The Things We Miss | Part III

Welcome to the third edition of “The Things We Miss”, a column where I share audio descriptions of interesting sculpture or structures, or anything noteworthy. Usually, as a blind person, I miss interesting features simply because I don’t see them or someone hasn’t mentioned or described the thing to me. However last year in April READ MORE

The Things We Miss | Part II

After my last blog-post about the ‘Perceiving freedom’  sunglasses  sculpture at Sea Point I have been scratching my head furiously about what to write about next. I have so many  ideas and recent experiences of interesting  installations  and events that I am spoiled for choice. But, as so often happens, inspiration came to me quite READ MORE

The Things We Miss | The Wonders of Audio Description

“Wow! Look at that,” my wife says. “Look at what?” I say, expecting some sort of explanation of a visual image. “There is a guy hanging off the sunglasses!” Wait… what! Sunglasses! “What do you mean he is hanging off the sunglasses?” “You know,” she says. “The sunglasses sculpture.” “No, I don’t know,” I say. READ MORE

Lest We Forget

October is not just Mental Health Month. October is also Life Esidimeni Month. Let us hope it is Accountability Month, as well. It is now three months since Judge Teffo’s ruling that criminal charges be brought against, among others, Qedani Mahlangu, the former Gauteng Health MEC, and Dr Makgabo Manamela. The Timeline In October 2015 READ MORE

Understanding the Trajectory of Visual Impairment in the Workplace

In this webinar, Jeremy dialogues with long-time  friend and colleague, Dr Michelle Botha, about the complexities of incremental vision loss while being employed. Since both Jeremy and Michelle have significant visual-impairment, they dialogue in an entertaining and anecdotal style, providing insight into challenges and opportunities for both the employee and the employer, and highlight many READ MORE

The Travel-Chain for Visually Impaired Persons

In this webinar, Jeremy  discusses an example of the travel chain for a person with a visual impairment. Using his guide dog, and following the route from his home to the local railway station, Jeremy covers in detail the various obstacles and good access features of the journey. Using his considerable technical knowledge of access issues READ MORE

Perspectives on Employing Persons with Disabilities (4/4)

In this fourth and final episode, Jeremy speaks about how employers need to be more strategic about employing people with disabilities if they wish to succeed. In the previous three episodes Jeremy outlined the importance of seeing disability inclusion in perspective, taking into account three views; the legislative view, the human rights view and the READ MORE

But why should we make the hotel accessible?

In my last Perspectives on the Employment of Persons with Disabilities 3/4 blog which featured the podcast produced by Lois Strachan, and I discuss the business case, I mentioned a favourite cartoon  which I think encapsulates the whole business case argument beautifully. Believe it or not, this cartoon was commissioned by me after this incident really READ MORE

Perspectives on employing Persons with Disabilities (3/4)

The business case view Jeremy continues on his theme that if employers wish to take  disability employment seriously then a perspective view is necessary. In this third of four podcasts produced by Lois Strachan, Jeremy Opperman explores the business case  for disability inclusion as the third part of his  trinocular view model. Moving away from  READ MORE