{"id":1186,"date":"2020-12-19T10:01:52","date_gmt":"2020-12-19T08:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/afrinead\/?p=1186"},"modified":"2022-05-19T10:22:16","modified_gmt":"2022-05-19T08:22:16","slug":"newsletter-25","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/afrinead\/newsletter-25\/","title":{"rendered":"Newsletter 25"},"content":{"rendered":"[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; admin_label=&#8221;section&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;3.22&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;23px||37px|||&#8221;][et_pb_row column_structure=&#8221;1_2,1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.9.10&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;|auto|-34px|auto||&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;||18px|||&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.9.10&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.9.10&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; header_2_text_color=&#8221;#B79962&#8243; header_2_font_size=&#8221;28px&#8221; header_2_letter_spacing=&#8221;1px&#8221; header_2_line_height=&#8221;1.4em&#8221; header_3_text_color=&#8221;#A60A3D&#8221; header_3_font_size=&#8221;21px&#8221; header_3_line_height=&#8221;1.2em&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;||27px|||&#8221;]\n<h2>December 2020<\/h2>\n<h3><strong>Dear friends and colleagues<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>What a year we have had!!<\/p>\n<p>Certainly, one not to be forgotten in a hurry!<\/p>\n<p>In spite of this ALL, and with gratitude to those of you who presented at the 6th AfriNEAD virtual conference, and those who attended, you gave your unconditional support to AfriNEAD!&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>We were able to host the virtual conference, as a result of the tremendous support given to us from different areas.&nbsp; Firstly from the planning committee \u2013 and you all know who you are.&nbsp; Thank you for your time and effort- for going the extra mile, (sorry \u2013 kilometre) for attending to meetings, for heading sub- committees and for the extra hours which you put into making sure that everything was in place for this conference.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;Secondly, an especially big thank you, to all at Editmicro Systems. To the team, headed by Connie, with Andrea, Fadziso and Rushdah, who without doubt went above and beyond the call of duty to make things happen and to work, we thank you most sincerely.&nbsp; However we also need to complement all the people at Editmicro systems who put up with us and allowed us to take over their space, but always with such wiliness and big smiles.&nbsp; Thank you all so much.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Although the 6<span style=\"font-size: 13.3333px\">th<\/span> AfriNEAD was basically a virtual conference there was a group of us who work together- and laughed \u2013 and had fun, even with Luigia\u2019 s guide dog Heiko![\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.9.10&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221;][et_pb_image src=&#8221;http:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/afrinead\/files\/2022\/05\/Edit.jpg&#8221; title_text=&#8221;Edit&#8221; align=&#8221;center&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.9.10&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;54px||9px|||&#8221;][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.9.10&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221;]\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">Picture1: The conference implementing Team at Edit Microsystems: 02\/12\/2020<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=&#8221;2_5,3_5&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.9.10&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;|auto|-34px|auto||&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;||18px|||&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;2_5&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.9.10&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221;][et_pb_image src=&#8221;http:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/afrinead\/files\/2022\/05\/Chancellors-dinner-1024&#215;682.jpg&#8221; title_text=&#8221;Chancellors dinner&#8221; align=&#8221;center&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.9.10&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;17px||9px|||&#8221;][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.9.10&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221;]Picture2: Front row: Ms Hillary Lane, Mrs Vomink, Prof Gubela Mji. Back row: Prof Jimmy Volmink, Mr David Kamchacha, Ms Margaret&nbsp; Kamchacha, Mr Gibson Kachaje 16\/12\/2020.[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;3_5&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.9.10&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.9.10&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; header_2_text_color=&#8221;#B79962&#8243; header_2_font_size=&#8221;28px&#8221; header_2_letter_spacing=&#8221;1px&#8221; header_2_line_height=&#8221;1.4em&#8221; header_3_text_color=&#8221;#A60A3D&#8221; header_3_font_size=&#8221;21px&#8221; header_3_line_height=&#8221;1.2em&#8221; min_height=&#8221;197.6px&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;13px||27px|||&#8221;]One of AfriNEAD\u2019s intention for 2020 had been an all-encompassing approach to raising awareness on disability within Stellenbosch University SU, and in spite of the Covid 19 pandemic, we did just that.