Technical-scientific Congress
Program of the Technical and Scientific Congress of the 11th World Blindness Summit
The following program presents the sessions scheduled for the Technical-Scientific Congress of the World Blindness Summit, which will take place in São Paulo on September 2 and 3, 2025.
In the coming days, more information will be released about other activities such as youth and women’s forums, opening ceremony, World Blindness Summit Connection activities that will take place on September 4 and 5, presentation of academic research in poster format, list of exhibitors at the technology fair, among other attractions.
Please note that all session details, including speakers and times, are subject to change. We encourage attendees to check back regularly and stay flexible, as adjustments can be made to ensure a smooth and successful event.
This program covers only the Scientific Technical Congress of the World Meeting on Visual Impairment; the schedule for the WBU General Assembly, which will take place on September 4 and 5, is contained in a separate program.
September 1, 2025 Schedule
WOMEN’S FORUM – 13:00 – 17:00
Venue: Helen Keller Auditorium
YOUTH FORUM – 13:00 – 17:00.
Venue: Louis Braille Auditorium
OPENING CEREMONY – 18:00 – 20:00.
Table with government authorities and organizers of the 11th World Meeting on Visual Impairment.
Meta Company Presentation
Cultural presentation
Venue: Dorina Nowill Auditorium
September 2, 2025 Schedule
PLENARY SESSION 1: 09:00 – 10:30
Session Number: P1
Venue: Dorina Nowill Auditorium
Session Title: 200 Years of the Braille System – From Slate to Display
Session Moderator: Yaw Ofori Debra
Speakers:
Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame, Ghana; Martine Abel-Williamson, New Zealand – topic to be defined
Regina Fátima Caldeira de Oliveira, Brazil – BRAILLE, YES, because reading is essential!
Frances Gentle, Australia – Braille in the Digital Age: Integration of Tactile Literacy and Artificial Intelligence and Assistive Technologies
Márcia Noronha de Mello, Brazil – The Braille System and the Advancement of Technologies as a Tool for Inclusion
Cultural presentation: 10:30
PLENARY SESSION 2: 11:00 – 12:30
Session Number: P2
Venue: Dorina Nowill Auditorium
Session Title: Humanitarian Emergencies – Ensuring No One Is Left Behind
Session Moderator: Diane Bergeron
Speakers:
Susana Sumelzo – Secretary of State for Ibero-America, the Caribbean and Spanish in the World – topic to be defined.
Diana Stentoft, Denmark – topic to be defined
Ali Tuaima, Palestine – Challenges and Opportunities: The Reality of Visually Impaired People in Gaza Amid Emergencies and Displacement and the Importance of Sustainable Support.
Praveena Sukhraj-Ely, South Africa. – Humanitarian emergencies and environmental disasters: the impact of climate change on visually impaired people and their inclusion in climate actions, mitigation and adaptation strategies.
Olesia Perepechenko, Ukraine – topic to be defined.
Additional speaker to be confirmed.
CONCURRENT SESSIONS – GROUP A: 14:30 – 16:00
Session Number: 1A
Venue: Louis Braille Auditorium
Session Title: Disability Advocacy – Turning Global Commitments into Local Realities
Session Moderator: Tytti Matsinen
Speakers:
Willy Ally Lucas Njau Khamisi Macho, Tanzania – Economic and personal autonomy for blind and low-vision people in developing countries.
Susan Laventure, United States – Capacity Building for Advocacy: Policy Education for Teachers and Parents in the Caribbean.
María Soledad Gelvez, Argentina – Advocacy and Alliance Building: An Opportunity to Strengthen Representativeness and the Defense of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Times of Crisis.
Session Number: 2A
Venue: Adilson Ventura Auditorium
Session Title: Cultural Accessibility as a Right for All
Session Moderator: Sarah Barreto Marques Ribeiro
Speakers:
Ednilson Sacramento, Brazil – The Cultural Experience of the Visually Impaired Through Accessibility Resources.
João Batista Maia da Silva, Brazil – The look beyond vision: the inclusive lens in the Paralympics.
Jung-Suk (Js) Ryu, Canada – Beyond Access: Art as a Rights Advocacy Movement.
