A great success. IGDF Seminar 2018 in Sydney. Merran celebrates 50 years with Guide Dogs A huge milestone 50 years of independence

Transcription

1 Edition 37 November 2018 vi sion ar y (vizh n-eri -erri) adj. 1. Characterised by vision or foresight IGDF Seminar 2018 in Sydney A great success Merran celebrates 50 years with Guide Dogs A huge milestone 50 years of independence

2 IGDF UK First and foremost, membership of the IGDF enables Guide Dog Schools around the world to join a community dedicated to serving the visually impaired. That community needs and wants to share its knowledge and the IGDF facilitates that. The map below outlines the contributing countries for this edition of Visionary. Registered in England Company No Registered Charity No Contents 3 Message from the Chair Paul Metcalf 4 IGDF Assessments 4 IGDF In The Sunlight Bob Proesmans IGDF Seminar In Sydney A Great Success Paul Adrian 6 IGDF 2018 Seminar Photos 8 Accessibility Is A Common Issue Kazumasa Oda 9 There Is Life After The Seminar Minna Leppälä 9 Breeders Workshop 2018 Caroline Moeser 10 Down Time Important During IGDF Conference Sebastian McPherson 10 Reflections On Sydney Ben Cawley 11 Merran Celebrates 50 Years With Guide Dogs Zoe Polacik Message from the Chair Paul Metcalf - Guide Dog Manager Guide Dogs Victoria, Australia Hello everyone As we look back on 2018, the highlight of the guide dog calendar for many will, undoubtedly, be the biennial IGDF Seminar which took place in Sydney during September. On behalf of the international guide dog community, I would like to thank and congratulate Guide Dogs NSW / ACT for planning and hosting what was an incredibly successful and informative event. I would also thank and congratulate the many presenters for their efforts and commitment to sharing their thoughts, experiences and learning with colleagues and peers from around the world. In order to ensure continuous improvement on this important event, the IGDF Board would welcome feedback from anyone involved in this year s Seminar whether you presented, attended or helped in the planning, please do let us know what you enjoyed, what you feel could be improved or, perhaps, anything you believe could be added to enhance the experience further. Please forward any comments through the IGDF Office. As we approach the end of another year, I would like to acknowledge and Australia Guide Dogs Victoria thank the many people who keep the work of the International Guide Dog Federation moving and, importantly, relevant to the needs of today. This would include Jen Burford (IGDF Office Manager), IGDF Board sub-committees and their teams and, of course, my fellow IGDF Board members. I would also acknowledge our growing number of member organisations and their staff around the world without whom, there would be no IGDF, and certainly not the level service and support for our many thousands of clients who achieve their own independence through the guide dogs we provide. Finally, on behalf of the IGDF Board and our representatives at all levels, I close with very best wishes for the upcoming festive season and a happy, healthy and successful new year to you all. Kind regards, Paul Metcalf IGDF Chair Disclaimer Whilst the International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF) retains editorial right to all articles presented within the Visionary, accuracy of specific detail and figures quoted are as provided by the author and their supporting organisation. The IGDF, whilst welcoming feedback on content, will not enter into any dialogue relating to perceived inaccuracies in these areas. Hillfields, Burghfield Common, Reading Berkshire RG7 3YG United Kingdom 2 the Visionary IGDF Issue 37 November 18 3

3 IGDF COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE IGDF Assessments IGDF In The Sunlight Australia Guide Dogs NSW/ACT Australia Guide Dogs NSW/ACT 2018 IGDF Seminar In Sydney A Great Success Congratulations our newest members to the IGDF: Œuvre Fédérale Les Amis des Aveugles et Malvoyants Congratulations to the following organisations which passed their five year assessment: Ecole de Chiens-Guides Centre Aliénor, France Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind Inc, USA Guide Dogs SA/NT, Australia Stiftung Schweizerische Schule für Blindenführhunde, Switzerland The following organisation has been accepted as an Applicant Organisation: Bob Proesmans The biennial seminar is a successful IGDF event that is very much appreciated by its attendees. Not only the presentations and contributions are extremely valuable to the business, but even more so are the contacts that are made during the seminar. There is a great sense of collaboration and friendship, as we all share the same problems, challenges, rewarding moments and commitments, with only one goal: help people with a visual impairment. This shared commitment can bring out the best