Members of Ngati Kapo o Aotearoa - the Maori blind society of New Zealand - are celebrating the organisation's 30th anniversary this week.
The society's three-day biennial conference in south Auckland starts on Friday morning and will be opened by Associate Health Minister Tariana Turia.
Ngati Kapo tumuaki, or executive officer, Chrissie Cowan says there have been some massive technological improvements in the past 30 years which have enhanced members' lives, and the conference will focus on the next 20 years.
The hui is special because it celebrates three decades of Ngati Kapo, Ms Cowan says.
She hopes the conference will generate more conversations among members about learning what's happening in the wider visually impaired and blind community, she says.
But, above all, it is about acknowledging how Ngati Kapo has allowed Maori blind people to become deinstitutionalised and live among their whanau.
