Postponed – Past Times in Present Day: The Influence of Blind Peoples’ Social History on the Contemporary Sight Loss Sector

• Diversity and inclusion
• Lived Experience

Tuesday 12 April 2022
10:30 am to 11:30am
Zoom

Please note: This session is postponed and the new date is to be confirmed.

This presentation draws on blind and partially-sighted peoples’ social history, steeped in philanthropy, segregation and benevolence. It offers an insight into early provisions and supports for blind and partially-sighted people across Scotland and wider societal attitudes towards blind people at the time.

It will also open the Asylum doors, to share a peak at the lives and times of inmates and differential directorial treatment and attitudes towards males and females.

Parallels will then be teased out between our social history and the contemporary sight loss sector, to spark a discussion  on how we can shake the historical legacy off and work together towards a human rights, asset based approach – join us and let’s have this difficult but productive conversation!

Dr Hazel McFarlane is a disability activist and researcher, who has worked in and alongside the voluntary and statutory sectors across Scotland for almost 28 years. She currently leads on sight loss within the Scottish Sensory Hub. Hazel’s contribution to implementation and development of accessible service provision and supports to enable the inclusion and participation of people with sensory loss in every-day life was acknowledged by her inclusion in the 2019 Disability Powerlist, a List of the 100 Most Influential Disabled People in the UK.