Malta Society of the Blind honorary secretary Irene Schembri, recently attended the seventh general assembly of the World Blind Union in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Malta Society of the Blind was one of the first organisations to become a member of the WBU since its foundation in 1984. The theme of this year's conference was 'Changing what it means to be blind - taking our place in the world'. A highlight of the conference was the importance of worldwide international collaboration.

Ms Schembri had the opportunity to reinforce the Malta Society of the Blind's good contacts with other international organisations and actively took part in discussing ways to promote independence and inclusion of blind and visually impaired people in all aspects of society.

Ms Schembri renewed contacts with most of the representatives of the 25 European countries forming the Liaison Committee within the European Blind Union, in particular with Arnt Holte from Norway, who was elected vice-chairman of WBU, as well as with Lord Colin Low, president of the European Blind Union, who sponsored Malta's participation.

Ms Schembri also met Lex Grandia, president of the World Federation of Deafblind, and Ann Thestrup, former president of the European Deafblind Network (EDBN).

Last October, the Malta Society of the Blind hosted a European seminar on non-discrimination and equal opportunities as part of the EDBN activities, attended by 50 delegates from different European member states.