- Home
- About
-
Staff
- Commentaries by FPS Staff
- Rusakovich Andrei Vladimirovich
- Rozanov Anatoliy Arkadievich
- Research Briefs
- Tihomirov Alexander Valentinovich
- Shadurski Victor Gennadievich
- Sidorchuk Valery Kirillovich
- Brovka Gennady Mikhailovich
- Gancherenok Igor Ivanovich
- Malevich Ulianna Igorevna
- Prannik Tatiana Alexandrovna
- Selivanov Andrey Vladimirovich
- Sharapo Alexander Victorovich
- Testimonials
-
Conference Proceedings
- Amber Coast Transport Initiative Project Concept
- Nato and Belarus - partnership, past tensions and future possibilities
- OSCE High-Level Seminar on Military Doctrine
- Poland-Belarus: perspectives of cross-border cooperation
- Polish-Belarussian Transborder Customs Cooperation: сurrent Problems and Challenges
-
Reports
- We see the significant reduction of the U.S. Army in Europe
- NATO's International Security Role
- International seminar on issues in the Collective Security Treaty Organization
- Belarus-Turkey: The ways of cooperation - 2011
- Belarus - Poland: two decades of international relations
- Belarus-Turkey: The ways of cooperation - 2009
- International seminar Belarusian Diaspora: Past and Present
- The first Round Table
-
News Releases
- The conference on Overcoming the financial crisis
- Round Table on history and future of Belarus-Poland cooperation
- Seminar on Belarusian diaspora: past and present
- The conference on Belarus in the Modern World
- The conference on Economic, legal and informational aspects of cooperation in customs sphere
- Comments
- Contact
On December 8, the Kobrin District Organization of the Belarusian Association of People with Visual Impairments conducted a conference on modern technologies of rehabilitation of people with disabilities. The conference was the final event to wrap up a year-long project “Virtual Sight for the Development of Kobrin Community of the Blind and the Visually Impaired” funded through the U.S. Embassy Small Grants Program. The conference took place on the premises of the local Recreation Palace and gathered representatives of the regional local authorities, NGOs from Brest region working on social issues, and the project participants. Valentina Smekhovich, the Head of the NGO provided a presentation on the project results, which were really impressive: the NGO organized the first rehabilitation office in Belarus equipped with a variety of the most up-to-date customized tools for rehabilitation of the visually impaired, created an electronic audio library, conducted classes on computer literacy with the use of a special software and organized club work on different topics. Fifty-eight people received special training on the use of modern technology developed to help the visually impaired do away with the traditional white cane, two people were able to find employment and excitedly shared their experience with the conference participants. The active work of the NGO often captured attention of both local authorities and regional press: a dozen publications including coverage on the local radio and TV informed the local audience about the new opportunities opened for integration of the blind and visually impaired into society.
Overall, the project allowed the NGO strengthen its capacity, demonstrated successful cooperation of state and non-governmental organizations, and proved that life as a blind person need not be any more stressful than life with sight as long as blind/visually impaired are taught the skills and given the tools they need to accomplish tasks with independence and with success.


