Summer break – See you in September!
Dear community members,
With summer just around the corner, we wanted to let you know that activities and news updates will be on hold during July and August. This break will allow us to come back stronger in the fall.
We would like to express our sincere thanks for your commitment throughout the year. Your contributions and participation are what make our community thrive. We look forward to seeing you in September for a new season of discussion, innovation, and shared inspiration.
We wish you a restful summer filled with wonderful moments and discoveries.
See you soon,
The Coordination Team
Improvements to the user experience on the web platform
The web platform for your community of practice sometimes experiences instability that affects your user experience. To remedy this situation, we are planning to change hosting sites.
The goal of this change is to improve reliability, facilitate email delivery, and expand the platform’s functionality to better meet your current and future needs. We will keep you informed of the progress of the work over the coming months.
Thank you for your understanding and continued commitment to your community.
World Deafblind Day: Yarn Bombing more inclusive than ever!
June 27 marks World Deafblind Day, an international event aimed at raising awareness of dual sensory impairment. This year, Deafblind International (DBI), the organization behind the initiative, is announcing an important change: the famous urban knitting activity known as “Yarn Bombing” is giving way to a new, more inclusive and creative campaign called “Create & Connect.”
Until now, urban knitting, a collective artistic activity that involved decorating public spaces with knitted or crocheted creations, has been the symbol of this day. While this remains a possible option, DBI is now proposing to broaden the forms of artistic expression in order to reach a wider audience and promote inclusion.
The international organization encourages individuals, organizations, allies, and supporters to share creative initiatives of their choice. Among the artistic expressions proposed are tactile art, cooking, knitting, and dance. This evolution aims to strengthen the reach of World Deafblind Day by promoting creativity in all its forms and offering greater freedom of expression to those affected.
It’s a wonderful way to celebrate human richness, connect communities, and continue to make the voices of people living with deafblindness heard. Share your creations on social media with the hashtag #Create&Connect!
DeafBlind Ontario Services (DBOS)
Offers interesting online events. These events are open to everyone, but there is a fee to participate.
Here are links to upcoming events:
- June 9, 2025—Sensory Integration: Making Sense of Sensory Engagement—https://sensory-integration-June2025.eventbrite.ca
- July 14, 2025- Sensory Loss and Aging- https://sensory-loss-and-aging-July2025.eventbrite.ca
- Sept 15, 2025- Communication 101: Bridging the Gap- https://Communication_101_Sept2025.eventbrite.ca
- Oct 28, 2025- The Enriched Communication Approach Journey- https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-enriched-communication-approach-journey-tickets-1307170505169
- Nov 6, 2025- Sensory Integration: Making Sensory Engagement Meaningful- https://sensory-integration-nov2025.eventbrite.ca
- Nov 27, 2025- Personality Dimensions- https://Personality-Dimensions-Nov2025.eventbrite.ca
- Dec 8, 2025- Introduction to Sensory Loss- https://intro-to-sensory-loss-Dec2025.eventbrite.ca
The Trans Canada Trail: a more equitable experience
In recognition of National Deafblind Awareness Month, we would like to highlight the efforts of Trans Canada Trail administrators and their partners to improve inclusive access to the trail. Efforts have been made to promote the full participation of people with visual impairments or deafblindness in outdoor recreation. The Trans Canada Trail crosses Canada and is the longest multi-use trail network in the world.
People with visual impairments can now explore part of the Trail in Victoria, British Columbia, with greater independence and confidence through the use of assistive technologies. Audio information provides the location of many new features, such as benches, picnic tables, trash cans, toilets, and dog bag dispensers. Cultural and historical information and nature interpretation are also shared. The conditions are now in place to make the user experience much more complete, safe, and equitable.
We can now hope for this level of accessibility along the entire length of the Trans Canada Trail, including the Quebec section.
Trans Canada Trail: www.sentier.ca