<\/p>\n<p>Firstly, having had the VC announce at the end of 2019, the SU would observe 2020 as the year of people with disabilities (PWD), to us posting monthly articles on the SU facebook page, written by PWD associated with SU. Then the bittersweet event; the university awarding Rachel Kachaje an honorary doctorate which sadly she did not live to receive. However her husband and siblings were able to come from Malawi to receive the award and to attend the Chancellors dinner.<\/p>\n<p>But for AfriNEAD the culmination of the year was the conference. Now is the time to access our achievements, which have been many, to look forward, to strengthen our endeavours and have our sights on the 7<span style=\"font-size: 13.3333px\">th<\/span>&nbsp;AfriNEAD conference in 2023 also to be held in Cape Town.<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, no sooner had the 6<span style=\"font-size: 13.3333px\">th<\/span>&nbsp;AfriNEAD conference ended, that AfriNEAD was invited to a:&nbsp; &#8220;Regional Consultation for: The Development of the WHO Regional Framework for Assistive Technology in the African Region_Zoom Meeting: 14th to 16th December 2020 &#8220;. Gubela presented on how to legitimize partnerships to advance AT in Africa. She further facilitated discussion and feedback by the English group on the AT regional Framework on the 2<span style=\"font-size: 13.3333px\">nd<\/span> &amp; 3rd&nbsp;day of the conference.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=&#8221;1_2,1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.9.10&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.9.10&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.9.10&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; header_2_text_color=&#8221;#B79962&#8243; header_2_font_size=&#8221;28px&#8221; header_2_letter_spacing=&#8221;1px&#8221; header_2_line_height=&#8221;1.4em&#8221; header_3_text_color=&#8221;#A60A3D&#8221; header_3_font_size=&#8221;21px&#8221; header_3_line_height=&#8221;1.2em&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;||27px|||&#8221;]\n<h3><strong>African Journal of Disability (AJOD): A 2019 overview<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n<p>Please find a short summary of the African Journal of Disability (AJOD) for 2019. The AJOD&#8217;s aim and scope includes intellectual and developmental as well as physical and psychosocial disabilities, and covers much of your work from clinical practice to organizational\/service design and legislation\/policy implementation &#8211; please see the call for papers at the end of the attached document!<\/p>\n<p>Now in its ninth volume (2020) and initially under the guidance of 1<span style=\"font-size: 13.3333px\">st<\/span>&nbsp;edited in Chief &nbsp;Prof Leslie Swartz, AJOD and now under the capable hands of Dr Charlotte Capri. The AJOD is read in 216 countries world-wide. AJOD is DHET accredited and subsidy earning, and all published articles are indexed in Scopus, PubMed Central, Scielo SA, Hinari. AJOD is also indexed in African Index Medicus, Norwegian Register for Scientific Journals, Series and Publishers (Level 1), Directory of Open Access Journals, EBSCO Host, GALE (CENGAGE Learning), ProQuest, Web of Science (Other Coverage, Emerging Sources Citation Index, ESCI), Sabinet, and Google Scholar. The full&nbsp;text of every one of our articles is also deposited in four different archives to guarantee long-term preservation.<\/p>\n<p>We are also always updating and refreshing our pool of expert reviewers, and are constantly building capacity to match reviewers&nbsp;to manuscripts. Our reviewers are formally acknowledged at the end of every year, and AJOD review work can be included as one&#8217;s academic or disability community service. If you are interested in reviewing for AJOD, please take some time to tell us about your reviewing interests, no matter how many,&nbsp; and feel free to get in touch with the Editor-in-Chief (editor@ajod.org or Charlotte.Capri@westerncape.gov.za). In the meantime, please visit us at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fajod.org%2Findex.php%2Fajod&amp;data=04%7C01%7C%7Cb667f1c00f98405991ea08d89ced0c77%7Ca6fa3b030a3c42588433a120dffcd348%7C0%7C1%7C637431890042789950%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000&amp;sdata=x5MbPXuNmk0CgKHtJ%2BTYsKQwgrgSHrKrwTNvFeAvEK4%3D&amp;reserved=0\">https:\/\/ajod.org\/index.php\/ajod<\/a>&nbsp;![\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.9.10&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.9.10&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; header_2_text_color=&#8221;#B79962&#8243; header_2_font_size=&#8221;28px&#8221; header_2_letter_spacing=&#8221;1px&#8221; header_2_line_height=&#8221;1.4em&#8221; header_3_text_color=&#8221;#A60A3D&#8221; header_3_font_size=&#8221;21px&#8221; header_3_line_height=&#8221;1.2em&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;||27px|||&#8221;]\n<h3>SOME OF THE CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The numerous keynote addresses see conference program in the AfriNEAD website: <span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sun.ac.za\">sun.ac.za<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li>The hosting for the first time of a roundtable discussion on Disability Country Working Groups with French\/English delivery of a keynote address by Minister Irene Esambo from the DRC.