in us, and so both before and after the conference, we seem to enjoy doing other things together. This year wasn t any different, and The Blue Mountains were the perfect place to do this. Caroline Moeser, our local GD NSW/ACT host, guided us through this wonderful part of Australia. Caroline, Ivana Merryman Boncori (IGDF DC member), Jen Burford (IGDF Office Manager) and myself Bob Proesmans (IGDF DC member) took advantage of the beautiful sunset to give rise to this special photo with 4 letters. I can assure you we had great fun trying to make a good picture! Paul Adrian - Guide Dogs Services Manager Guide Dogs NSW/ACT, Australia Hosting the 2018 International Guide Dog Federation Seminar, and the Breeders Workshop that followed, was a massive undertaking for Guide Dogs NSW/ACT. The responsibility for hosting delegates from around the world and ensuring they had a rich and rewarding experience weighed heavily on the organising team. Communication with the IGDF office flowed thick and fast as last minute arrangements and final details were managed as the event drew near. And then all of a sudden the event was upon us! In the end 290 delegates from all corners of the globe converged on Sydney for the seminar. Not surprisingly there was a large contingent of Australians and New Zealanders but also many delegates who braved long flights from Europe, North America and other parts of the world to attend. More than 100 delegates enjoyed the Guide Dogs NSW/ACT facility tours on the day prior to the seminar as the Centre staff very proudly showed off the new puppy enrichment area and their web portal for Puppy Raisers, Puppy Central. The opportunity to see other schools in operation is always popular with delegates but is equally valuable to hosts as they engage in discussion with others about processes and initiatives in various other parts of the world. The seminar itself proved to be an inspiring event. Each seminar seems to set a new standard in presentations and Sydney proved likewise. A standout had to be the presentations by Elinor Karlsson, Assistant Professor, University of Massachusetts Medical School and the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT. Her presentations were perfectly pitched to be understandable by all and really alerted us to the huge impact that genomics will have on our programs in the relatively near future. Equally important was the plenary session from Ben Cawley and Thomas Panek focused on emerging technologies. There are so many exciting developments in this space with a lot more to come in the future that will positively contribute to the lives of our clients. There are numerous other sessions that could be mentioned for their presentation of thought provoking and inspiring material. It is important that we embrace some of these ideas quickly before we are engulfed in the normal everyday pressures of our jobs. It is very easy to be inspired in the moment and then not be able to follow through on new ideas. Our hope at Guide Dogs NSW/ACT is that every participant travelled home with at least one new idea that they will implement that makes their program more successful. The staff of Guide Dogs NSW/ACT would like to thank all of the delegates for attending and making the event such a success. In particular we extend our appreciation to the organising committees and the IGDF office for working so hard to make the Guide Dog Centre tours, the 2018 IGDF Seminar and the Breeders Workshop such successful events. We look forward to seeing you all again in Prague 2020! Body Klub, Slovakia. The following organisations have been accepted as Enquiring Organisations: Alertalegria - Associação de Caes de Assistencia Internacional, Portugal Instituto Magnus, Brazil Order of Regular Clerks Ministers to the Sick, Georgia Thailand Government Guide Dogs for Persons with Visual Disabilities Project, Thailand Please note there are additional organisations being processed. 4 the Visionary IGDF Issue 37 November 18 5

4 IGDF 2018 Seminar - Sydney, Australia 6 the Visionary IGDF

5 Japan Guide Dog Association Japan Guide Dogs NSW/ACT Australia Finland NouHaun Opaskoirapalvelu Accessibility Is A Common Issue 5TH INTERNATIONAL CLICKER SEMINAR: Clicker Training in Guide Dog Programs Presented By There Is Life After The Seminar Kazumasa Oda Japan Guide Dog Association, Japan Minna Leppälä - Director/GDMI NouHaun Opaskoirapalvelu, Finland Panel Discussions are one of the new styles that has been adopted into the IGDF seminar since Hvar. One of them at Sydney was titled Access: A Question of Access and Sam Tawada, Japan Guide Dog Assoication, had the honor to participate as a panelist. Topics such as how are guide dogs accepted in society and is there any refusal of entry were brought up to open up discussions. Many country representatives have said that they face similar problems and it was emphasized that we