The Bamburgh Suite
St James Park Football Stadium
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE1 4ST

10.00am – 4.00pm

The Sight Village Scotland Roadshow attracts exhibitors from across Europe, providing them with a platform to demonstrate low and hi-tech equipment, the latest technology, and many other support services in a wide range of areas that could benefit someone who lives with sight loss.  The event will provide visitors with the opportunity to sample state of the art technology, including the BETT award winning, ‘Voiceye’.

Boasting free admission for visitors, the event, which is sponsored by Sight and Sound Technology and Olympus, is in its fourth year in Scotland.

Sight Village Scotland, which is held at The Grosvenor Hilton Hotel, Edinburgh on 24^th April and The Marriott Hotel, Glasgow on 25^th April, expects to welcome many hundreds of visitors. Entry is free of charge.

The show not only attracts end users, but is also ideal for employers, education professionals and anyone with responsibilities for meeting the needs of people with sight impairment.

Ray Piggott, Director of Business Development at QAC explains: “We are really excited about Sight Village Scotland.  Exhibitor spaces sold out so quickly, which demonstrates just how popular the event is.  Each day promises to be insightful for visitors and exhibitors alike. Some exhibitors will even be using the event to launch exciting product and service developments.”

Glenn Tookey, CEO of Sight and Sound Technology, sponsor and exhibitor at the show adds: “We have been headline sponsors of the Sight Village events for a number of years now, and are proud to be working in partnership with QAC to provide and promote solutions and technology awareness to the Blind and VI community. As an organisation, Sight and Sound Technology are delighted to be at the cutting edge of technology, and our exhibits this year will include the ground breaking technology solution; Voiceye.”

Lee Buckley, National Account Manager at Olympus, sponsor and exhibitor at the show comments: “To further improve the features included in our range of recorders, Olympus have now released the new DM-670 that incorporates a Tresmic that includes a three way microphone to enhance the recording quality, and have resigned the buttons to become more tactile and VI user friendly.  We shall also be releasing a new firmware update shortly to improve the DM-5, which will increase the number of DAISY formats supported on the recorder.  Both recorders will continue to have fully Voice Guided menus to assist VI users.  Finally, the DP-20 note taker is still available to assist users who only require a budget, non-downloadable entry level voice recorder”.

For more information, or to pre-register, please visit the QAC website.

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

• Queen Alexandra College is a national college for people aged 16+ with visual impairment or other disabilities.
• QAC also run a number of commercial enterprises, in which learners are encouraged to get involved, more information can be found online here – http://www.qac.ac.uk/enterprises/index.html
• QAC organises Sight Village events at venues in England and Scotland. These are premier European events showcasing technology, support and services for people who are blind or visually impaired
• For more information, please visit www.qac.ac.uk or call 0121 4285041

Follow us @QAC_Official on Twitter or visit our Facebook page – Queen Alexandra College (QAC) Official Site

The brothers were sponsored by Sight and Sound Technology, the leading UK provider of hardware and software for visually impaired and blind users, and managed to raise over £16,000 for the charity. Dan Mitchell, Training and Fundraising Manager at Blind in Business, said: “Cycling from London to Amsterdam is a gruelling challenge for any person, and an endurance challenge that many sighted people would steer clear of.  For two virtually blind twins, it’s shown their true determination to succeed.  We are extremely proud of the Smith Twins and the rest of the cycling team, and I’m sure this won’t be the last we hear from them!”

In 2009, Michael Smith first noticed changes in his sight; “My symptoms came on suddenly – one day I was in a lecture and I could not make out the projector in front of me, it was really hazy,” he explains.

Having lost 70%-80% of sight in his left eye within a matter of weeks, he was forced to leave university and discontinue his first year studying Medicine at Barts and the London School of Medicine. Following his decline in sight, Michael’s diagnosis was slow, however after a genetic test Michael was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition ‘Leber’s Optic Neuropathy’.

Unfortunately less than a year later, his twin brother Dan suffered the same fate whilst in his second year of studying Aeronautical Engineering at University of Bristol. Although devastating for Dan, he was able to continue his studies due to the technology that was now available to him. At least now they knew which technology was available, how to access it and they understood all the processes required, thanks to organisations such as Sight and Sound Technology.