Session Number: 3A
Venue: Helen Keller Auditorium
Session Title: Maximizing Inclusion for People with Low Vision
Session Moderator: Professor Dr. Elisabete Gaspareto
Speakers:
Lindalva Carvalho de Morais, Brazil – Epidemiology of visual impairment and prevention actions
Eliana Cunha, Brazil – Low Vision: Different Perspectives.
Karina Eiko Yamashita, Brazil – Visual loss in the first years of life: impact on typical visual development and developmental disorders.
Mariana Lopes Da Silva, Brazil – Inclusion Under the Gaze: The Schooling of Low Vision.
Session Number: 4A
Venue: Dorina Nowill Auditorium
Session Title: Employment for All – Innovation and Diversity in the Global Labour Market (Multi-Regional Challenges of Labour Inclusion)
Session Moderator: Jorge Luis Cala Ledesma
Speakers:
Praveena Sukhraj-Ely, South Africa – Employability of people with visual impairments: “Strategies to expand employment opportunities, equity and inclusion”
Stefan Tromel, Switzerland – Current trends on the employment of persons with disabilities.
National Institute of Public Policies of Spain, Spain – topic to be defined
CONCURRENT SESSIONS – GROUP B: 16:30 – 18:00
Session Number: 1B
Venue: Louis Braille Auditorium
Session Title: Blindness, Intersectionality and Diversity
Session Moderator: Danielle Aparecida Magela de Freitas Silva
Speakers:
Ugwuaneke Calister Chinyere, Nigeria – Gender equity and inclusion.
Walleria Suri, Brazil – The Gender Identity of People with Disabilities.
Jarbas C. C. M. Trindade, Brazil – Necropolitics and Ableism: Necrobodies Between Racialization and Disability.
Akhil S. Paul, India – Visual impairment, intersectionality and diversity.
Session Number: 2B
Venue: Adilson Ventura Auditorium
Session Title: Designing Cities for Everyone
Session Moderator: Thomas Bryan
Speakers:
Mandla Blessing Methula, Eswatini – The Importance of Improving Urban Accessibility for Blind People: The Role of the State.
Merve Sezgin, Germany – The Right to Be Warned: The Incidence of Blind People’s Organizations on UN Vehicle Safety Regulations – A Global Perspective.
Cristal del Rocío Gutiérrez López, Mexico. What does it take to build an accessible city?
Octavio Nicolás Carreño Morán, Brazil – Fare 0 and Urban Mobility: People with Disabilities and the Fundamental Right to Transport.
Session Number: 3B
Venue: Helen Keller Auditorium
Session Title: Health and Visual Impairment
Session Moderator: Cinthia Pereira Freitas
Speakers:
Maria Aparecida Onuki Haddad, Brazil – Technological advances in the ophthalmic approach to vision preservation or visual recovery
Marcus Wilson, Brazil – Visual Function and Visual Functionality
Rodrigo Hideharo Sato, Brazil – Visual impairment and aging
Manjula Rath, India – Human Rights and the Dignity of the Visually Impaired Elderly: What Is the Role of the Family, Society and the State?
Session Number: 4B
Venue: Dorina Nowill Auditorium
Session Title: Successful Experiences and Pathways for Change – Employment Inclusion in Practice
Session Moderator: Marcelo Panico
Speakers:
Tuan Rushdi, Sri Lanka – From training to transformation: a practice-based model of employability for people with disabilities.
Chiranjeevi Paudel, Nepal – Inclusive innovation: Empowering blind people through entrepreneurship and technology in Nepal.
Cristal Vargas, Mexico – Once Foundation’s Agora Program of Solidarity with Blind People in Latin America
September 3, 2025 Schedule
CONCURRENT SESSIONS – GROUP C: 09:00 – 10:30
Session Number: 1C
Venue: Louis Braille Auditorium
Session Title: Nothing About Us Without Us – Active Participation of People with Disabilities
Session Moderator: Moisés Bauer Luiz
Speakers:
Emma Bennison MBA GAICD, Australia – Why Should Blind People Lead Their Organizations?
Helena Rita Pereira, Brazil – Our Predecessors of “Nothing About Us Without Us”.
Hector Miguel Ulloa Asencio, Chile – We will work to leave no one behind.
