About The Barbados Council for the Disabled

The Barbados Council for the Disabled has a mandate to partner with all sectors of the community and International Agencies to effect change and champion the rights of all persons with disabilities, ensuring their full and effective integration into society. 

In its 46 years of existence, The Council has seen a number of successes. The major success has been the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by the Government of Barbados.  The ratification of this U.N. Convention means the Council is now armed with the necessary tools to pilot the required changes to the laws that would include services to persons with disabilities in Barbados.

About  Audiovisability

“The name ‘Audiovisability’ is derived from three separate words: ‘audio’ (sound/music), ‘vision’, and ‘ability’.  Generally, society perceives Deaf people as having an ‘audio disability’; however, Audiovisability highlights that Deaf people are able to listen to, appreciate, and interpret music, particularly through its inherently visual nature.

Audiovisability offers professional, mainstream platforms for often unseen, unheard deaf musicians and artists.  By offering unique opportunities for collaboration and a high quality, accessible platform, Audiovisability dispels the myth that deafness and music do not go together. Audiovisability believes in creating a voice of our world which creates a shift change, as we showcase our ways of seeing and perceiving the world – as a result we improve on audience engagement, innovation, rights and accessibility.  Visual arts often go hand in hand with music, here in Audiovisability - opening up skills-set, appeal, pushing new boundaries and storytelling which is directly related to our deaf-lives.

About DECIBELS

Decibels was founded as a charitable company limited by guarantee in April 2005 with the aim of promoting the education and training of children and young people with a variety of special needs and disabilities for the purpose of enabling them to learn, appreciate and enjoy sound, music, the arts and drama through the use of technology. It seeks to advance this work by providing facilities, equipment, research and a spirit of innovation and incorporating technological developments with a view to including young people in the community and the musical and artistic worlds.
Some of its projects have been: KidzAloud, Sign along with Music, Colour Music, Circle of Sound, Seeing Music, Hands on Shakespeare, The Week of Sound, Dressage, Art & Music Workshops, Challenges of creating music through Audiological Technology, Makey Makey & Playing Music together.

Decibels Mission Statement: "Empowering people with disabilities to access music, sound, arts, film and performance through the use of ICT". Decibels U.K. Registered Charity (No:1109004) & Company Limited by Guarantee (No:5301729)

About Peter & Jan Boos Family Foundation 

Peter and Jan Boos Family Foundation supports youth development, entrepreneurship, education, addiction treatment, environmental protection, arts & culture development, relief of poverty and support of various community and charitable causes that focus on Integral Human Development. Based in Barbados.

About SPECIALKIDZ

Specialkidz  promotes the education of children and young people with a variety of disabilities and/or difficulties for the purpose of enabling them to learn, appreciate and enjoy the skill of communication through the use of technology. It creates and establishes a spirit of innovation by incorporating technological developments into various aspects of accessibility and inclusive practice for those whom we want to educate and train. 

Specialkidz advances the above  by providing facilities, equipment and research with the view to building and maintaining the social networks of children and young people. It is now developing its International arm through the Calypso project. SpecialKidz is a UK Company Limited by Guarantee - Registered Company Number 07923265

The Maria Holder Memorial Trust

The Maria Holder Memorial Trust, registered Charity No. 766 under the Charities Act of Barbados, is a Charity creating longevity. Founded by Christopher Holder and Chesterfield Brewster in memory of Christopher’s Mother, Maria Holder. Maria had made Barbados her home since 1978 until her sudden and untimely death in February 2004. It is the wish of Christopher and Chesterfield to ensure that her vision is fulfilled through this Charity bearing her name.

The Trust works with Government and registered NGO’s and Charities in Barbados and some other Caribbean Countries (Antigua, BVI, Dominica, Grenada and St Vincent) to implement projects that have a direct impact on the lives of vulnerable people. The Trust works in the areas of Education, Health, Poverty Alleviation, Culture and Disaster Relief and its target groups are children, youth, the elderly and those in vulnerable or difficult circumstances.