Our work.
About Wales Council of the Blind
"I have found all my contacts with WCB over the years to be so useful and professional." - Rehabilitation Officer for VI.
Wales Council of the Blind is the umbrella agency representing vision impairment within Wales. We work to campaign, lobby and support the improvement of services for people with sight loss. WCB provides a platform vision impaired people to raise their concerns and wishes.
WCB's Articles of Association sets out a way of letting their members contribute to setting priorities and work streams. An important part of the new structure is the creation of Regional Steering Groups to inform WCB's work. The four new Regional Steering Groups will be established across Wales, covering North, West, South East and South Central.
Each group intends to offer a platform for local clubs, charities, statutory services and people with sight loss to get together and contribute to directing the work and resources of WCB. It's likely that priorities may vary from region to region, and we want that to be reflected in the work of WCB.
WCB's Board of Trustees will include four representatives - one nominated from each of the four regional steering groups - to bring the views of the regions to the table.
What does Wales Council of the Blind do?
- We work to assist the Welsh Government by participating in and facilitating consultation
- keep in touch with what is happening in every area in Wales and in the U.K.
- We highlight examples of good practice and distribute this to the eyecare sector through our SYLW newsletter, e-bulletins, quarterly 'Round-Up' Magazine, and our professional networks
- bring people together to exchange information and ideas
- identify gaps in provision
- encourage the development of new services where necessary
- support and assist other agencies to provide a good service
- represent v.i. within Wales and at an all-Wales level
- represent v.i. in Wales at a U.K. level
Latest WCB news.
Deadline extended: WCB seeks a Sight Loss Council Engagement Manager
For this role, we are seeking a Sight Loss Engagement Manager who is blind or partially sighted with the ability to use their experience to be an effective voice to improve the lives of people with sight loss and create effective change in Wales. The dealine for applications has been extended to 16th May.
For more information, visit: Job Advert
Disabled People’s Rights plan for Wales
The Welsh Government will shortly be consulting on a draft Disabled People’s Rights plan for Wales.
This plan, based on the work of the Disability Rights Taskforce, sets out their cross-government 10-year ambition and the long-term outcomes they are working towards to ensure disabled people can flourish as equal members of Welsh society, and to challenge discrimination and prejudice. A Taskforce worked together to develop the recommendations which informed this plan. Disabled people were active partners in the Taskforce’s process, sharing insights and lived experiences, which have shaped actions to address disabled people’s rights and dismantle existing barriers.
They now want to encourage all members of the public, in particular disabled people and stakeholders, to take part in the consultation. Your input is essential to improving the Disabled People’s Rights Plan, making sure it meets the needs and goals of disabled people.
Wales Council of the Blind will be working with its members to hold a series of workshops on this – if you would be interested in taking part, please contact bec@wcb-ccd.org.uk.
Save the Date - Wales Eyecare Conference 2025
The annual Wales Eyecare Conference 2025 will be held on Thursday 6th November at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.
Further details will provided later. For information about previous conferences, click the 'Eyecare Conference' tab at the top of this screen.
Wales Council of the Blind to cease use of X
Wales Council of the Blind will no longer post on X (formerly Twitter).
To continue receiving news from across the sight loss sector in Wales, please sign up here for our weekly ebulletin Sylw, You can also follow us on Facebook, Threads and Instagram @walesblind. Any organisations who want us to promote their activities should email bec@wcb-ccd.org.uk.
Eye Connect Cymru project to give vision impaired children and young people a voice.
Wales Council of the Blind will be working with the Royal Society for Blind Children (RSBC) and the Council for Wales of Voluntary Youth Services (CWVYS) to deliver a new National Lottery-funded project 'Eye Connect Cymru'.
Eye Connect Cymru is designed to connect visually impaired children and young people (CYP) and give them a voice in their community. The project plans to achieve this in various ways, such as providing emotional well-being support, group support, practical referrals to professionals, family/CYP one-to-one online sessions, and ensuring that more children/youth-focused organisations are VI-inclusive. We will provide more information on the project as it develops.
Perspectif Social: New project to tackle loneliness
Perspectif Social is a new project to tackle loneliness in people with vision impairment.
Loneliness is associated with depression, sleep disturbance, and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. It is identified as a global public health problem. Living with a vision impairment increases a person’s risk of loneliness and isolation. However, increased social interaction through signposting such as social prescribing is helpful in alleviating loneliness and isolation.
Wales Council of the Blind (WCB) is working with Rebecca John, National Wales General Ophthalmic Services (WGOS) Clinical Lead, in a Vision Foundation-funded project to develop a toolset for Low Vision practitioners for signposting patients to support using our Perspectif Information Portal. We shall be seeking members of a review panel for the project and also service users to interview.
If you would like to know more, contact WCB on 02920 473 954 or email owen@wcb-ccd.org.uk .