<\/li>\n<li>The inclusion of an AT commission as the 8<span style=\"font-size: 13.3333px\">th <\/span>commission of AfriNEAD research area with delivery of keynote addresses by Mr Chapal Khasnabis: WHO-Access to AT &amp; Medical Devices Unit &amp; Prof Mac Maclachlan Mynooth University Ireland and introduction of the platform on African Community on Assistive Technology (ACAT).<\/li>\n<li>The delivery of an address by Global Disability Advisor for the World Bank: Ms Charlotte McClean \u2013 Nhlapho: Celebrating the life of Rachel Kachaje<\/li>\n<li>Presentation of a Regional African Framework on AT by WHO Regional Representative: Dr Sougou Sarassa Aissatou.<\/li>\n<li>The AfriNEAD and City of Cape Town Celebration of 3<span style=\"font-size: 13.3333px\">rd<\/span>&nbsp;of December.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Text&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.9.10&#8243; header_2_text_color=&#8221;#B79962&#8243; header_2_font_size=&#8221;28px&#8221; header_2_letter_spacing=&#8221;1px&#8221; header_2_line_height=&#8221;1.4em&#8221; header_3_text_color=&#8221;#A60A3D&#8221; header_3_font_size=&#8221;21px&#8221; header_3_line_height=&#8221;1.2em&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;||27px|||&#8221;]\n<h3>BELOW IS A LINK TO AN ARTICLE CIRCULATED BY PROF LESLIE SWARTZ AND AN&nbsp; ATTACHMENT OF ACAT NEWSLETTER<\/h3>\n<p>From Professor Leslie Swartz &#8211; Department of Psychology &#8211; Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences:&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Dear friends and colleagues<\/p>\n<p>I hope you will not mind my sharing this article, which was published on 3 December.&nbsp; I feel strongly that if we are to build the best universities in Africa, we need the skills and perspectives of people with disabilities.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Here is the link:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.universityworldnews.com%2Fpost.php%3Fstory%3D20201130033320811&amp;data=04%7C01%7C%7Cfc0ead18766d4f6b9c9808d89848d93d%7Ca6fa3b030a3c42588433a120dffcd348%7C0%7C0%7C637426786204231578%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=nqAnG7I%2FsG0HLtA5D0t2ulv9SYz2Ew6y%2FHLEUSN8rCM%3D&amp;reserved=0\">https:\/\/www.universityworldnews.com\/post.php?story=20201130033320811<\/a>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.9.10&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.9.10&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.9.10&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; header_2_text_color=&#8221;#B79962&#8243; header_2_font_size=&#8221;28px&#8221; header_2_letter_spacing=&#8221;1px&#8221; header_2_line_height=&#8221;1.4em&#8221; header_3_text_color=&#8221;#A60A3D&#8221; header_3_font_size=&#8221;21px&#8221; header_3_line_height=&#8221;1.2em&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;||27px|||&#8221;]\n<h5>Gubela and I take this opportunity to thank everyone for the on going support for the work we do at AfriNEAD, and we wish you a very safe and happy Christmas and an even safer 2021.<\/h5>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>December 2020 Dear friends and colleagues What a year we have had!! Certainly, one not to be forgotten in a hurry! In spite of this ALL, and with gratitude to those of you who presented at the 6th AfriNEAD virtual conference, and those who attended, you gave your unconditional support to AfriNEAD!&nbsp; We were able [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9588,"featured_media":1195,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>SEPTEMBER2021<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><strong>Dear friends and colleagues<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>At the beginning of our last newsletter at the end of 2020 our &nbsp;comment was \u201cWhat a year we have had\u201d well the same can be said again \u2013 \u201cWhat a year we have had\u201d! It has flown by, and yet we still sit with the pandemic, and it is still very much ruling our lives!&nbsp; So our best wishes go out to you all and hope you are doing well.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><strong>Luigia Nicholas<\/strong> has come on board to assist us with our marketing. It is her, who post news on our Facebook page \u2013 We do hope that you have all looked at the page and have \u2018liked\u2019 our FB page- Luigia and Hillary are also revamping the webpage.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><strong>In brief- topics covered in this Newsletter:<\/strong><\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:list -->\n<ul><li><strong>Governing board<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>AfriNEAD Membership:<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Report on the AJOD:<\/strong> <strong>African Journal on Disability<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Research workshops for Disability Research Country Working Groups (DRCWGs<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Report on partnership meeting: <\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li><li><strong>Expression of Interest for the GAATO Grand Challenges in Assistive Technology Outcomes<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n<!