Title
Canadian National Institute for the Blind, Memories, Voices and Technological Futures, 1918-2016
Main text
The Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) was an organization founded in 1918 for the purpose of providing technical, educational and social supports for people who were blind or partially sighted. It continues to this day and plays a fundamental role in helping people navigate a world in which sight is privileged. The CNIB was the product of long-standing activism on the part of people who were blind or partially sighted. Over the years, CNIB volunteers, like Howie Knapman, have trained others on how to operate and even repair technologies that enabled people to communicate, gain employment and live independently. Today, front-line workers, like Robert Bender, Leona Emberson and Richard Marsolais, continue this legacy.
Image description: Image of CNIB Dictaphone Pool in Toronto (c.1930s) embedded in the text. To the right of the text are images of Robert Bender, Richard Marsolais, Leona Emberson, as well as a photograph of Emberson using a slate and stylus, photographed at the Ottawa office of the CNIB.