WORLD Sight Day 2008 will be celebrated with an open day at the Royal National College for the Blind (RNC) to raise awareness about how the college prepares people with visual impairment for the world of work, university and independent living.

The open evening will be held next Thursday from 6.30pm to 9pm, when visitors can learn how the college supports around 200 learners with a wide range of training programmes which include sports, recreation, massage and complementary therapies, business administration, customer services, ICT, art and design, music technology and performing arts.

There will also be an opportunity to see how phase one of the £21.5 million campus redevelopment is coming along.

The phase includes plans for a new student village, sports and complementary therapies centre, sports hall, hydrotherapy pool, sauna, Jacuzzi and gym which will be open to the local community groups next year.

World Sight Day is held annually by Vision 2020, which is a global initiative for the elimination of avoidable blindness launched jointly by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB).