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In Albinism
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C. Gail SummersLeading international medical professionals will reveal the latest developments on surgery and genetics to the Albinism Fellowship of Australia national conference in Sydney this weekend.

For the first time, guest speakers from the US, including eye specialist Professor Gail Summers and geneticist Dr Murray Brilliant will attend the biennial conference, to share their experience and insights.

Gail Summers, MD, is Professor from the Departments of Ophthalmology and Visual Neurosciences, and Pediatrics Minnesota Lions Children's Eye Clinic.  Murray Brilliant, PhD, Senior Scientist, is the Director at the Center for Human Genetics at the Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation.

Both are deeply interested in albinism in which a person - an albino - cannot produce the pigment melanin, so they typically have fair skin and hair and a visual impairment, often reading in the ‘legally blind’ category. 

More than 230 people are expected at the Albinism Fellowship of Australia national conference with runs from October 11-13. The event attracts people with albinism, their families and friends, medical and ophthalmic professionals from throughout Australia as well as NZ, Fiji, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria and the US.

Albinism Fellowship President Elizabeth Beales said this expert input into the weekend was highly anticipated. “This level of knowledge is of immeasurable value to the people attending,” she said.

“While albinism results in a visual loss which places most albinos in the legally blind category, there’s no medical intervention or surgery which can “fix” the vision, even with prescription glasses. While the retina and visual pathways are affected in-utero, medical procedures can sometimes provide ease or comfort to the muscles controlling the eyes, although the vision itself is not correctable.”

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In Pottinger
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Cassandra KellyPottinger Joint CEO Cassandra Kelly has called on board quotas for women so Australia can embrace diversity and boost productivity to deal with its current economic challenges.

In an address to a Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) conference last week, Ms. Kelly said Australia needed to focus on more than primary resources to underpin its long-term economic and social prosperity. Other pillars of strength could include financial services, agriculture, education, inbound tourism, and innovation and technology.

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In Denise Goodfellow
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Bo Boelens aka The Fat BirderWorld-famous birdwatcher, Bo Beolens, aka the Fat Birder, will call for more accessible nature reserves when he presents via podcast at a Darwin workshop that aims to improve wildlife tourism in the NT.

The British birder is renowned for championing the challenges faced by disabled birdwatchers and others who try to find a suitable birding tour or access a nature reserve.

Mr. Beolens, who suffers from Ankylosing Spondylitis, a crippling arthritis of the spine, said nature reserves and birding trips offered few concessions to the average person, let alone those with restrictions on their mobility. “It occurred to me this is because the majority of (those in the business) are six-feet tall, fit and able young men,” he said.

“I always liken such provision to the shoe trade. If the only shoes made were size 10 all-weather boots, those wanting size five pink stilettos would be sadly disappointed. Most of us are not fit and able six-footers, so viewing slots need to be at variable heights; not everyone can walk a mile non-stop so we, just like the birds need a perch every 150 yards or so.

“I wanted nature to be more accessible. I wanted the designers to go back to the drawing board and make sure that the provisions they make for human access more friendly to all.”

Organised by Wildlife Tourism Australia and to be opened by NT Administrator the Honourable Sally Thomas AM, the October 2-4 workshop will examine the problems, potential and possibilities of connecting wildlife and visitors in the Top End.

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