighted people sent a letter to their MP asking them to share their concerns with the transport minister, reaching nine out of ten MPs. Hundreds of people also wrote to their local newspapers to reiterate RNIB’s call to scrap the proposals. This led to MPs from across the house sharing emails sent to them in a parliamentary debate, referencing RNIB statistics and the impact closing ticket offices would have. Thank you to everyone who supported this important campaign! Read more about the Award on the Charity Awards website: https://lnkd.in/emchWn3h #CharityAwards [Image description: Matt Stringer, RNIB CEO, Lydia Williamson-Sawyer, RNIB Campaigns Officer, Eleanor Thompson, RNIB Director of Campaigns, and Gorki Duhra, RNIB PR Manager, standing in a row at the Charity Awards holding the award for Campaigning and Advocacy, which is yellow and pink with a gold crown in the middle.]

Share to save someone from having to explain themselves for the millionth time. 🙃 [Image descriptions: 1. "If you see a blind or partially sighted person using a phone, they aren't faking it." White text on a pink background. A hand drawn arrow points to the next slide. 2. "If you see a blind or partially sighted person without a cane or a guide dog, they aren't faking it." White text on a blue background. A hand drawn arrow points to the next slide. 3. "If you see a blind or partially sighted person playing video games, they aren't faking it." White text on a green background. A hand drawn arrow points to the next slide. 4. A screenshot of a tweet by Alan Stewart @alstewglasgow reads: "When people ask me how I can use a smartphone or tablet if I am blind, I reply 'I use a smartphone and tablet because I am blind.' A black hand drawn arrow points to the final slide. 5. "Be an ally. Follow blind and partially sighted people on social media. Listen, learn, and share." Black text on a white background. The "RNIB See Differently" logo is in the bottom right corner.]

New rules have stopped Manchester student and Paralympic swimmer Mar Gunnarsson from flying in and out of the UK with his guide dog. It's a breach of EU regulations, that still apply after Brexit for airlines to refuse to carry a recognised assistance dog. Mar's experience isn't an isolated one. The EUROPEAN GUIDE DOG FEDERATION is gathering evidence of the problems guide dog users are having travelling by air for the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC): https://rnib.in/EGDFSurvey [Image description: Mar crouching down beside his black Labrador guide dog in front of a plane which has the airline's name flyPLAY on the body and engine.]

Hello, I'm John Casley and I’m an RNIB Product Coordinator. 👋 Next week, the RNIB team and I will be at Sight Village Central, which is based in the centre of Birmingham. You'll recognise us wearing our RNIB lanyards, pink RNIB t-shirts, or black polo shirts. At the event, you'll get hands-on with our latest accessible products and tech. Plus, don’t miss our two talks about the ARx headset—a lightweight, AI-enabled talking camera designed for those who are blind or have low vision. Please join us at the Eastside Rooms on Woodcock Street on Monday, 8th July from 10 and Tuesday 9th July from 9:30. Entry is free and there's no need to book in advance! The venue is just a 15-minute walk from Birmingham Moor Street Station, or you can catch a bus along Moor Street Queensway, just a short walk from the Eastside Rooms. There will be extra staff from the venue available to assist you. They will be wearing purple tabards. If you can't make it to this event, don’t worry! Drop us an email at [email protected], and we'll keep you updated on future events near you. We can’t wait to meet you there!

“Every person in society has a perception of what sight loss looks like. And if your eyes don’t look a certain way, you’re going to confuse them.” Back in the house are Drag Queens Ebony Rose Dark and Son of a Tutu. In the latest episode of our Conversations Between… series, the queens chat about Pride and ParaPride, LGBTQ+ representation and how sight loss plays a part in Ebony’s performances. Watch the full video, https://lnkd.in/ejvK2_vn #SeeThePerson [Video description: I'm Ebony Rose Dark, I am Son of a TuTu. [VoiceOver] Conversations Between by RNIB. [Voiceover] Do you think representation is important in society? Son of a TuTu: Representation is just so key all levels of society. Ebony Rose Dark: As a performer, I'm putting myself out there exposing my vision impairment. Representing. Ha ha. [Voiceover] Do you think there's enough sight loss awareness in society? Ebony Rose Dark: Everyone has in their head a perception of what a visually impaired person looks like. And if your eyes don't look a certain way, you're gonna confuse them. I wish people would start to be more open minded. [Voiceover] RNIB See Differently.]

