Deborah Kendrick
July has been the season for major blindness conventions for as long as AccessWorld has been publishing, and for decades before, but the Covid-19 pandemic brought that tradition to a standstill. After meeting virtually for the national gatherings in 2020 and 2021, both organizations this summer decided it was time to reconvene, face to face and in person once again. For those of us for whom such gatherings have long been a part of summer tradition, the decisions to gather once again in person were welcome indeed. Both conventions were held in early July, ACB in Omaha, Nebraska, and NFB in New Orleans, Louisiana. Although there were many similarities, this writer was only able to be in one place, so this article will be summarizing the experience on being Together in NOLA.
The National Federation of the Blind gathered in New Orleans, Louisiana, with energy and enthusiasm filling two major hotels, the Sheraton and the Marriott, both conveniently located on Canal Street, directly across from one another. Most meetings were held in the Marriott, and exhibits were housed in the Sheraton. Countless amazing restaurants were short walks and/or rideshare trips away in New Orleans French Quarter, known the world over for delicious cuisine.
The Crowd Compass app, available for both iOS and Android devices, made navigating the convention, both virtually and literally, easier than at any time in history. In the app, you could review each day’s schedule, build your personal schedule, get Zoom links for attending virtually, look at attendee lists to contact others, and more. While not all of the convention was available virtually, much of it was. Not only did this make it possible for those who were not able to travel to enjoy the speakers, seminars, elections, resolutions, and more, but it even provided an unplanned accessibility advantage for those of us attending in person. As a person with a hearing impairment, for example, I sometimes connected to the virtual link to hear the speakers, event even though I was sitting right there in the convention session. The Zoom version streamed the voices directly into my hearing aids. It should be noted here, by the way, that assistive listening devices were also available. If you couldn’t be there in person, participation was made possible via YouTube, Amazon Echo, Zoom, and NFB NEWSLINE. I and about 2500 other people were there in person, however, and it is that experience I’ll do my best to convey in these pages.
Seminars, Exhibits, and Meetings, OH MY!
As mentioned above, the convention filled two major hotels, directly across the street from one another. All official convention sessions were held in the Marriott, while the expansive exhibit hall was housed in the Sheraton. Seminars and meetings of every state affiliate, division, and special interest group were mostly held in the Marriott, although some of these were in the Sheraton as well. Whether your priorities were technology, law, education, parenting, sports, or something else, there were gatherings focused on these topics where you could commune with others sharing your interests.
Because I write about technology, my central focus has always been the exhibit hall, so we’ll begin our exploration there. Eager attendees gathered in the adjacent areas, waiting for the doors to the exhibit hall to open.
Lists of exhibitors were available in the CrowdCompass app and the online agenda, and having the advance list certainly aids in planning. Once inside the hall, however, braille and print lists of companies were readily available, as were tactile maps of the layout of the room. The arrangement of tables was symmetrical and logical, so that it was navigable by all. Tables all had both braille and print identifiers, announcing company name and booth number.
Most leading vendors in the field of access technology for blind and low vision people were represented, as well as many mainstream companies recognizing that blind people are a vital part of their customer base. Braille displays and notetakers from Vispero, HumanWare, Hims, and others were on hand, as were the latest updates in screen reading technology. Representatives from Lyft, Google, Microsoft, and AIRA were either at booths or circulating in the crowd to answer questions and get customer feedback.
New product demonstrations that were drawing crowds included the Hable One, a pocket-sized braille input device for smartphones; the LyriQ, a stand-alone reading machine that recognizes and reads text aloud in mere seconds and which we have reviewed in AccessWorld, (linked above), and the DotPad, a not quite ready for prime time electronic tactile display.
Company swag included the familiar squeezy sharks, 3D magnets with braille on them, and t-shirts with sayings like, “Keep calm. It’s a cane.”
Special interest and state affiliates were selling everything from chocolate bars to jewelry and smartphone accessories, and NFB’s Independence market had a steady stream of customers buying braille games, kitchen gadgets, canes, slates, tools, and more.
And then there’s Inspiration
In the general convention session, the parade of dynamic speakers seemed especially powerful. Blind professionals from law to human resources and beyond shared their compelling tales of parenting, competitive sports, media milestones, and more. A Louisiana lawmaker singled out his blind cousin as a mentor and role model, reminding us all that blindness knows no boundaries, visiting every gender, ethnic, age, and educational category of humans. Blind race car driver, Dan Parker, with his field of dreams Corvette, and a panel of audio description professionals celebrating equal access to movies and TV were all loud and clear evidence that blindness reaches hearts and minds in every artistic and scientific pursuit, and that opportunities for blind people are growing in multiple arenas.
Evenings boasted a variety of social and entertainment options, my favorite of which was the annual Performing Arts variety show. Musicians representing every genre rocked the house and soothed the soul with their artistic renderings, the only common thread being that all performers were blind.
What about that COVID?
Energy was at a constant high all week long as friends and colleagues gather for the first time in three years, but the threat posed by the pandemic was acknowledged with precision and respect. Every attendee was required to submit a negative Covid-19 test result upon arrival at the hotel, and bracelets proclaiming one’s status were distributed. For those needing assistance with testing for Covid, help and tests were readily available. Masking was required in all public areas, and frequent reminders to don masks were heard throughout the week.
Despite such vigilant precautions and attention to detail, the coronavirus still managed to insert itself. It was not at all uncommon to hear an announcement from the podium that speaker X would not be with us, due to quarantining in his or her hotel room with COVID-19. In the weeks that followed, anecdotal reports of friends and colleagues laid low by Covid during or following both conventions continued to circulate.
Due to vaccinations and precautions, however, most were mild to moderate cases, and duration fairly brief. Overall, the consensus is a positive one: that the time was right for gathering in person and that there is no replacement for being in the same physical space with hundreds or thousands of your fellow travelers.
If it has been a long while since you’ve attended a national convention of a blindness organization or if you have never had the experience, begin planning now for July 2023. In-person conventions are on our calendars again, and whether the attraction for you is seeing the latest technology, listening to inspirational speakers, learning new skills, or just communing with like-minded friends and colleagues, they are events to be treasured.