Blind in Business directed the boys towards Sight and Sound Technology. As leaders in cutting-edge technology and revolutionary new ways to aid the visually impaired, Sight and Sound Technology have been able to give them the help they need with support from their highly skilled trainers and technical support desk.  Michael is now a Geography undergraduate at Kings College, London.  He plans to convert to Law and study the GDL and LPC within the conversion. He has an internship this summer with law firm Ashurst.

Michael Smith comments: “At first I struggled to adjust to life without my sight, it was very difficult to come to terms with. But with the help and support of Blind in Business and Sight and Sound Technology, the transition has been made a lot easier. Dan and I are happy that we could take part in the bike race to thank the organisations for their hard work.”

Sight and Sound Technology have been training Michael ever since in using technology and software programmes such as JAWS (screen reader software), ZoomText (screen magnifier software), TOPAZ (desktop magnification) and Kurzweil 100 plus scanner (text to speech software and scanner). Dan also uses similar technology with the addition of PEARL and Openbook, a text to speech software and capture.

Glenn Tookey, CEO of Sight and Sound Technology explains: “It’s a privilege to work with such inspirational boys. They are determined to complete university and get good jobs despite being left almost completely blind.  Our technology is enabling them to regain some independence and continue their studies in a bid to fight the condition which has so heavily affected their lives.

“We are very proud to have sponsored them for the race and will continue to support them in the future.”

Ends

Notes to Editor

• For more information on Sight and Sound Technology please visit http://www.sightandsound.co.uk
• Sight and Sound Technology is the UK’s leading provider of hardware and software to the blind, visually impaired and those with learning and reading difficulties. They work in unison with private individuals, charitable organisations, educational establishments and commercial enterprises to help our users fully realise their potential. Their product solutions have been specifically designed to improve quality of life at work, at study or in the home.
• To arrange an interview with Glenn Tookey, CEO of Sight and Sound Technology, please contact katie@zoodikers.com
• For further information on Blind in Business visit http://www.blindinbusiness.co.uk
• Blind in Business ask for one simple thing.  They want more undergraduate and graduates to work with throughout the UK, to help them into their first job.  All their services are free.  They have a proven-track-record of helping people into good jobs, in marketing, IT, law, teaching, anything but driving a bus.

Cam Sight

Shirley Centre
Nuffield Road
Cambridge
CB4 1TF

10am – 4pm

Sight Village Birmingham
New Bingley Hall
1 Hockley Circus
Birmingham
B18 5BE

10.00am – TBC

Come and visit us at Sight Village Birmingham 17^th – 18^th July 2012 – Pre-register NOW!

KOBA Vision has been providing world leading solutions for the visually impaired for over 25 years.  Their acclaimed screen reader and magnifier solutions, Vocatex and Orabis, will now be exclusively available through Sight and Sound Technology.

The ergonomically designed Vocatex provides a revolutionary step forward for high definition screen magnification and reading solutions.  Unlike other desktop CCTV magnifiers, Vocatex is the only solution that is able to read text in real time, meaning that the nuisance of having to switch between capture and live modes, as well as the confusion between page and on-screen text, is eradicated.

Bart Peremans, Director of Sales and Marketing for KOBA Vision says: “This new distribution agreement with Sight and Sound Technology brings our leading read aloud video magnifier solutions closer to visually impaired people in the UK, enabling them to rediscover the pleasure of reading. Sight and Sound Technology presents the right platform to make this new technology available to those that need it.”

CEO of Sight and Sound Technology, Glenn Tookey comments: “Our commitment to providing the widest choice of best of breed products to our customers is at the forefront of what we do, and we’re delighted to add KOBA Vision’s world leading Vocatex and Orabis to our already impressive range of VI and dyslexia solutions.”

Other notable benefits of the Vocatex include its continuous reading feature.  Thanks to its intelligent reading function, entire pages can be read in real time without the interrupting pauses expected when jumping to different sections of text.  This faster, fluid, more natural reading experience provided by the Vocatex means that users can now enjoy both the independence and pleasure of reading.

The Orabis shares many of the same features of the Vocatex, and is the entry-level solution.