need to work together to enhance proper understanding of guide dogs and the visually impaired. Someone mentioned that gaining accessibility is not just about changing laws and the social system but it s also about guide dog user s motivation to go out. In addition, we found out that in some countries, puppies and training dogs had similar access rights. We were encouraged that by showing such examples, we may be able to gain accessibility for puppies and training dogs in Japan as well. We want to train At Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB), we believe maximizing positive reinforcement through Clicker Training is the key to our success and has become more of a standard dog training philosophy internationally. In 2004, GDB fully integrated Clicker Training methods into all aspects of our formal guidework training program. Now in 2018, we have continued to find additional ways to maximize positive reinforcement through Clicker Training in a number of ways across many of our programs, including formal guide dog training, client handling, puppy development, and husbandry/veterinary practices. Special Guest Speaker: Michele Pouliot We are pleased to have internationally-recognized Clicker Training and guide dog training expert, Michele Pouliot, join us for the last day of the conference to share her extensive expertise! Seminar Dates: September 23-27, 2019 Location: The California, USA Campus of Guide Dogs for the Blind Cost, per person (US$): $1,000 working spot $600 auditing spot Seminar Fee Includes: Presentations, demonstrations Hands-on practice for working spots Technique guidelines and program information Lunch each day of the conference our dogs using public transportation and public facilities more smoothly, and we hope that it will lead to stronger interest and understanding towards guide dogs and visually impaired persons. Mika Ambo from our promotion department gave a poster presentation titled, How does our Society see Guide Dogs. She did a survey asking over 300 people about their opinion on assistance dogs and visually impaired Topics Include: Motivating staff and volunteers for major change Transitioning traditional trainers to Clicker Training Food reward use conquering challenges that impact guide dog work Formal guide dog training training guide dog behaviors Client use of positive reinforcement techniques Puppy development application REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! For more information or to register, visit: If you have difficulties registering, please contact us by at: information@guidedogs.com persons. The result showed that most people showed understanding towards assistance dogs yet many thought that visually impaired persons were incapable of taking care of their guide dogs on their own. The audience valued her study and was interested in her conclusion that this type of wrong image towards visually impaired persons may be related to acceptance of guide dogs in society. When I decided to start running my own Guide dog school in 2008, applying for the IGDF membership was selfevident. It just took almost ten years to get it. Participation in this year s IGDF seminar was a culmination of so much work and effort and one had to wonder what comes next. Having had some time to think about it I realized this was a new beginning, not the end. I learned a lot, got many new ideas but the most important thing was the people I had the honour of meeting. People from organizations of every size sharing the same passion to create the best guide dogs and also help each other to do the same world wide. The biggest challenge for a small school is to find or breed proper dog to train. This cannot be done alone. Many presentations made it clear that especially small schools will have to Breeders Workshop 2018 cooperate to have a valid breeding programme. I wholeheartedly agree. Also the necessity of gathering reliable and comparable data to which breeding decisions can be based on was made quite clear. IWDR enables us to gather, utilize and share that data. This is a most exciting prospect! All of the events I participated in were inspirational and left me with the impression that being an IGDF member can and will benefit organizations of every size. The way to show our appreciation of all the help our organizarion has received is to cooperate with others. It makes all of us bigger, better and stronger. Thank you for all who made this possible! Caroline Moeser - Director/GDMI Guide Dogs NSW/ACT, Australia The Breeders Workshop 2018 was held in September at the Crowne Plaza in the Hawkesbury region of Sydney. Guide Dogs NSW/ACT, were flattered to be asked to host this event and thrilled by the amount of interest that it created. Sixty-nine delegates from 18 countries were in attendance. These delegates were members of 38 Guide and Assistance dog schools, 3 University or Research