ACB members are invited to apply to join the Class of 2023 ACB/JPMorgan Chase Leadership Fellows by completing the first-ever online application for consideration. The ACB/JPMorgan Chase Leadership Fellows award connects five recipients who have demonstrated leadership potential to enhance their lives through personalized leadership development activities. Recipients will join us in Schaumburg, Ill. for the 62nd annual ACB conference and convention from June 30-July 7, 2023.

You may currently serve in a leadership role or have served…

We are excited to announce that Tabitha Kenlon will join our staff to fill the newly created position of Audio Description Project (ADP) Coordinator. The ADP Coordinator will help facilitate the day-to-day activities of the Audio Description Project program. In this role, Tabitha will report to Clark Rachfal, the Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs, and will assist with public policy related to audio description; build and maintain partnerships and relationships with external stakeholders; and advocate to expand access to audio description and the necessary access…

Table of Contents

• Summary of 2022 Resolutions
• Resolution 2022-06 - Product Labeling in Braille
• Resolution 2022-07 - Twelve Issues of the Braille Forum
• Resolution 2022-08 - Convention Contract Changes
• Resolution 2022-09 - Equal Access to Digital Accessible Information Systems (DAISY) Audio Books by the National Library Service for the Blind…

As we move through this season of celebration to welcome a new year, we want to reach out to share a moment of reflection and gratitude. It is because of each of you that ACB remains strong. The very bedrock of our existence stands firm through the investments of your time, talent, and treasure. You contributed over 37,000 volunteer hours to support a multitude of programs, services, and critical advocacy efforts, offered wise counsel as board and committee members, and gave generously through individual donations totaling over $280,000 in 2022.

The Elf on the Shelf® and Elf Pets® have fast become holiday mainstays, appearing in a wide variety of popular books, toys, and videos, and loved by children of all ages all around the world. Once again, the American Council of the Blind (ACB) and The Lumistella Company are proud to offer a special audio described broadcast of the animated holiday special, “Elf Pets: A Fox Cub’s Christmas Tale,” to make holiday cheer more widely available to all this season. On December 23, this holiday program will also feature an audio described production of Rory Hoffman’s “The Twelve Days of Christmas…

Lights, Camera, Description!

The American Council of the Blind’s Audio Description Project (ADP) and the Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP) are co-sponsoring an essay contest for blind and visually impaired young people (ages 7 to 21). It’s a great chance for students to engage with accessible learning materials, unleash their inner film critic, and compete for fun prizes.

How Students Can Enter

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The 21st Audio Description Institute will be held virtually from Monday, February 20 to Friday, February 24, 2023 at 1pm - 5pm Eastern each day.

Audio Description (AD) makes visual images accessible for people who are blind or have low vision. Using words that are succinct, vivid, and imaginative, media describers convey the visual image from television and film that is not fully accessible to a significant segment of the population (more than 32 million Americans experience significant vision loss).

The 21st Century Communications and Video…

JAWS

The instructions below were produced using JAWS and Chrome.

• Press Ctrl L to access the Address Bar: enter “pluto.tv”
• When the Pluto.tv website loads, program audio might be playing in the background – Tab about 6 times to reach the Mute button, and press Enter
• Shift-Tab or navigate by headings or regions to the navigation links at the top of the page
…

Nov. 30 2022 — The American Council of the Blind (ACB) would like to thank all those who participated in the 2022 Audio Description Awards Gala that premiered on November 29th on www.AdAwardsGala.org and Pluto TV.

“We are proud to host the second annual Audio Description Awards Gala to recognize excellence in audio described content and celebrate the growing commitment to accessible media for people who are blind and low vision,” said ACB’s Executive Director, Eric Bridges.

ACB thanks host…

WASHINGTON, Nov. 17, 2022 — Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Representative Anna G. Eshoo (D-Calif.) introduced the Communications, Video, and Technology Accessibility Act in both the United States Senate and the House of Representatives.

The American Council of the Blind (ACB) commends Sen. Markey and Rep. Eshoo for their leadership and for introducing this legislation with the full support and collaboration of the disability community. Once passed, this legislation would update existing regulations to ensure people who are blind, low vision, and DeafBlind may…