Action's Annual Conference

Every July Action mangers, trustees and service users meet to review how Action is doing and to plan for the future. This year was my first conference and I was not quite sure what to expect. I was in for a surprise.

We had many speakers, including Stephen Remington, our Chief Executive and our three directors who clearly explained what Action stands for, what we have achieved and our future plans. We also had some speakers from other organisations including Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, Birmingham Focus and The Blind Children's Society.

Action's chairman, John Spence gave an inspiring speech about Action's mission, the importance of the work we do and the future of Action. His speech lasted 20 minutes was clear and easy to understand, yet he did not have any notes or Assistive Technology to prompt him. It's been a long time since I heard someone speak so well without any prompts or notes!

On the last day of conference, when we were a little tired and worn out from all the talking and debates, we had another great speaker, Amar Latif. Amar is in his mid 30s, from Scotland and has the accent to prove it! He lost most of his eyesight in his teens, but he has not let this stop him from going to university in the UK and Canada, working for a number of leading UK companies and trekking across Nicaragua with a group of other people with disabilities through a tropical forest and a volcano! BBC 2 has made a documentary about this trip across Nicaragua. Amar has now set up a Tour / Holiday Company to provide adventure holidays for blind and partially sighted people called Traveleyes.

Traveleyes website