Featured News

Newsroom

Details
In Albinism
/

C. Gail SummersLeading international medical professionals will reveal the latest developments on surgery and genetics to the Albinism Fellowship of Australia national conference in Sydney this weekend.

For the first time, guest speakers from the US, including eye specialist Professor Gail Summers and geneticist Dr Murray Brilliant will attend the biennial conference, to share their experience and insights.

Gail Summers, MD, is Professor from the Departments of Ophthalmology and Visual Neurosciences, and Pediatrics Minnesota Lions Children's Eye Clinic.  Murray Brilliant, PhD, Senior Scientist, is the Director at the Center for Human Genetics at the Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation.

Both are deeply interested in albinism in which a person - an albino - cannot produce the pigment melanin, so they typically have fair skin and hair and a visual impairment, often reading in the ‘legally blind’ category. 

More than 230 people are expected at the Albinism Fellowship of Australia national conference with runs from October 11-13. The event attracts people with albinism, their families and friends, medical and ophthalmic professionals from throughout Australia as well as NZ, Fiji, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria and the US.

Albinism Fellowship President Elizabeth Beales said this expert input into the weekend was highly anticipated. “This level of knowledge is of immeasurable value to the people attending,” she said.

“While albinism results in a visual loss which places most albinos in the legally blind category, there’s no medical intervention or surgery which can “fix” the vision, even with prescription glasses. While the retina and visual pathways are affected in-utero, medical procedures can sometimes provide ease or comfort to the muscles controlling the eyes, although the vision itself is not correctable.”

Details
In Pottinger
/

Cassandra KellyPottinger Joint CEO Cassandra Kelly has called on board quotas for women so Australia can embrace diversity and boost productivity to deal with its current economic challenges.

In an address to a Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) conference last week, Ms. Kelly said Australia needed to focus on more than primary resources to underpin its long-term economic and social prosperity. Other pillars of strength could include financial services, agriculture, education, inbound tourism, and innovation and technology.

Details
In Denise Goodfellow
/

Bo Boelens aka The Fat BirderWorld-famous birdwatcher, Bo Beolens, aka the Fat Birder, will call for more accessible nature reserves when he presents via podcast at a Darwin workshop that aims to improve wildlife tourism in the NT.

The British birder is renowned for championing the challenges faced by disabled birdwatchers and others who try to find a suitable birding tour or access a nature reserve.

Mr. Beolens, who suffers from Ankylosing Spondylitis, a crippling arthritis of the spine, said nature reserves and birding trips offered few concessions to the average person, let alone those with restrictions on their mobility. “It occurred to me this is because the majority of (those in the business) are six-feet tall, fit and able young men,” he said.

“I always liken such provision to the shoe trade. If the only shoes made were size 10 all-weather boots, those wanting size five pink stilettos would be sadly disappointed. Most of us are not fit and able six-footers, so viewing slots need to be at variable heights; not everyone can walk a mile non-stop so we, just like the birds need a perch every 150 yards or so.

“I wanted nature to be more accessible. I wanted the designers to go back to the drawing board and make sure that the provisions they make for human access more friendly to all.”

Organised by Wildlife Tourism Australia and to be opened by NT Administrator the Honourable Sally Thomas AM, the October 2-4 workshop will examine the problems, potential and possibilities of connecting wildlife and visitors in the Top End.

Details
In Innovation
/

Eden gets ready for the 40 Hour FamineAdelaide student Eden Harris has topped her 2012 tally by raising $1250 to assist people in the developing world through giving up food and furniture during World Visiion's 40 Hour Famine

Last year, in her first 40 Hour Famine, Eden, who was then just 13 years old, was able to raise $940 for projects that help hungry kids and families around the world.

Eden said she was enormously grateful all to those people who had generously donated to support her during the famine. "For me, it shows that working together, we really can make the world a better place," she said.

This year, all funds raised will go to support projects that fight hunger in Malawi, Ethiopia, East Timor, Nepal, Tanzania, and Uganda. Initiatives include helping families gain better access to food and clean water, give people the chance to increase their incomes through training and micro-finance, and help farmers get the tools and training they need to grow more food. Funds raised in the 40 Hour Famine also help World Vision respond to emergencies around the world.

Until the end of September, you can still sponsor Eden through her 40 Hour Famine profile page at http://www.worldvision.com.au/40HF/ProfilePage.aspx?preferredurl=Edenharris If you have any problems with that link, Eden's Famine ID number is 2013005995. If you/re not able to sponsor her financially, Eden will appreciate encouraging messages on her webpage for the site

Eden's school, Temple Christian College, held its 40-Hour Famine on Wednesday and Thursday (August 21 and 22) this week.

More News...

  1. Life Care improves patient care with MIMP network (11 September 2013)
  2. Melba leads in tailored care with EBS & NAV (09 September 2013)
  3. Pottinger's vote of faith in post-election rebound (04 September 2013)
  4. MIMP scores NECA award hat trick (24 August 2013)
  5. Wireless leader MIMP fights SA Govt microwave slug (20 August 2013)
  6. Eden aims to top 40 Hour Famine 2012 tally (19 August 2013)
  7. Museum ‘ropes in’ maritime trades for tall ships event (16 August 2013)
  8. Wildlife Tourism the topic of Top End workshop (16 August 2013)
  9. EBS nabs defence firm DMTC with Microsoft Dynamics NAV (13 August 2013)
  10. IT Pros urge Microsoft to save TechNet (12 August 2013)