Maryanne Diamond declared President of the World Blind Union
20 August 2008
Vision Australia is thrilled to announce that Maryanne Diamond has been declared President of the World Blind Union for the next four years.
Maryanne is a client and staff member of Vision Australia and was a founding member of the Vision Australia Board following five years on the Board of the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind (RVIB). Maryanne also spent four years as Executive Officer of Blind Citizens Australia.
Before joining Vision Australia as Manager, International Development, Maryanne held the office of CEO of the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO), which is the national peak body of disability consumer organisations. In this position, Maryanne established close ties with the broader welfare and disability sectors and other blindness organisations, as well as Government departments and representatives.
The objective of the World Blind Union and its member organisations is to represent the interests of blind and partially sighted people, to improve the awareness of issues concerning blind and partially sighted people and to develop strategies to solve the problems on a social as well as on political level.
Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities Bill Shorten offered the Government's heartfelt congratulations to Ms Diamond and also announced $350,000 over four years to support Ms Diamond in her role as World Blind Union President.
"Maryanne is a remarkable Australian," Mr Shorten said. "She is a totally blind mother of four and her election is testimony to the incredible impact she has made in the advocacy of blind and vision impaired people over the past decade.
"Her journey is an inspiration not only to people with disability but to Australian women with aspirations to senior executive and leadership positions.
"Maryanne is highly regarded in the disability sector, both nationally and internationally, and her elevation to this post is a magnificent achievement."
Ms Diamond becomes the second Australian to hold the World Blind Union's top post, following David Blyth from 1992 to 1996.
With Maryanne's appointment of President of the World Blind Union, Vision Australia look to strengthening international relationships to improve our capacity to deliver high quality services to people who are blind or have low vision.
Congratulations Maryanne!