Khadija was able to vote independently and in secret today using a McGonagle Reader. However, we know not everyone’s voting experiences have gone as smoothly. Please let us know your experience of voting by filling in our short survey: rnib.in/TOGE24 #BlindVotersCount [Video transcription: I went into the polling station and they did have the McGonagle device, so that was great. It was the first time they'd ever used it before and I think that was their first person using it. So I think they were a bit nervous. But it worked really well. They did align. I checked that they aligned the ballot correctly underneath. The person assisting me gave me headphones to use with it, which was good for the secret portion of it. And I was a bit worried that it would be more complicated on an election day than the previous times I've used it as a test, but it was really simple to use. It was really quick as well. I thought I'd be there for ever having to listen to a lot, but it wasn't. It was really, I thought, for me, quite quick and simple. So it was the first time I've ever voted by just listening to the ballot myself and marking the box for myself. I think the box cutouts are a lot more defined than with a traditional tactile voting device so that gave me a lot more confidence as well. So the whole thing just felt really smooth, at least for me, and much better than I've ever voted before. So, yeah, I feel really good about it.]

Sign our open letter calling for the future Prime Minister to ensure every blind and partially sighted voter can vote independently: rnib.in/OpenLetterLI #BlindVotersCount [Video description and transcript: Scene one: A woman with shoulder-length hair and a yellow top walks into a voting booth. Audio description: A security camera starts talking to her. ‘How are we today madam, I’m your voting buddy.’ Scene two: Text on screen reads ‘In our recent video we shared how blind and partially sighted people can feel like they can’t vote in secret when it’s not accessible. Hayley asked us ‘What can people do to help?’ Scene three Tom, who has blond hair and is wearing a dark grey shirt, stands in a doorway, speaking into a tiny microphone. He is responding to a comment on-screen which says: “Love this, what can people do to help?” He says: "You can sign our open letter to the next Prime Minister, encouraging them to make voting accessible so that blind and partially sighted people can vote independently and in secret. ."]

What ways can a blind or partially sighted person vote independently and in secret? RNIB is working to find voting solutions that work for everyone. Tom demonstrates how you can use apps like Be My Eyes and Seeing AI. Info on reasonable adjustments to vote independently: https://lnkd.in/eTKNzbh4 #BlindVotersCount

SightlessKombat reacts to audio-described trailer for Gears of War: E-Day. Fair to say, he's pretty stoked! He said: "Gears 5 is the most accessible multiplayer shooter experience for gamers without sight to date, in spite of its flaws. Nearly five years on from its launch, during the recent Xbox Games Showcase, a new entry into the franchise was revealed. Thanks to audio description, I could react with the same level of information as everyone watching with me." Give him a follow for lots more content about accessibility in the gaming industry. [Video description and transcript: A split-screen video. At the bottom is the Xbox Games Showcase footage, as outlined by the audio description. Above it, there is a stream of Sightless Kombat reacting excitedly to the trailer. He is in his room, sat in front of a wall full of Funko Pops, with a gold replica rifle above the door, wearing a black RNIB: Design for Every Gamer baseball cap, headphones and a black Xbox t-shirt. Presenter: But before we dive into the direct, we saved one more thing. Sightless Kombat: What is this? Audio description: World premiere. Text: Xbox Game Studios. Sightless Kombat: What is… what is this? Audio description: Text: in-engine footage. Sightless Kombat: What is this? Audio description: Dust and debris lie in a wooden home's interior. A handmade banner along one wall reads Welcome Home. A TV screen shows a civil emergency message. Through one of the walls, a locust drone tackles a young Marcus Phoenix - Sightless Kombat: What? What! Audio description: - a white man with a small soul patch. Marcus loses his grip on his rifle and grapples the drone. As he reaches for the rifle, the drone stomps his wrist. Sightless Kombat: Oww! Audio description: Marcus throws it off, then scrambles for the weapon. Sightless Kombat: I thought I recognised that yell. Audio description: The drone grabs his ankle and hurls him into a wall. Sightless Kombat: Whoa… wow! Audio description: Marcus is thrown a second time. His hand reaches desperately as the drone advances and finally grips the TV’s side. Marcus swings it at the drone's face, knocking it back. He rushes forward and takes up his Lancer, a bladed assault rifle. Two cog tags dangle from his neck as the muscle bound drone manhandles him. His bandana slips off, he meets its gaze as it attempts to push the Lancer blade into his neck. Sightless Kombat: Urgh! Audio description: He headbutts it away, then manages to bring the Lancer to bear as the drone charges. The drone collapses, its head reduced to a fleshy stump. Sightless Kombat: Eww! Audio description: Marcus sighs. Broken glass shivers as the floorboards splinter, then collapse. He manages to catch onto a pipe and dangles above a glowing red sinkhole where the floor of the house just was. Sightless Kombat: Wow.] Transcription continued in the comments.