World Sight Day 2016 by Holly Hoogvliet

How do you see the world?

Our Occupational Therapy students planned activities to recognize World Sight Day in Dunedin on 13 October 2016.

People with low vision have a visual impairment that cannot be corrected by lenses. There are approximately 180,000 people with low vision in New Zealand, and World Sight Day was an opportunity to show how visually impaired people see the world.

The Occupational Therapy students designed a range of public activities for the Octagon which were implemented with support from the Dunedin City Council, Fulton Hogan, the Otago Daily Times, Mobility Scooters, and Countdown. Eight teams of four people each participated in a low vision challenge, wearing goggles that had been altered by Design students to simulate low vision. The challenge consisted of a mobility scooter obstacle course and a range of everyday activities for example taking a selfie, mixing powdered soft drink, and playing games. Passersby were interested to watch what was happening and some individuals participated in the activities too.

As well as improving understanding of the plight of people with low vision, lecturer Mary Butler hopes that increased awareness will help the Visual Impairment Charitable Trust Aotearoa (VICTA) increase government funding for services to help the visually impaired. Only about 7% of people with low vision in New Zealand are entitled to access the resources of the Blind Foundation.