The OSB International Program emphasizes the use of assistive technology to expand education and employment opportunities for persons with visual impairment worldwide.

The Eastern European Network on Access Technology for Blind and Visually Impaired Persons (EENAT), was OSB's first international outreach project. With funding from the Soros Foundation, it was launched in 1996 in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovak Republic and expanded to Estonia, Latvia, and Romania in 1999. This project provided national and regional trainings, training materials and equipment, established an online Discussion List, created a series of publications and a regional conference. Over 5,000 individuals benefited from the project. 

Following the success of EENAT, OSB launched the Overbrook-Nippon Network on Educational Technology (ON-NET) in 1998 in Thailand and soon expanded it to Malaysia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Laos. Thanks to an endowment from the Nippon Foundation, Myanmar officially joined ON-NET in 2004.

ON-NET has teamed with local partners to tackle local, national, and regional needs in education and employment in coordination with the Regional Advisory Committee (RAC). Projects include training sessions at established educational centers, employment assistance for persons with visual impairment, and the development of products for the visually impaired, such as Braille translation software. Today, ON-NET is very active in Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

The Overbrook China Initiative (OCI) was established at the request of Chinese partners, and funds came from the former John Milton Society for the Blind. This project was completed in 3 phases. The first phase (2005-2010) brought together nine schools for the blind who shared information through annual workshops and established an online Discussion List. The second phase (2010-2015) paired the schools with an educational partner which hosted school-wide training and webinars on assistive technology. The third phase (2015-2016) concluded back here at home with short-term study-tours for teachers (4 weeks) and administrators (2 weeks). In total, the OCI project carried out a total of seven annual workshops, ten school-wide trainings, 15 webinars, and a Low Vision training with over 800 participants including teachers, parents, students, and medical professionals.

The OSB International Program has collaborated extensively with the International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI). As partners, we've published a book entitled, “Mathematics Made Easy” that you can download with this link; a TTS/screen-reader in Burmese; and a project on “Capacity Building on Math Teaching for Blind Students” in Indonesia.

The International Program has been an integral part of the OSB since 1985. It started as a 10-month, on-campus program and gradually transformed into an international outreach program. From 1985 to 1999, the on-campus International program provided training in Access Technology, English, Orientation and Mobility, Public Speaking, Social Skills, and Leadership Development to over 300 individuals from over 40 countries.

The OSB International Program has made a difference and will continue to bring equality and opportunity to students with visual impairments in underdeveloped nations.

For more information, please contact Wenru Niu, International Program Coordinator.