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There is no off list address for Claire, so I apologise for replying to you all: you would be very welcome at the London School of Economics and Political Science, Claire, on Thursday, November, 18th, if that fits in with other offers. When I started here, I was given a similar opportunity to visit disability services in USA and it has proved a very useful experience. Jean Jameson Adviser to Students with Disabilities/Dyslexia London School of Economics -----Original Message----- From: Discussion list for disabled students and their support staff. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of clair Sent: 27 October 2004 23:47 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Manchester, London, Bristol: A one-week visit mid November Six weeks ago when I joined this e-group, I sent a mail describing what we are attempting at the Middle East Technical university in Ankara. A month and a half ago, I didn't even dream of coming over to Britain, but today I found out that the British Council will sponsor me a visit to Britain to find out about good practice in terms of disability support at universities. I would have prefered something less rushed, with more time to plan. However, I am also being asked to research issues concerning disability rights campaigning, work which needs to be done in time for a nation-wide campaign in December. The only suitable time is the week of Eid: my flights are booked to arrive in Manchester on Saturday 13th November, returning from Manchester to Ankara on Sunday 21st. As I will only have the 5 working days 15th to 19th November, I will focus on 3 towns to minimise travel. I would like to know about disability support services that I can visit in MANCHESTER, LONDON and BRISTOL. The timetable will be tight as I will also have to visit other organisations (as yet to be specified by the British Council contact here in Ankara). Manchester will be either at the beginning 15th-16th, or at the end 18th-19th November. London will have to be in the middle of the week, either 16th-17th, or 17th-18th. The other day will be Bristol, either 15th or 19th November. What I would like to see: So far I have only read about such services on websites. A number of acronyms have little meaning. I can only imagine what the range of duties and responsibilities are. One point I need to know more about is registration, and another is needs assessment. For me this will be a major step in the development of our program in Turkey: for the first time I will be meeting people who are ahead of me: I will not need to convince you that the issues ARE important and CAN be delt with. Once I meet a number of people and am able to describe what we have been able to do so far, what we feel are issues and possible solutions, and listened to what has been happening in Britain, I am sure that some interesting ideas will emerge. Planning seems a little daunting at the moment; probably the first to say which date will be suitable will get confirmed, others having to fit in around that date. I do not expect to see as much as there is to see, but this will be a beginning. Things are now developing very quickly in Turkey, so this may be just a first visit. I look forward to hearing from you, and meeting some of you in 3 weeks from now. Claire Ozel, METU without Barriers, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey.