Hi & welcome. You've reached the Summer 2011
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To all our website guests, we're glad you've stopped by this website, and we hope that you enjoy your visit here. TAFN - The Accessible Friends Network - is a small but growing independent national charity with over 90% blind members that aims to make the internet a friendlier & more enabling place for all blind & visually impaired people.
Despite our being spread out geographically, thanks to the internet through teamwork and online volunteering we have been able to ensure that a whole hub of activities and support is available to blind people via their own home computer, courtesy of their peers. We actively promote independence for blind & V I people and we have great fun doing it! Here are details of just some of the latest things happening:-
On Saturday 14th January TAFN did a presentation at BETT in the Special Needs Zone Lecture Threatre.
The presentation was called "Using Accessible VoIP to provide innovative training to visually impaired students". Click here to find out more
Congratulations to Shirley whose tireless voluntary work and good will has made a huge difference to TAFN.
Previous winners of this prestigious trophy include Peter Hallam in 2009, and Paul Weston in 2008.
We're pleased to announce that the TAFN CAMEO (short for Come And Meet Every One) weekend 2010 was a huge success. This was the second ever such weekend and we met together at a hotel in Yorkshire this year for what was a very special get-together for all. We wiill be updating our website with news from the weekend soon. In the mean time please contact us if you have any enquiries.
As of March 2010 we are please to announce that TAFN has become and official Microsoft Britain Works NGO programme partner. What this means is that our members are able to take part in MS accredited computer training with a vocational flavour, i.e. aiming towards work. We are pleased about this partnership which should lead to more computer skills qualifications to our members!
The training is accessible to blind students, and initial subjects available include The Internet and World Wide Web, Computer Security and Privacy, Productivity Programmes and Digital Lifestyles. For further information please contact our computer skills trainer via email.
We are pleased to announce that TAFN exhibited in the main hall at Sight Village London, a major event for blind people, held at Kensington Town Hall on November 11th.
TAFN Co-founder Leon Gilbert along with Jacqui G and Brian C, both with their guide dogs, manned the stall for the day, and people visiting our stand were able to have all their questions answered as well as take part in a live demonstration of our Voice Chat technology. A number of TAFN members attended virtually from various home locations, not only across the UK but also The Netherlands, Australia and South Africa. Online events were also organised on the server by TAFN event hosts, to ensure that visitors to the conference got a good taster of what goes on at TAFN.
We had some very positive feedback from this experience, and all of our publicity materials were taken away, either by blind people or those people that support them such as mobility officers and sensory services team workers. A number of people got to talk to TAFN members via a laptop connected live over the internet to our voice server, and they all enjoyed this.
Thanks to all the volunteers who helped and everyone who visited our stand at the show. This was only the second time we have gone live from a V I Conference and we hope to do this even more during 2010!
Our first ever CAMEO weekend, was a rip-roaring success and everyone who attended had a fantastic time. CAMEO is an abbreviation for Come And Meet Every One, and the the event was held at a 5 star hotel in Leicestershire with around 50 TAFN members present. Our special thanks to the hard work of the organisers and volunteers, who all helped to ensure that this historical and pioneering occasion went well. Especially Bob Whiteside, our former Vice Chairman whom all at TAFN have wished a happy retirement.
Such a fantastic time was had by all at CAMEO that everyone is already talking about when, we can do this exciting event again! More pictures, and sound recordings from this event-to-be-remembered will be available in the Members Area of this website soon.
Our members area contains member profiles, postcards from members on their travels, private audio & more.
Find out more about TAFN membership
UPDATE: The Accessible Friends Network is planning another CAMEO Weekend, for July 2010. Please contact cameo@tafn.org.uk for further information.
There is a free accessible Golf Game made by Kitchens Inc, which TAFN members have recently started to play in a big way. It is easy to learn, compatible with all screen readers and combined with our high quality VoIP server, members are able to play live against eachother online, sharing the same course hole by hole and listening to eachothers shots. The popularity of this game led to our first Golf League in Summer of last year which was won by Ian McNamara from Sutton Coldfield. The first league of 2009 was won by John Hinchliffe from Yorkshire, and a new league is currently being played in Winter 2009.
Almost every day there are several TTS Golf players on our server, battling it out against eachother - and of course having lots of fun at the same time! For more information, including help files to get you started, free downloads, league scores, audio & more, visit our golf pages at www.tafn.org.uk/golf
You will have to be a member of our VIP Communicator server, but that's free and easy to set up. The main things you need are a PC running Windows XP or Vista with a broadband connection and microphone. For more information please send an email to the address below and we'll get back to you and let you know what you need to do. Or call the TAFN helpline on 0845 838 2369 during UK office hours.
Please note, the VIP Communicator client program cannot be tested without you signing up for a free 1 month guest account minimum.
Come join people from all over the world for fun and games on a Friday night. What better way to start the weekend? We hope to see you soon!!!
