The Night of the Eyes of the world commemorates 25 years of fighting avoidable vision loss by inviting people to remove the blindfold from their eyes

The Eyes of the world Foundation held a new edition of the Night of the Eyes of the world on Wednesday 21 October. The fundraising evening at the Gran Teatre del Liceu brought together around 200 people to commemorate the organisation’s 25 years of work and reaffirm the fight against avoidable vision loss and in favour of the universal right to sight.

Under the slogan “We remove the blindfold from our eyes to raise awareness of avoidable vision loss”, the event invited attendees to symbolically put themselves in the shoes of those who experience it, giving each person a foulard with which they could, for a few minutes, experience what it would mean to lose their sight.

The evening, chaired by the Rt Hon Josep Rull, President of the Parliament of Catalonia, was hosted by journalist Xavier Grasset and actress Àgata Roca, and featured performances by Serena Sáenz, accompanied on the piano by Vanessa García. The artist was introduced by conductor Antoni Ros Marbà.

Serena Sáenz and Vanessa García performed O mio babbino caro by Giacomo Puccini while the guests covered their eyes with the foulards.

Since its creation in 2001, following the trip made by its founders Rafael Ribó and Borja Corcóstegui to the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf (Algeria), Eyes of the world has worked to ensure that eye health becomes a reality in contexts where resources are more limited.

The Night of the Eyes of the world was not only a journey into the past, but also an opportunity to remember that there are still 1.1 billion people worldwide living with avoidable or unaddressed vision loss, even though 90% of cases could be prevented or treated through accessible interventions such as the provision of spectacles or cataract surgery.

The event highlighted that the fight against avoidable vision loss remains essential and that the Foundation’s commitment is based on continuing to support the territories where it works so that local people increasingly take on a leading role and greater responsibility in guaranteeing the right to eye health.

With this celebration, Eyes of the world looks back to acknowledge the journey it has made, but, above all, looks ahead with the intention of continuing to work to guarantee the universal right to sight and to ensure that no one is excluded because of an avoidable cause.

As President Rafael Ribó said during his toast, quoting photographer Robert Capa, “if your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough”. A reflection that connects with the spirit of Eyes of the world: we must get closer to reality in order to understand it and fight injustice. We remove the blindfold from our eyes not to observe problems from a distance, but to become involved in the difficulties that millions of people still face in accessing the right to eye health.