INEW has developed an interinstitutional cooperation agreement with the ONCE Foundation for Solidarity with the Blind in Latin America (FOAL for its Spanish acronym) and the Latin American Blind Union (ULAC for its Spanish acronym).

The agreement was signed by representatives of the three organizations involved. The objective is to design and implement collaborative actions that improve the quality of life, education, and social inclusion for people with visual impairments in Latin America in the
following areas:

• Training aimed at inclusion in the labor market
• Access to information and communication technologies
• Raising awareness in government organizations and society as a whole in Latin America around the rights of people with visual impairments
• Improving public policies affecting this collective population

This also includes a commitment to gender equality and attention to vulnerable groups such as indigenous peoples, the displaced, and migrants, among others, while maintaining the focus of both ULAC and FOAL of working for people with visual impairments in Latin America. The ONCE

Foundation for Solidarity with the Blind in Latin America (FOAL)

FOAL is an organization founded in 1998 through an initiative by the National Organization of the Blind in Spain (ONCE for its Spanish acronym), and works to promote the full educational, social, and professional inclusion of people who are blind or low vision in Latin America.

Its primary objective is to contribute to the full enjoyment of human rights and fundamental liberties, in conditions of equality, through instruments of international cooperation for development and based upon the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Both promote the attainment of personal autonomy, full social inclusion, citizenship rights, equal opportunities without discrimination, and the minimization of the impact of blindness or visual impairments for those affected.

The Latin American Blind Union (ULAC)

ULAC was founded on November 15, 1985, as a non-governmental and nonprofit international organization. It was founded for an indefinite period and its working area of action is Latin America. Its headquarters are in the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, where the Technical Office is also located.
ULAC’s mission is to be a political-technical organization dedicated to defending the interests and rights of the blind and visually impaired, as well as their related organizations, acting with political autonomy and sustainability as a representative before governments and international organizations.

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