Click here to go to the quiz page or Click here to Email the Quiz organisers Chris & Teresa.
Various members of the accessible friends network, have made it into the news for different reasons, in the past. As the number of incidences of this has grown, we've now made a special page on which we feature them all.
Visit the 2009 TAFN "Members in the News" page
Leon Gilbert and The Accessible Friends Network, won the IT4 Communities "Best Accessible IT Project" 2007 award in late November. Congratulations!
Find out more about the I T4C award
Jim Welch had an excellent article
published in the Northern Echo in July 2006. Click here to
Watch
the online video, called
"Blind, but with the world at his fingertips".
BBC Radio Humberside interviewed the late Chris Cant about TAFN on 8th April 2005. Sue Palletts v i cookery guide "Sues Kitchen" (a part of the TAFN website) was featured on BBC In Touch on 19th April 2005. And Steve Pallett did a phone interview with Soundings Magazine, in August 2005.
"TAFN on Soundings Magazine" interview (6:56)
BBC Radio Humberside interview, with the late Chris Cant (10:49)
BBC In Touch programme, which featured Sue's Kitchen (18:48)
Our thanks to all Accessible Friends Volunteers, for their hard work.
As from 1st January 2006 TAFN has got a new web shop, where people can shop online from a choice of over 90 major retailers, and through various offers & promotions earn money for The Accessible Friends Network at the same time! Please tell your friends about it! The address is www.buy.at/tafn
(TAFN is a UK Registered Charity, No 1108043. Over 90% of our members are registered blind people, and 100% of every donation, no matter how small, goes directly to help with our running costs. We have no paid staff).
Click here to visit the brand new TAFN web shop!
Ted O'Dwyer, a much loved TAFN member from East London, sadly passed away in December 2009. The funeral will be on 9th February, and we would like to extend our sincerest condolences to Ted's family and friends.
Bill Cox, an early TAFN member, from Norfolk has sadly passed away in November 2008. Our sincerest condolences to Bill's friends and family.
Ann Flynn, one of our members recently lost her husband Mick. We set up a tribute and eulogy page here.
Geoff Grant, who was a pioneering volunteer and former Treasurer of TAFN, sadly left this world in May 2007. Click here to visit our Geoff Grant tribute page, with condolences book
Click here to visit the all new TAFN memorial page, where we honour all of the members who are no longer with us.
Anyone with TAFN mailing list enquiries, please e-mail our Secretary for information and/or assistance.
If you are not already a TAFN Communicator Voice Chat server user but would like to be, instructions & details are available on our Voice Conferencing page. To request a user ID and password, please use the link on this page to fill out an application form, a FREE 1 month trial is currently available to all blind or visually impaired people over the age of 18, internationals included.
Thank you and look forward to meeting you.
Audrey Tonge
TAFN Chairperson.
On our Voice Conferencing server there's a dedicated room where we hold TAFN members meetings on the second Sunday of each month at 3.00pm. Meetings are minuted and members and friends get to catch up with what TAFN has been up to, as well as have a say in it's future! For further details please contact us.
Find out more about membership of the Accessible Friends Network
There's so much happening within and across TAFN nowadays that's it's a constant challenge keeping our website up to date with it all. We're always adding new stuff, so guests please do come back and remember to refresh the page! Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this site so far. This is TAFN's space on the web, and you're welcome to have anything you want put on here, just email it over anytime. We welcome audio clips, technical tips, game reviews, written pieces, jokes, or even pictures. Anything you think that other v i p's & website visitors may like or find useful! Thanks again to all the contributors so far, it's you each doing your bit that's made this network of ours the great place that it is. TAFN Webmaster Leon Gilbert
Our 7th Annual General Meeting was held in Watford, Hertfordshire the home of elected chairperson Paul Weston. The new executive committee comprises of:-
Our special thanks to former trustees of The Accessible Friends Network including Audrey Tonge (Secretary 2004-2006 and Chairperson 2007 to 2010), Billy Whitcombe (memberships administrator 2010), Lee Garrett (vice chairman 2008-9) Robert Whiteside (vice chairman 2006-2008) Steve Pallett (co-Founder & vice chairman 2004-5 ), the late Geoff Grant (Treasurer), and the late Chris Cant (founding chairman) who have now retired from the committee, for their hard work and dedication. The work of these volunteers has been foundational.
TAFN first started in 2003 and our latest Annual Report, is available on request.
TAFN - The Accessible Friends Network - is a U K-wide voluntary group set up to improve the quality of life by and for blind & visually impaired people and their partners, via internet voice conferencing. Welcome to our website!
This page & all pages at www.tafn.org.uk copyright The Accessible Friends Network and it's individual members 2003-2010. All rights reserved. TAFN is a UK Registered Charity No. 1108043. The majority of our activities take place via Accessible Private VoIP Conferencing. To contact T A F N please Email us. Or why not Find out even more about TAFN via this link.
Thanks for visiting!
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