-- \/wp:list -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><strong>Governing board.<\/strong> Up until recently AfriNEAD has had a \u2018core group\u2019 which actually has always been the governing board for AfriNEAD. Members of the Core Group have been the guiding structure and support for AfriNEAD governance right from the start in 2007, for which we thank everyone who has contributed their time. Going forward we are in the process of drawing up what we have been advised &nbsp;to call a Governing Board, which is supported by a Governance Document similar to a constitution.&nbsp; This just&nbsp; takes AfriNEAD onto a more formal footing.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><strong>AfriNEAD Membership:<\/strong><\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Currently AfriNEAD does not have a membership fee.&nbsp; As far back as the 2014 Malawi conference, an idea was mooted that we should have a membership fee, and indeed there were a handful of people who paid R150 towards it.&nbsp; Then again at the 2017 conference in Ghana, the thought came of putting a portion of money aside from registration fees, but this did not happen as well.&nbsp; So with the 6<sup>th<\/sup> AfriNEAD conference in December 2020 &nbsp;we have calculated the amount and have earmarked that money for registration fees for 2021 year cycle. We are also aware that not everyone that is part of AfriNEAD attended the conference. This only includes people that attended the conference. This means that there are many people that are left out as they did not attend the conference. The AfriNEAD Secretariat and Governing Board are finalizing a memo that will be circulated after the Governing Board meeting in November giving a way forward for management and payment of membership fees from 2022.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><strong>Report on the AJOD:<\/strong> African Journal on Disability is our online journal - meaning that anyone can go online and read any article that is published &nbsp;www.ajod.org This is a journal started by AfriNEAD, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and Centre for Disability and Rehabilitation Studies (CDR) and as such we are very proud of this achievement.&nbsp; Anyone wishing to do research on any aspect of Disability might first check online to see if the subject has been covered.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>The previous Editor in Chief had been Prof Leslie Swartz who ensured that the journal gets an international recognition, and now this job is in the excellent hands of Dr Charlotte Capri. Trudie Retief is the publishing manager at Oasis, with whom AfriNEAD meets regularly to gain feedback from Trudie and how the journal is doing.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>At a recent meeting it was reported that there was a challenge with reviews that were slow in the uptake, and that authors needed reminding to submit their articles. That authors could be asked to provide their articles in a form of an abstract.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>A special issue of about 9-16 articles, is always produced following an AfriNEAD conference, which is made up of papers presented at the conference and who have been invited to represent their paper as Articles \u2013 soon the special issue from articles from the 6<sup>th<\/sup> AfriNEAD 2020 conference will be published.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><strong>Research workshops for Disability Research Country Working Groups (DRCWGs):<\/strong><\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>AfriNEAD is about research in Africa for people with Disabilities, by people with Disabilities! That is the dream of Prof Gubela Mji the chairperson and the founder of AfriNEAD. However to achieve that dream, her legacy, she first had to create a footprint in Africa! This has taken 15 years, but with the footprint of AfriNEAD now in at least 19 countries across Africa, the most important work of DRCWGs can and has taken off, with lighting speed and DRCWGs have been now started in 11 countries .&nbsp; The model of DRCWGs, is to bring together researchers, with and without disabilities, to engage with stakeholder on what research is being done in their country and to engage with other \u2013 government, policy makers, other NGO\u2019s etc., to make sure the research has a direct effect on the lives of people with Disabilities.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>&nbsp;We are very excited because we now have active groups in Uganda, &nbsp;Tanzania, Ghana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Namibia and hopefully soon the DRC and Cameroon.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>So currently the mother body \u2013 AfriNEAD- has quarterly meeting of 2 hours long with these groups.&nbsp; The first hour is spent doing a feedback on what has been done in the previous quarter and then the 2<sup>nd<\/sup> hour is spent presenting a mini workshop.&nbsp; This first workgroup, Gubela introduced the groups to concepts related to the Global Cooperation on Assistive Technology (GATE) of the 50 minimal Assistive devices recommended by the WHO for PWDs, the second workshop &nbsp;was the introduction the 12 part Motivational workshop by Musa Zulu.