The new master distribution deal with KOBA Vision follows Sight and Sound Technology’s recent acquisition of Forcetenco, a major supplier of low vision aids and assistive hearing solutions, in January.

Ends

Notes to Editor:

• Founded in 1985, KOBA Vision located in Leopoldsburg, Belgium, searches each and every day for new applications and technologies which make reading as comfortable as possible. Run by its visually impaired CEO, Johan Haagdorens, the company is the leading manufacturer of high quality products for the visually impaired and the blind. The world’s first read aloud video magnifier Vocatex (patent) and High Definition are the most important milestones in KOBA’s history.

• For more information on KOBA Vision please visit: http://www.kobavision.be/

• Sight and Sound Technology is the UK’s leading provider of hardware and software to the blind, visually impaired and those with learning and reading difficulties. They work in unison with private individuals, charitable organisations, educational establishments and commercial enterprises to help users fully realise their potential. Their product solutions have been specifically designed to improve quality of life at work, at study or in the home.

• For more information on Sight and Sound Technology please visit: http://www.sightandsound.co.uk

• To arrange an interview with Glenn Tookey, CEO of Sight and Sound Technology, please contact katie@zoodikers.com

We understand that David was found dead at his home in Blyth, Northumberland.

Since being shot in July 2010, David struggled to come to terms with his horrific injuries and the traumatic effect they had on him and his family and friends.
David’s legacy will live on in the form of The Blue Lamp Foundation http://bluelamp-foundation.org which bears his name. The Foundation was started by David to help emergency services personnel injured in the line of duty as the result of a criminal act.

We are privileged to have worked with David as sponsors of the Foundation first annual celebrity golf challenge.

We would like to extend our sincere wishes of sympathy to his wife Katherine and to all of the family.

Did you know that Kurzweil 1000 has all these great features?

Kurzweil 1000 reads text aloud and delivers natural-sounding voices and quick access to virtually any content for people who are blind or visually impaired.

A new User Wizard to walk first-time users through features and preference setups making it easy to get started.

Recognition of simple forms to allow the user to fill in fields and insert a handwritten signature.

The ability to create and search multilevel bookmarks.

An auto rescan to get the best scan possible, saving time and effort.
Compatibility with broad range of file types, including PDFs and ZIP files.

Supports any device that emulates a disk drive, providing the ability to send a file to virtually any device type.

Access to eighteen bilingual dictionaries and online encyclopedias, including Wikipedia.

Download a free demo of Kurzweil 1000.

Sight and Sound Technology build on their success with the acquisition of Forcetenco

Sight and Sound Technology – (http://www.sightandsound.co.uk) – the UK’s leading provider of assistive solutions for the blind, visually impaired and those with learning and reading difficulties, are today pleased to announce the acquisition of The Force Ten Company Limited (Forcetenco).

Forcetenco, has been a major supplier of low vision aids and assistive hearing solutions since 1989. This merger will see Sight and Sound Technology further enhance its already extensive range of technology for the visually impaired, adding further master distribution agreements to those of Freedom Scientific, AI Squared and Cambium (Kurzweil).

Forcetenco recently won the BETT 2012 SEN Technology award with the acclaimed VOICEYE product, which provides a unique print text accessibility solution for users with print and visual impairments. Sight and Sound Technology will now acquire the exclusive distributorship of this acclaimed product.

Sight and Sound Technology will continue to service and support all of the products previously purchased from Forcetenco.

Norman Lilly of Forcetenco said:

“For us it was time to pass the good work we have been doing for over 16 years into hands that could further develop the relationships that we have and build them into the UK’s largest technology company for the blind, visually impaired and those with learning difficulties. We will still be involved and will help integrate the two businesses together to ensure that all of our customers have a seamless transfer to the new operation.”

CEO of Sight and Sound Technology, Glenn Tookey comments:

“The merger of the two companies integrates almost 50 years of knowledge and experience, creating a powerful operation in assistive technology for those with visual impairment. The benefits to customers of both companies is access to a wider range of solutions to meet their needs, all trained and supported under one roof. We can offer more value than ever before.”

Action for Blind People North East

Marton Hotel & Country Club
Stokesley Road
Marton
Middlesbrough
TS7 8DS

10am – 4pm