Wednesday 5th April 2023, NCBI is calling on people who are blind or vision impaired across Ireland to learn more about, and join, our Local Advocacy Networks (LANs).
NCBI’s LANs are designed to bring together people who are blind or vision impaired to advocate for meaningful change in their local communities. The groups meet once a month to discuss the range of campaigns that they are working on and all of these meetings take place online for utmost convenience. The five regional LANs are:
- Midwest Region: Limerick, Clare, Tipperary
- South Region: Cork, Kerry, Waterford, Wexford
- North-East Region: Louth, Meath, Cavan, Monaghan
- West Region: Galway, Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo and Donegal
- East Region: Kildare, Dublin, Wicklow
In recent months, NCBI’s LANs have led and successfully completed campaigns and are involved in several ongoing campaigns. For example, the Midwest LAN engaged with the local libraries within their area to make them more inclusive for people who are blind or vision impaired. The North-East LAN is currently engaged with Tidy Towns with a view to including more accessibility requirements within the initiative into the future. Members from across the LANs are also regular contributors to NCBI’s national public awareness campaigns e.g. the annual Clear Our Paths campaign and in 2022 members appeared across several media platforms to speak about their experiences. Full training and support is provided to LAN members.
We also have two LANs that have a specialised focus, which are also open to anyone who is blind and vision impaired across Ireland. These are:
- Local Advocacy Network on Access
- Local Advocacy Network on Employment
We encourage anyone who is blind or vision impaired across Ireland, who is also interested in improving services, events or activities for those living with sight loss in their area to reach out to NCBI for more information. You can do this by contacting [email protected] or by calling the NCBI Info Line on 1800 911 250. More information about the LANs is also available on our dedicated “Become an Advocate” webpage.
ENDS