Background
Vision Australia was created in 2004 through the merger of the Royal Blind Society (RBS), the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind (RVIB), Vision Australia Foundation (VAF), and the National Information Library Services (NILS) in July 2004. At the time, legislation needed to be passed through the parliaments of Victoria andFacilities
The Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind (RVIB) was established in 1866 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The original building, in its Gothic Revival style, was designed by architects Crouch and Wilson and completed in 1868. However, it was later demolished and a new building, Ormond Hall for the Blind named after its benefactor Francis Ormond, was built in 1891 based on designs procured by Nathaniel Billing & Son. Designed by J D McLean of the Public Works Department, the new building was extended in the following years leading to 1933. The Royal Victorian Institute of the Blind operated a school in Burwood from 1959 to 2009. The Ormond Hall wing was originally established as a music hall for the blind and is run by the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind.Associated people
Notable staff of the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind include: * Ulrich Pfisterer, physical education teacher * Stanus William Hedger, superintendent and secretary Life time governors of the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind include: * Herbert Taylor * Jeff Hook Vice-presidents of the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind include: * Alexander Mair Presidents of the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind include: * Jabez Lewis Carnegie * Frank NyulasyServices
The following blindness and low vision services are listed on the Vision Australia website: * Access Advice * Accessible Information Solutions * Audio Description Services * Audio Publishing * Children's Services * Community Education * Deafblind Services * Employment Services (Vision Australia is listed as an official JobAccess Supplier) * Equipment Solutions * Further Education Bursaries * Independent Living Services * Information Library Service * Low Vision Services * Policy and Advocacy * Recreation Services * Technology and Training Solutions * Vision Australia RadioHistory and heritage collection
The history of Vision Australia's founding organisations go back to the late 1800s and cover much of the struggle for better rights and services for Australia's blind and low vision community. Given this long history, Vision Australia has a very extensive heritage collection including many objects and images pertaining to the story and history of the blindness community in Australia. Some of the heritage collection can be search and viewed iCarols by Candlelight
Vision Australia's Carols by Candlelight is the organisation's leading fundraising and awareness campaign and is an Australian Christmas tradition. Dating back to 1938, it is held on Christmas Eve at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl inDAISY
DAISY stands for Digital Accessible Information System. It is a format based on the W3C defined SGML applications XHTML 1.0 and SMIL 1.0. Using this framework, a talking book format is presented that enables navigation within a sequential and hierarchical structure consisting of (marked-up) text synchronized with audio. Vision Australia is currently in the process of digitising and updating its entire library catalogue to the DAISY format for the benefit of its clients. Vision Australia is listed as a member of the DAISY Consortium.DAISY: Member Detail: Australia New Zealand Accessible Information GroupE-voting
A step forward for Vision Australia's Policy and Advocacy department was the introduction of electronic voting (or E-voting) at the Victoria State Elections in 2007. For the first time in Australian history, people who were blind were able to vote in secrecy and independently. The Victorian Electoral Commission's e-voting system was set up in response to submissions for electoral reform by Vision Australia and Blind Citizens Australia.Partnerships and memberships
Vision Australia's Information Library Service is listed in the National Library of Australia Catalogue. Vision Australia is also a member of Vision 2020Notes and references
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