Maria Kristic, NY, Chair
C: (845) 901-6084
[email protected]
Meryl Shecter, MD, Vice-Chair
C: (301) 661-6665
H: (410) 281-2994
[email protected]
Sandra Sermons, MD
Susan Bowmaster, VA
Gabriel Lopez Kafati, FL
Kim Charlson, MA
Bhavya Shah, CA
Hari Dhoundiyal, NY
Onkar Nerurkar, HI
Robert Furtado, MI
Honorary Member: Oral Miller, DC
Officer Liaison: Dan Spoone, FL
Staff Liaison: Eric Bridges, VA
About
The International Relations Committee seeks to promote the understanding and empowerment of people who are blind or have low vision around the world. We accomplish this objective through such activities as the Voices From Around the World luncheon during the ACB Conference and Convention, where international guests come together and talk about their experiences; curating ACB Forum magazine issues focused on blindness around the world; holding ACB community calls on the international blindness experience; providing blindness related materials and equipment to those in emerging nations; and providing assistance where possible during natural disasters.
Convention Presentation Archives
- 2021 Voices from Around the World – culture and disability, reflections on the Committee’s 10 year anniversary
- Global Tails (2021) – Experiences and challenges of establishing international guide dog programs, in collaboration with ACB affiliate Guide Dog Users, Inc.
- 2020 Voices From Around the World – LGBT Pride around the world, in collaboration with ACB affiliate Blind LGBT Pride International
- 2019 Voices From Around the World – Non-verbal gestures from around the world
- 2017 Voices From Around the World
International Voices Winner Interviews
- 2022 International Voices: Meet the first-place winner, and get to know the rest of the inaugural class, of the International Voices Contest winners!
Community Call Archives
- Global Braille (2022)
- Global Braille Resources
- Holiday Voices From Around The World (2021)
- It's a Dog's World (2021) – International travel with guide dogs
ACB Forum Magazines Curated by the International Relations Committee
Special Projects
We are currently soliciting items to assist blind children in Ethiopia and Nigeria. If you have any unused of the below items in good working condition and would like to help, please contact Maria Kristic for shipping location within the United States. Many thanks for your contributions!
Requested Items
- Slates and styli
- Braille paper
- Perkins Braillers
- Braille games (card, board, etc. (Dominoes, Scrabble, etc.))
- White canes
- Calculators
- Cubarithms
- Abaci
- Computers, such as laptops with NVDA
- Scanners, including portable scanners
- Braille Embossers
- Continuous Braille paper, 11x12.5 of 140 or 150 GSM, perforated with 19 holes
- Handheld magnifiers and telescopes
- Portable manual typewriters which use cloth ribbon
- Surplus copies of ACB Forum and other specialized publications
This webpage was last updated September 29, 2022.