Welcome to the 2018 AFB Leadership Conference and Kick-off Session "How Leading Tech Companies Are Raising the Bar for Blind and Visually Impaired Users"

From left to right, Jennison Asuncion, Engineering Manager, Accessibility, LinkedIn; Megan Lawrence, Accessibility Technical Evangelist, Microsoft; Mark Lapole, Lead Product Manager, Accessibility, eBay; Sarah Herrlinger, Director, Accessibility Policy and Initiatives, Apple; and Jeffrey Wieland, Director of Accessibility, Facebook.

American Society of Interior Designers Visits the AFB Center on Vision Loss and Esther's Place

The AFB Center on Vision Loss (CVL) was recently visited by the Texas Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) during their quarterly meeting. ASID members and CVL staff got acquainted with one another over a delicious baked potato bar provided by Dallas Sight and Sound.

Breaking News: AFB Applauds Senate Action on Autonomous Vehicles Legislation Benefiting People with Vision Loss

U.S. Capitol building

AFB Staff Members Report Back on Three Different Approaches to Experiencing the Solar Eclipse

Alina Vayntrub and Crista Earl stand outside Penn Station, with Crista's dog guide Paige. Alina holds a colander and Crista, wearing headphones, is holding her iPhone. A piece of white paper lies on the ground.

Yesterday, AFB staff experienced the solar eclipse with a variety of high- and low-tech approaches.

Sharing Our Progress in Making the Helen Keller Archive a Gold Standard of Accessibility for Other Digital Archives

Top of image are various pieces from the Helen Keller Archives. Text on photo reads: Pioneering a Gold Standard: An Odyssey to Digitize Helen Keller’s Archive for Sighted, Hearing, Blind, and Deaf Audiences; Helen Selsdon, Elizabeth Neal, Crista Earl, and Toya Dubin SAA Annual Conference July 27th, 2017

Riding Driverless on the Highway to Independence?

No Limits to the Possibilities, but Accessibility Remains Key Concern

illustration of cars on the highway, emitting connection signals

No Limits: Accessible Technology from Helen Keller to Google

Left to right are: unidentified man, M. Robert Barnett (AFB Executive Director), Marta Sobieski, Peter J. Salmon (Executive Director, Industrial Home for the Blind, Brooklyn), Helen Keller, Polly Thomson, and Gregor Ziemer. The room has wood panelling and a painting of Helen Keller by Albert H. Munsell is visible in the background. Image from documentary Helen Keller in Her Story.

Join Us in Celebrating Global Accessibility Awareness Day

Photo of Kirk Adams Kirk Adams is president and CEO of the American Foundation for the Blind.

We are delighted to join our friends and colleagues in celebrating the sixth Global Accessibility Awareness Day, a day designed to get everyone talking, thinking, and learning about digital access and inclusion for people with disabilities.

Helen Keller on Trying to Make the World 'A Little More As I Want It'

Helen Keller walking in her garden at her home in Westport, CT. Image: Helen Keller walks in her garden in Westport, Connecticut, 1950. It is wintertime. Keller is seen smiling, facing the camera. She wears a long coat and woolen hat. She holds a wooden branch railing with her left hand.

Beyond Recognition: What Machines Don't Read

Helen Keller reading braille, October 1965

Helen Keller reading braille at her home in Westport, Connecticut. October 1965.

I am delighted that the fifth in our series of posts focusing on the Helen Keller Digitization Project is from Mara Mills New York University Associate Professor of Media, Culture and Communication. Mara’s post - on the continued importance of human transcribers - is fascinating and I encourage everyone to read it. Many thanks, Mara!

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