<strong>Deafblind</strong> Intern<strong>at</strong>ional was formerly knownas the Intern<strong>at</strong>ional Associ<strong>at</strong>ion for theEduc<strong>at</strong>ion of <strong>Deafblind</strong> People.DbI Review appears twice yearly, the twoeditions are d<strong>at</strong>ed January-June and July-December.The editor will be pleased to receive articles,news items, letters, notices of books andinform<strong>at</strong>ion on forthcoming events, such asconferences and courses, concerning deafblindchildren, young adults and older people.Photographs and drawings are welcome; theywill be copied and returned.All written m<strong>at</strong>erial should be in the Englishlanguage and may be edited before public<strong>at</strong>ion.It should be sent for public<strong>at</strong>ion to arrive by thed<strong>at</strong>e below.Opinions expressed in articles are those ofthe author and should not be understood asrepresenting the view of DbI.DbI Review is also available on disk. If you areinterested in receiving your copy on disk, pleasecontact:DbI Secretari<strong>at</strong>PO Box 143, BurswoodWA 6100, AustraliaTelephone (08) 9473 5422Facsimilie (08) 9473 5499TTY (08) 9473 5488EditorStan MunroeDesignGeoff DunnDistribution and DbI MembershipDbI Secretari<strong>at</strong>DbI WebsiteStan Munroe and The Secretari<strong>at</strong>Editorial OfficeCDBA Office, 2652 Morien Hwy,Port Morien, NS, Canada B1B 1C6Tel: 902-737-1453Fax: 902-737-1114Email: munroes@seaside.ns.caWebsite: www.cdban<strong>at</strong>ional.comCover: Japanese drumming <strong>at</strong> Osaka <strong>Big</strong> <strong>Stage</strong>A message from thepresidentDear friends andcolleagues,Another year is drawing toan end. While many excitingthings have taken placeduring 2010, many changesoccurred too. The DbIBoard Meeting In Aalborg,Denmark, September 27-28, showed us th<strong>at</strong> weare in command of thesitu<strong>at</strong>ion, mainly becauseof the committment of theManagement Committee andBoard offering their time,passion and interest in ourorganis<strong>at</strong>ion.The ManagementCommittee and Boardmeetings were followed bywh<strong>at</strong> I heard was a gre<strong>at</strong>Network Conference onacquired deafblindness. Itwas not possible for all of usto stay on for the conference,but I have been assured ofthe quality of the logisticsand content.Another activity th<strong>at</strong>everyone is talking aboutwas the meeting in Paris ofthe communic<strong>at</strong>ion network(the Magic of Dialogue).This network event was verymuch appreci<strong>at</strong>ed by allof those who were able to<strong>at</strong>tend. Its outcome, throughsubsequent public<strong>at</strong>ions andinform<strong>at</strong>ion on the website,should be of gre<strong>at</strong> benefitto many others not able toparticip<strong>at</strong>eMany new people arebecoming interested inour organis<strong>at</strong>ion and arewilling to devote their timeto continue the progress weare making. But of coursewe must not forget thepast and the many peoplewho have contributed toDbI and deafblind servicesover the years. Earlier thisyear I had the opportunityto be <strong>at</strong> a retirement partyfor one such person. Gini B.has always been availablefor DbI; it was a pleasure tooffer her a small thank youfor wh<strong>at</strong> she has done. Thereare many like her, includingEileen B., Tony B., IngerR., Rodney C., Richard H.,Jacques S., and so so manymore than I can remember <strong>at</strong>this moment. Many peoplewho have not been maybeso visible as the above,should also be thanked andappreci<strong>at</strong>ed just as much.These include the teachers,educ<strong>at</strong>ors, intervenors andfamily members and manymore who are never in thelimelight but contribute dailyso much to the quality of lifeof deafblind children andadults. Furthermore, manyunfortun<strong>at</strong>ely have left ourfield; gone, but certainly notLAST COPY DATE FOR THE NEXT EDITION: MAY 13, 20112 • DbI Review • Jan u a r y – Ju n e 2011