groups and one company specializing in Reproduction. Not only did the workshop provide the opportunity to catch up with old friends and meet new ones, it also enabled us to share information. Of the 38 schools in attendance, 47% are now collecting BCL data, 29% utilizing the IWDR to store and report on that data, and 29% are storing or analyzing DNA on their dogs. This large number of breeders gathering BCL data and sharing it via the IWDR platform forms a great foundation for future collaboration as we enter the exciting world of genomics. The presentations included information on health and behavioural concerns, genetic testing and genomics. Consistency in diagnosis and sharing of data were the key underlying themes of the conference. It was such a pleasure to host this event and feel the energy in the room created by so many interesting discussions. To have a vast array of local and international experts willing to share their knowledge is a credit to the Guide Dog industry. The influence of genomics and collaboration in this space provides a very exciting future for us all. 8 the Visionary IGDF Issue 37 November 18 9

6 Leader Dogs for the Blind USA Down Time Important During IGDF Conference Reflections On Sydney USA Guiding Eyes for the Blind Tasmania Guide Dogs Merran Celebrates 50 Years With Guide Dogs Sebastian McPherson Leader Dogs for the Blind, USA I have been lucky to attend IGDF Conferences several times during my 34-year career. The 2012 conference in Paris is where I witnessed how far positive reinforcement training had progressed since the 1990s, and the incredible possibilities is presented for both dog and client training. This year I gained some new ideas on working with dogs that want to curl in front of you when heeling. Overall, there have been many useful presentations and I came away with new tips and ideas. However, I find that the times before, between and after the scheduled presentations are equally important. This is when you make new connections and rekindle old friendships, share training stories and get input from people who understand the challenges we all face every day. To watch like-minded people from many countries come together to help each other in our mutual goal of training the best guide dogs possible is a wonderful experience. At Leader Dogs for the Blind we believe that sharing our experiences and knowledge with others is a benefit to our organization and makes our industry stronger. So, if you ever get the chance to attend an IGDF Conference, jump on it but make sure you stick around for the good parts. Ben Cawley - Director of Admissions and Graduate Services Guiding Eyes for the Blind, USA How do you make a trip of a lifetime to Sydney, Australia even more memorable? Add hundreds of passionate colleagues and thoughtleaders in the guide dog industry, and you ll come back super-charged. After an amazing experience in Hvar, Croatia in 2016, Sydney was my second opportunity to attend an IGDF Seminar, and it did not disappoint. Kudos to the IGDF organizing committees and all staff of Guide Dogs NSW/ACT for your impressive efforts pulling together such a wonderful seminar. Meeting international colleagues who share the passion for providing enhanced independence through guide dog travel has been a rejuvenating and energizing experience throughout my career. There s a certain camaraderie and intrinsic bond among those of us in the guide dog industry that makes even a first handshake feel like a reconnection with a long-lost friend. The enthusiasm is electric and contagious; I leave more excited for our work because of the experience. Personal highlights from the seminar include all the opportunities to socialize, collaborate, and experience beautiful Sydney alongside such a passionate group of individuals. I found the seminar to be the perfect antidote to Compassion Fatigue, and I m thankful to Dan Casey of Vision Australia for sharing his wonderful presentation on this important topic with the community. As I write this, I m preparing to share his presentation with the staff of Guiding Eyes for the Blind in New York. Miki Asano of Kansai Guide Dog for the Blind Association, Japan, inspired me to bring exciting new ideas in kennel design back to my co-workers. On the technology front, Noelle Poidras of Fondation VISIO, France, with her presentation on her important work in education and advancement of electronic travel aides energized me return home and find ways to focus more energy in this important global conversation. Thomas Panek and I were honored to have the opportunity to present on technology s emerging role in enhancing guide dog mobility. I m appreciative of all the support in developing this presentation and look forward to working collaboratively with those who have expressed interested in participating in the conversation around this exciting space. In hope of building