RNIB Connect Voices Round up 28 June 2023

Episode 1514,   Jun 28, 2023, 08:00 AM

Clare Aldworth, RNIB Voice of the Customer Insight Officer shares the latest opportunities for blind and partially sighted people to get involved in with RNIB Connect Radio’s Toby Davey.

Opportunities highlighted this week included:
Free Haircare Workshop -

Hair & Care is dedicated to empowering blind and partially sighted people through the exploration of the fundamentals of hair care. Having already run workshops with RSBC, BlindAid and Guide dogs amongst others they are now keen to work with RNIB.

Anna the founder of Hair & Care, has worked in the hairstyling industry for 20 years. The inspiration for this project comes from her father living with Retinitis Pigmentosa.

The workshops are face-to-face group styling sessions led by Anna and a group of volunteer hairstylist. Each participant of the workshops receives a free bag with hair tools and brushes donated by partnering hair brands like GHD or Denman.

Each workshop is participant-driven with their active involvement shaping the direction, themes and styles and lasting about 2.5 hours. These workshops take an interactive approach that motivates participants to engage with each other while gaining self-care skills and knowledge.

By learning basic hairdressing skills and gaining access to the necessary tools, blind and partially sighted people can experience a new sense of independence contributing directly to overall self-care, mental wellbeing, sense of identity and confidence.

The workshops are held in a fully accessible space located in Hackney, London. Upcoming dates are:
Monday 10 July from 3pm to 5.30pm and
Wednesday 16 August from 3pm to 5.30pm.

If you’re interested or would like some further information please email
hairandcareproject@gmail.com.

Calling All Musicians and Sound Engineers - 
Sound Without Sight is a new non-profit initiative, aimed at supporting sight-impaired people in the fields of audio and music. They want to break down accessibility barriers around audio, music notation (such as accessible scores) and performance.

As part of this, they want to compile a hub of experience and useful advice from BSPS for blind and partially sighted people, to support to engage fully with music and audio related activities. So very much a community-led initiative. They have also just received a grant which is going to allow them to publish a fortnightly article from an industry expert e.g. artists, producers, music technology designers, venues, specialist educators. 

What gaps in information could this content fill, to support blind and partially sighted people to access a particular aspect of music-making? Which products, opportunities, or solutions would benefit being promoted to the community of blind and partially sighted musicians? Do you know of a musician whose story could help and inspire others? 

If you have some ideas you would like to share please email content@soundwithoutsight.org. 

To find out more about these Connect Voices opportunities and how you can get involved with RNIB Connect Voices do visit-
https://www.rnib.org.uk/connect-community/connect-voices-network/connect-voices-current-opportunities

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