Edivaldo da Silva Ramos, Brazil – Social participation, a path to citizenship: the visually impaired person in the context of social control.
Session Number: 2C
Venue: Adilson Ventura Auditorium
Session Title: Beyond Barriers – Tech and Innovation
Session Moderator: Robert Christian Mortimer
Speakers:
Jacklyn Doig-Keys, United States – Ray Ban Meta glasses and our work with and for the blind and low vision community.
Thibaut de Martimprey and Stéphane Gaillard, France – The Louis Braille campus: an innovation center for blind & low vision.
Bernardo Barlach, Brazil – How to use Google’s assistive technologies in everyday life.
Elsayed Mohamed Abdelfattah Mohamed, Egypt – Artificial intelligence between fears, opportunities and challenges: in the context of employment, entrepreneurship and economic empowerment for blind people.
Albert Argo, United States – Artificial Intelligence and the Visually Impaired Community: Impacts on the Past, Present, and Future.
Jorge Enrique Muñoz Morales, Colombia – Artificial intelligence and screen readers: an innovative complement.
Session Number: 3C
Venue: Helen Keller Auditorium
Session Title: Orientation and Mobility – Pathways to Autonomy and Independence
Session Moderator: Silvia Andreoci
Speakers:
Gladys Lopera Restrepo, Colombia – “No One Without Rehabilitation”: An Intersectional Strategy for the Inclusion of People with Visual Impairments in Colombia.
Juan Carlos Nicolás, Argentina – Pedagogical Approach to Visual Impairment in the Area of Orientation and Mobility in Native Peoples of the Province of Formosa, Argentina.
Artur Mendonça, Brazil – Overview of Orientation and Mobility today.
Eduardo José Drezza, Brazil – Orientation and mobility for children: when to start?
Session Number: 4C
Venue: Dorina Nowill Auditorium
Session Title: Transforming Systems – Opening Doors in Education
Session Moderator: Frances Gentle
Speakers:
Aqib Rehman, India – The Right to Inclusive Education in the Light of Article 24 of the CRPD: An Autoethnographic Analysis of Higher Education in India.
Ana Lucia Pascali Rago, Brazil – Perkins Model Program Approach – Experience in Brazil.
Silvana Lucena Dos Santos Drago, Brazil – School for All: From Intention to Intentionality – Management, Challenges and Possibilities in the Construction of the Inclusive School
Cultural presentation: 10:30 a.m.
Location: Main Hall .
CONCURRENT SESSIONS – GROUP D: 11:00 – 12:30
Session Number: 1D
Venue: Louis Braille Auditorium
Session Title: Diverse Realities – Blindness and Additional Disabilities
Session Moderator: Charles Mossop
Speakers:
Joyce Guerra, Brazil – Intersections Between ADHD and Visual Impairment – Practical Alternatives
Delia Góngora, Argentina – Post-Graduation in Teaching Students with Deaf-Blindness: Intersectoral Experience as a Starting Point to Combat Inequality.
Cecília Vasconcellos, Brazil – Autism Spectrum Disorder and Visual Impairment
Dr. Maria Aparecida Cormedi, Brazil – Visual impairment beyond the eyes: cortical and cerebral alterations and rare syndromes, from evaluation to intervention.
Session Number: 2D
Venue: Adilson Ventura Auditorium
Session Title: Audio Description – Bringing the Visual World to Life Through Words
Session Moderator: Dr. Francisco Lima
Speakers:
Felipe Vieira Monteiro, Brazil – Audio description for musical events.
Lívia Maria Villela de Mello Motta, Brazil – 20 years of audio description in Brazil – advances and achievements
Joel Snyder, PhD, USA – Audio description, a global phenomenon.
Mara Rubian Matteussi Garcia Kortelt and Luana Tillmann, Brazil – Cultural Street Parades: Perceptions Beyond the Application of Audio Description Guidelines
Session Number: 3D
Local: Helen Keller
Session Title: The Power of sport – Celebrating Paralympic Spirit
Session Moderator: Fernando Riaño
Speakers:
Olga Martínez Vargas, Mexico – Workshop on Functional Classification and Classification of Visual Impairment – In support of the International Paralympic Committee.