on the momentum following our presentation, Tom and I have created an online group where researchers and guide dog school professionals working in this space can collaborate and share ideas. Please let me know if you are interested in joining. From opportunities to learn to interactions with friends old and new, one takeaway is clear: you can count on me attending the 2020 IGDF Seminar in beautiful Prague, and I highly recommend you join me there! Zoe Polacik Guide Dogs, Tasmania Australian Guide Dog handler Merran Thurley this year celebrated a huge milestone 50 years of independence, mobility and freedom thanks to the ongoing assistance of Guide Dogs. The 67-year-old from northern Tasmania was born with congenital cataracts and glaucoma and was completely blind by the age of 14. At just 17 years of age, she started training with her first Guide Dog - a big, lovable Golden Retriever called Boyd. As a young woman who was completely new to using a Guide Dog as a mobility tool, Merran was extremely nervous. She had no idea what her future would look like, and she certainly didn t know the impact that this dog would have on her entire life. But like anything new, Merran eventually picked it up, and it was the simple things she could do with Boyd that she got the most satisfaction from. Living in busy Melbourne at the time, things like going out for a lunchtime stroll, meeting friends, or simply buying herself something nice for lunch were all now possible. Boyd was my ticket to independence and freedom, and allowed me to work, travel, go on holidays, meet new people, and simply be able to do the things I wanted. Getting a Guide Dog is like getting your licence to drive a car. It s the same sense of freedom. After Boyd, Merran was hooked on the lifestyle that a Guide Dog provided. Over the next five decades, she welcomed Guide Dogs Tony, Monty, Shannon, Leo, Buffy, Ida and Jacob into her life. With assistance from Guide Dogs Tasmania, she had no more than a month or two between each dog. But as Merran became a more experienced handler, she realised that forming a new partnership with each incoming Guide Dog never actually got any easier. Each dog is different, and the way they handle is different. It s a new situation, a new team, and you ve got to put that team together. I ve always said it takes a good 12 months to put a good team together and to get it to work well. And just as challenging as it s been to start a new partnership, ending one is no different. Earlier this year, it was 10-year-old Ida, a golden Labrador, who hung up her harness for the final time. She had provided Merran with eight years of faithful service and it was time to say goodbye. It s one of the hardest things you ll ever have to do as a Guide Dog handler. The day comes and you have to say Sorry, you can t come anymore. It s often the slight changes in behavior or ability to carry out basic tasks that Merran notices in a dog when their final months of guiding are approaching: It s when things start to tune out a bit and they re getting a bit slower and maybe not hearing or seeing you as well. But each time she s gone through the emotional journey of retiring a Guide Dog, the excitement of starting it all over again was far too tempting. This year, it was Guide Dog Jacob who took over Ida s role, and like all Guide Dogs before him, he s been perfectly matched to suit Merran s current lifestyle. I couldn t believe my luck with him. He s the sort of dog that wants to come along at a stroll rather than a run, which is perfect for my needs now. Looking back at the nervous teenager that she was 50 years ago, Merran knows her life could have turned out totally different if it wasn t for the risk or opportunity, as she now considers it that she d taken with Boyd. If I didn t have a Guide Dog, I think my life would look much different. With a Guide Dog, I can make a decision in the morning to do something, and actually go and do it. If I didn t have a Guide Dog, maybe I wouldn t do it maybe I wouldn t want to. A Guide Dog gives me choice. 10 the Visionary IGDF Issue 37 November 18 11

7 The next deadline for Visionary submissions is 1 st February 2019 Edition 36 July 2018 vi sion ar y (vizh n-eri -erri) adj. 1. Characterised by vision or foresight To Being Assessed Special Feature: New Technologies Please supply your articles as a word file with original images sent separately as jpeg images. Remember to include the completed submission form, along with your article and any pictures you would like to include For the index, please include a one-sentence description of your article. IGDF Seminar 2018 Meet the Accreditation Committee What the Accreditation Committee does and who they are. Hillfields, Burghfield Common, Reading, Berkshire, RG7 3YG, United Kingdom. t +44 (0) f +44 (0) e enquiries@igdf.org.uk Registered in England Company No Registered Charity No