Campaigning with RNIB Northern Ireland

Our campaigning work focuses on the key issues and barriers identified by blind and partially sighted people across Northern Ireland.

We work alongside blind and partially sighted people, engaging with key partners and stakeholders in raising awareness of sight loss, and placing related issues at the centre of public policy planning - believing that together we can bring about unprecedented societal change.

Manifestos

Please download and share #SeeMe #SeeDifferently our Manifesto for the 2023 Northern Ireland Local Council Elections.

Read and download our manifesto for Northern Ireland Assembly Elections 2022 in Word and PDF format by following the link below.

Community Engagement Report

Our Community Engagement report further outlines these key areas for action, including enabling independence, supporting community connections, enhancing public transport services, dispelling myths and misconceptions about the abilities of people with sight loss in work, and ensuring our town and city planning is truly inclusive.

Read our full Community Engagement Report. You can also read about some of our latest successes in Latest News from Northern Ireland.

End preventable sight loss

Regular visits to get your eyes checked are a must if you want to reduce your chances of sight loss.

A full eye health check does not merely assess your need for glasses or contact lenses but can detect serious eye conditions before you have realised that anything is wrong. We urge you to have your eyes checked at least once every two years up to the age of 60 and every year after that.

For many people, eye health checks are free of charge. We support demands for all charges to be dropped, but in the meantime, it is money well spent.

The All Party Group on Visual Impairment

The All Party Group on Visual Impairment is a cross-party group of MLAs which meets once a quarter at the Northern Ireland Assembly at Parliament Buildings at Stormont. This Group was set up in 2008 by RNIB NI, which acts as its secretariat.

Since then, the Group has gone from strength to strength, and its meetings are attended by a wide range of key stakeholders within the sight loss sector in Northern Ireland, including RNIB NI, Guide Dogs NI, The Albinism Fellowship, Angel Eyes, Jordanstown School for the Blind, the Inclusive Mobility and Transport Advisory Committee and the Campaigners' Active Network.

The All Party Group on Visual Impairment engages Ministers of the Northern Ireland Executive, civil servants and other key decision makers on issues relevant to blind and partially sighted people in Northern Ireland. It monitors the implementation of the Vision Strategy NI, a cross-sectoral initiative aimed at preventing sight loss and improving the lives of blind and partially sighted people in Northern Ireland.

The composition of the Group means that all five parties within the Northern Ireland Executive are represented, and indeed eight of the nine political parties at the Assembly are represented within the All Party Group.

The current membership of the Group stands at 18 MLAs – almost a fifth of the Assembly and therefore makes the All Party Group on Visual Impairment one of the most effective All Party Groups within the Assembly.

The Campaigners Active Network (CAN)

Our Campaigners Active Network (CAN) is a user-led network of people who are blind or partially sighted, and their allies.

CAN will enable the campaigning for real social change, and for its members to participate in constructive personal development opportunities.

CAN Membership

Membership of CAN is open to both blind and partially sighted people and to anyone who consider themselves to be allies of blind and partially sighted people.

Members of CAN will work with RNIB NI, along with other organisations, on campaign issues by expressing their views to politicians and other decision makers, sharing their experiences through media outlets and participating in consultations and other events.

CAN members have the opportunity of representing the network and wider constituency at the quarterly meetings of the NI Assembly All Party Group on Visual Impairment at which MLA's, RNIB NI and representatives of other organisations from the sight loss sector meet to discuss key issues of concern.

If you are interested in becoming involved in CAN or you just want more information you can contact us on 0303 123 9999 to find out where your nearest CAN group is based. If you don't wish to join a group, you can still sign up for CAN as an individual member and support us - it's up to you.

If you’re interested in supporting any of our campaigning work, please contact the NI Policy and Campaigns Team on [email protected] or get in touch via our Helpline on 0303 123 9999.