Théo Liffaud, France – More Than a Game: Blind Football for Empowerment and Inclusion.
Jorge Sidnei De Andrade, Brazil – Takkyu Volley as an Integrated Tool for Inclusion, Rehabilitation and Well-Being
Additional speakers to be confirmed.
Session Number: 4D
Venue: Dorina Nowill Auditorium
Session Title: From Access to Success – Supporting every learner
Session Moderator: Diana Stentoft
Speakers:
Dr. Shawn Sweet Piantoni, The Netherlands – Triggering Influence: How Networks Drive Inclusive Education.
Emily H. White, Phd, Australia – The expertise of teachers and users of Braille as sources of knowledge to achieve effective Braille literacy.
Ms. Regina Zilevu, Ghana – Promoting Inclusive Education and Early Intervention for Visually Impaired Students in Ghana: The Role of Alternative Access Modalities.
Ntiranyibagira Daniel, Burundi – Inclusive education and early intervention.
SIMULTANEOUS SESSIONS – GROUP E: 14:30 – 16:00
Session Number: 1E
Venue: Louis Braille Auditorium
Session Title: Everyone on the Same Page – Strategies for Implementing and Enforcing the Marrakesh Treaty
Session Moderator: Penny Hartin
Speakers:
Pablo Lecuona, Argentina – Implementing the Marrakech Treaty for Spanish-speaking readers: the practical experience of the Tiflolibros Library and the online exchange.
Michele Woods and Mohammad Alhabbal – Making the Promise of WIPO’s Marrakesh Treaty a Reality: Strategies for Supporting WIPO Member States in Joining and Implementing the Treaty
Richard Orme, United Kingdom – Topic to be defined
Additional Speakers to Be Confirmed
Session Number: 2E
Venue: Adilson Ventura Auditorium
Session Title: Digital Access for All – Creating Inclusive Information Spaces
Session Moderator: Simone Freire
Speakers:
Marc Workman, Canada – From Global Commitments to Local Change: Using the Global Digital Compact as an Advocacy Tool
Flavio Correia, Brazil – Brazilian Digital Accessibility Standards – Success Stories for the World
Laura Lemura, Argentina – Accessible communication, technologies and accessibility on the web: the pillars for the full citizen participation of people with disabilities.
James Boreham, Australia – NVDA, A Global and Resilient Movement: Community-Driven Access to Digital Inclusion.
Mariana Cristina Gonçalves Pinheiro, Brazil – Much More Than a Consumer Relationship, a Question of Citizenship: The Civil Liability of Streaming Platforms in the Face of the Absence of Accessibility Resources
Session Number: 3E
Venue: Helen Keller Auditorium
Session Title: Advancing Tactile Reading and Empowerment
Session Moderator: Santosh Kumar Rungta
Speakers:
Hilda Laura Vázquez Villanueva, Mexico – “From braille to bit”: the evolution of access to information for people with visual impairments.
Aristóteles Meneses Lima, Brazil – Braille 200 years: the code of autonomy that now also reads and writes colors
Anne Lancaster, United States – Building the Braille Road of the Future: The Monarch and the Braille Revolution.
Dadi Abera Reta, Ethiopia – Braille literacy.
Session Number: 4E
Venue: Dorina Nowill Auditorium
Session Title: Growing up Without Limits – Blindness in Childhood and Adolescence
Session Moderator: Eliana Maria Ormelezi
Speakers:
Beto Pereira and Artur de Mari, Brazil – The participation and protagonism of blind and low-vision children and adolescents in organizations and instances of social participation.
Marilda Moraes Garcia Bruno, Brazil – Early Intervention: Moment of Interaction and Communication.
Maria Fernanda Rojas Montenegro, Peru – From the Looking: Childhood with Visual Impairment and Families.
Lucía Santos, Dominican Republic – Narratives that illuminate: family, human rights and the construction of an affective autonomy in the context of visual impairment.
PLENARY SESSION 3: 16:30 – 18:00
Session Number: P3
Venue: Dorina Nowill Auditorium
Session Title: The Future of the Global Blindness Movement
Session Moderator: Martine Abel-Williamson
Speakers:
Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame, Gana
Ana Peláez Narváez, Spain
Rosario Galarza, Peru