Come along with us on a new leadership journey as we take things higher in 2021! We’re making exciting plans to join in solidarity to celebrate together throughout the 60th annual ACB conference and convention in a virtual setting. If you are an ACB member who has never attended an in-person ACB convention and you meet the criteria below, we invite you to elevate your commitment and participate in ACB’s primary leadership development program. You have the opportunity to attend virtually in 2021 and meet us in person at the ACB conference and convention in Omaha in 2022.

There is a progressive rhythm in motion within ACB, and more members are tuning in and getting in step. Are you interested in sharing your abilities and skill sets for the greater good of ACB? Do you have a desire to contribute in an effort to make a lasting impact on the lives of Americans who are blind or visually impaired? Do you believe that the combined efforts of all ACB members could cause ACB to become the premiere venue for people who have experienced vision loss?

Inauguration with Audio Description

The Presidential Inaugural Committee made accessibility a priority in all aspects of the ceremonies and events for the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. The Audio Described Inauguration festivities that were streamed on YouTube and ACB Radio Live Event are now available as a podcast on the ACB Events feed. You may access this podcast directly at: https://bit.ly/39ZaOIC.

Attention Audio Description Fans! Here’s the latest on how to access Biden Inaugural events with audio description (AD):

ACB Radio will stream the audio from the Inaugural Committee with AD on its Live Event channel. You can listen at http://www.acbradio.org/live or ask your Amazon device to “Open ACB Radio Live Event.” You can also listen to ACB Radio via telephone by calling (518) 906-1820 and selecting number 6 for ACB Radio Live Event.

Registration Open for the 2021 ACB Leadership Conference

Aira is a service that connects blind and low vision people to highly trained, remotely-located agents. Through an app on your smartphone, Aira delivers instant access to visual information at the touch of a button – enhancing everyday efficiency, engagement, and independence. Aira offers two special pricing plans for ACB members. The Intro Power Plan includes 30 minutes per month for $20.00, and the Standard Power Plan includes 140 minutes per month for $99.00. These plans are available for ACB members in good standing who sign up through December 31, 2021.

Registration is open for the annual DC Leadership Conference. This year’s event will be held virtually from February 21st-23rd, bringing together affiliate leaders and advocates from across the country. Programming for the conference is split into two main events, a day-long presidents meeting, open to all, which provides best practices to strengthen affiliates, and a two day legislative seminar, which educates attendees on key issues facing our community and prepares attendees for meeting with Members of Congress

Materials:

Agendas

Download the Presidents' Meeting Agenda

Download the Legislative Seminar Agenda

Legislative Imperative Documents

Download the Legislative Imperatives One Pager

Last Chance to Take the ACB Consumer Survey and Be Entered Into a Drawing for an Amazon Gift Card

ACB has put together a brief survey to gain a better understanding of those throughout our network. Help us out by taking time to complete the survey. Your responses will help guide our advocacy and program services. You can also enter a drawing at the end to win an Amazon gift card. Take the survey at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ACBConsumerSurvey2020.

Young People Who Are Blind Write Reviews of Film and Video

The American Council of the Blind's Audio Description Project (ACB-ADP) and the Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP) are continuing their co-sponsorship of an exciting opportunity for blind and visually impaired young people, in four categories from ages 7 to 21: the Benefits of Audio Description in Education (BADIE) contest.

The American Council of the Blind (ACB), in partnership with the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is now accepting applications for educational scholarships for the 2021-2022 academic school year. These scholarships can be used to help with post-secondary education financial needs such as tuition, fees, room and board and other additional costs associated with adaptive technology.