&nbsp; As a person with a disability, Musa is known for his \u2018can do\u2019 attitude and this is going to be an interesting journey with him.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>In the October we shall be hearing about the Washington group (WG). The WG on disability statistics promotes and coordinates international cooperation in the area of health statistics focusing on the development of disability measures suitable for census and national surveys. The major objective of the WG is to harmonise disability statistics and provide information on disability that is comparable throughout the whole world.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>The workshop is on Wednesday 13<sup>th<\/sup> October and a minimal fee will be asked for registration to the workshop.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>So, if you would like to become or start a DRCWGs,&nbsp; please contact us on <a href=\"mailto:afrinead@sun.ac.za\">afrinead@sun.ac.za<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><strong>Report on partnership meeting: <\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>AfriNEAD &nbsp;Is current developing one MOU that will govern the relationship between AfriNEAD and partners linked to the network. Once this document, has been finalised, fresh invites will be sent to both existing and prospective partners inviting them to partner with AfriNEAD. This will be followed by signing of an MOU with AfriNEAD. &nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><strong>Expression of Interest for the GAATO Grand Challenges in Assistive Technology Outcomes<\/strong><\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:embed {\"url\":\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/jPamj76DzAoXbsQu9\"} -->\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\/\/forms.gle\/jPamj76DzAoXbsQu9\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<!-- \/wp:embed -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>The Global Alliance of Assistive Technology Organizations (GAATO) is working on a global project to identify the top challenges or issues in assistive technology outcomes. As part of this project, they are holding regional consultations in each of the World Health Organization Health Regions.<br><br>We are looking for expressions of interest from individuals or organizations who are interested in participating in a discussion on Assistive Technology Outcomes in Africa.<br><br>The African Regional Consultation, supported by the African Community on Assistive Technology (ACAT), will be held as two, two-hour meetings on 28\/09\/2021 and 05\/10\/2021. The meeting will be conducted virtually on the ZOOM platform, and will be held primarily in English, with breakout rooms in other regional languages (i.e. French\/Portuguese) as needed.<br><br>If you are interested in participating, please complete this form. We will be selecting from those who express interest below, and may not be able to include all those who are interested. We will send formal invitations with meeting information, including a link to the meeting once all expressions of interest have been received.<br><br>Please express your interest in participating no later than 03\/09\/2021.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><strong>Link to the survey on Decent work and COVID-19 for persons with disabilities from University of Fort Hare<\/strong><\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><strong>Finally<\/strong><\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>On the 26<sup>th<\/sup> of August Gubela, Hillary and Nondwe, paid a visit&nbsp; to Editmicro systems to thank them for the wonderful support they gave us, in hosting and greatly&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; assisting us in the virtual 6<sup>th<\/sup> AfriNEAD conference.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Here we have Gubela standing next to the wall hanging commissioned by Hillary and also holding a small wall hanging for Gubela\u2019 s office<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Gubela with both wall hanging<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->","_et_gb_content_width":"1500","footnotes":""},"categories":[40408],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsletters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/afrinead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/afrinead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/afrinead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/afrinead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9588"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/afrinead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1186"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/afrinead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1186\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1196,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/afrinead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1186\/revisions\/1196"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/afrinead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/afrinead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/afrinead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/afrinead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}