Come Sail with Us to New England
With Convention 2012 just around the corner, take time to make plans to attend the largest educational program and trade show for people with hearing loss.
All workshops, plenary sessions, exhibit hall, and social events will take place at the Rhode Island Convention Center which is connected by sky bridge to The Westin Providence. Located in the heart of downtown Providence, you’ll find plenty of restaurants, shopping, and points of interest. Start planning your trip to New England by reading about Providence.
The Westin Providence (host hotel)
One West Exchange Street
Providence, Rhode Island 02903
Rhode Island Convention Center (site of all Convention events and sessions)
One Sabin Street
Providence, Rhode Island 02903
Registration
Prior to registering you may wish to preview the preliminary schedule. A schedule of workshops along with descriptions of each is also available. In addition, you may view the registration packages available and what is included in each by opeing the registration form below.
Two easy ways to register:
Online
A brand new secure online registration is available now. The first step is to complete the New User Registration and create a User ID and Login; once you are logged in, select Convention Registration on the left menu.
Offline
Print the registration form and then either fax or mail the form with your payment.
Convention Highlights
Keynote Speaker Howard Weinstein
In the midst of his successful professional career, Howard Weinstein’s ten year-old daughter unexpectedly passed away. One week later, the company he worked for (and previously owned) laid him off. Howard tried to bounce back from the professional loss by creating a new company, but the event had changed his conception of business and his role in it.
Deciding to work abroad in the field of development, he took a volunteer position with the World University Service of Canada to work at Camp Hill Community Trust, a community for people with disabilities in Botswana. During his four years at Camp Hill, Howard implemented the startup company Godisa Technologies, where he employed persons with hearing loss and physical disabilities, primarily women, and trained them in job skills and also to increase their self-esteem and confidence through their work. Through Godisa, Howard produced three new products: a solar energy powered hearing aid, an analog solar charger, and a rechargeable battery. The innovation of these products won Godisa an International Design Award for the Best Product in Africa in 2005. Within three years, Godisa manufactured more than sixty thousand hearing aids and became financially sustainable. After four years in Botswana, Howard went to Brazil to replicate the business. Howard employs people who are deaf to manufacture hearing aids run on new solar-powered battery technology, freeing hearing aid users from the economic burden of buying regular zinc batteries at $1 per week. Through the broad distribution of these hearing aids, especially to children at a critical time in their development of speech and cognitive abilities, Howard will create new access to hearing aids and improved social integration for the largely excluded population of low-income people with hearing loss in the developing world.
Don’t miss this engaging and inspiring speaker at the Opening Session on Thursday, June 21, 2012.
Research Symposium
How the Brain Makes Sense of the World of Sound will be presented by medical professionals and researchers of Johns Hopkins University. Charles Limb, M.D., associate professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University will moderate as well as present on the topic of music perception. Other presenters include Amanda Lauer, Ph.D., Brad May, Ph.D., and Frank Lin, M.D., Ph.D. The symposium will take place Friday, June 22, 2012 from 9 a.m. – Noon.
Calling All Young Adults (ages 18-35)
Convention 2012 is a great way to meet other young adults with hearing loss, share experiences, and just have fun! This year’s offsite event, on Friday, June 22, will take you to McCoy Stadium for dinner and a PawSox game (the Pawtucket Red Sox team is the triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox). Please RSVP to nmacklin@hearingloss.org if you are registered for the Convention and plan to attend. More details about transportation will be forthcoming. This event has been made possible by the generosity of Starkey.
Abracadabra, the Friday Evening Banquet
Good food, good friends, and great entertainment are in store on Friday, June 22! Join us for a wonderful evening with award-winning magician George Saterial. George is the first and only magician in the world to receive magic's highest and most coveted honors, the "Gold Medal of Excellence," from the industry's foremost associations - the International Brotherhood of Magicians and the Society of American Magicians.
Be sure to select the Full Activity registration package which includes the banquet.
WaterFire on the River
Join us for this spectacular (and complimentary!) event in downtown Providence on Saturday, June 23, 2012. WaterFire is a multi-sensory art installation of more than 100 dancing bonfires that wind along the Providence River. This is like no event you’ve ever attended – be sure to RSVP on the online or printed registration!
Check this page often for updates about the events being planned as part of Convention 2012. And don’t forget to also check the Convention Blog and follow us on Twitter (@HLAA and @nmacklin; #HLAA2012).