Blog

July 31, 2017April 24, 2018

Essilor Canada Awards Scholarships to Students in QC and NB

Essilor Canada is proud to partner with opticianry programs across the country and to contribute to the training of future opticians at several levels. Thus, scholarships that encourage perseverance, excellence and entrepreneurial spirit, one of Essilor’s core values, are awarded to students who have demonstrated these qualities.

On May 2, 2017, Isabelle Bernier and Lauriane Gagné, students of the opticianry program at Cégep Garneau in Quebec City, each earned an Essilor Perseverance Scholarship during the evening organized by the Cégep Garneau Foundation. In order to be chosen, students had to be tenacious and persistent in their studies while meeting the following criteria: assiduous attendance at all courses, participation in class, constancy in the effort throughout the sessions, involvement in academic achievement, skill development and successful completion of courses.

Then, on June 23, Angela Savoie of Oulton College’s opticianry program in Moncton, New Brunswick, received the Essilor Scholarship to recognize her academic excellence in vision science and her ability to work as an effective team member while offering outstanding patient care.

Beyond the scholarships, Essilor Canada is involved with optical schools throughout the year with customized training, donation of high-tech equipment, lab visits and sponsorship of student activities.

From left to right :

Representative from Cégep Garneau; Isabelle Bernier – Scholarship recipient; Caroline Montreuil – Essilor Canada.

From left to right:

Representative from Cégep Garneau; Lauriane Gagné – Scolarship recipient; Caroline Montreuil – Essilor Canada.

From left to right :

Marion Ripley – Essilor Canada; Representative from Oulton College; Angela Savoie – Scolarship recipient.

Click HERE for full press release.

July 31, 2017April 24, 2018

Safilo and JCPenney Renew License for Liz Claiborne Eyewear

Safilo Group and JCPenney, one of the largest apparel and home furnishings retailers in the United States and Puerto Rico, announce the renewal of a five-year licensing agreement for the design, manufacturing and distribution of optical frames and sunglasses for the Liz Claiborne for women and Claiborne for men brands in the U.S. and Canada.

The renewal supports Safilo’s 2020 Strategic Plan, specifically in its objective of proportionally growing the optical segment relative to its sun segment in order to closely align the business with the market and growth opportunities. The Liz Claiborne and Claiborne brands are two of Safilo’s most sought after collections in the U.S., delivering a stable and healthy business.

The Liz Claiborne brand entered Safilo’s U.S. portfolio in 2003 with an optical license that was part of the Outlook Eyewear acquisition. This was followed by the sunwear collection. In 2004, the Claiborne ophthalmic collection was launched.

Click HERE for the full press release.

July 31, 2017April 24, 2018

Visique Expands with New Clinics Opening in the Greater Metropolitain Area

Quebec City, QC – Visique banner is already expanding and opening two new optometry clinics this week in the Metropolitain area. One situated in Brossard, at DIX30 and the other in Pointe-Claire.

These new clinics give Visique the opportunity to grow their network in more regions of Québec. « Visique is committed to provide the personal eye care and quality for their patients. By opening 2 new clinics, our brand is proving its importance in the Québec market, this confirmed by Dr. Frédéric Marchand, Optometrist and Vice-President of Visique in Québec. Both clinics at DIX30 and Pointe-Claire were specifically chosen to respond to patient demand in those regions. They can benefit by the advanced technology and sophisticated equipment to obtain precise diagnostic concerning their eye health. »

Visique will continue to grow across Québec, and more specifically a new clinic opening this fall in Lachenaie on the North Shore of Montreal.

Visique announced in June that it would regroup 45 clinics and 78 optometrists under one unified banner.

Click HERE for the full press release.

July 28, 2017April 24, 2018

The World Council of Optometry 90th Anniversary

2017 Marks World Council of Optometry’s (WCO) 90 Year Anniversary.

Honoured to be a founding partner of Optometry Giving Sight and represented on its global executive board, the World Council of Optometry (WCO) collectively represents over 200,000 optometrists in almost 60 countries through over 200 affiliates, associate, corporate and individual memberships across six world regions: Africa, Asia Pacific, Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, Latin America and North America.

Celebrating its 90-year anniversary in 2017, the WCO’s vision is of a world where optometry makes high quality eye health and vision care accessible to all people.

Recent and ongoing WCO activities include:

Collaborating with strategic partners including Optometry Giving Sight to advance the provision of eye and vision care worldwide. Working together, we have seen the launch of Our Children’s Vision (OCV), a worldwide initiative whose initial target is to provide eye care services to 50 million children by 2020.

Coordinating support by WCO members in response to various regulatory issues in Brazil, Colombia, France, India, Italy, Lebanon, Malawi, Mexico and others.
Continuing advocacy workshops in Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean region and India.
Developing optometry practitioner mapping to determine manpower and education needs.
Preparing to hold the 2nd World Congress of Optometry in September 2017 in Hyderabad, India, and hosting the second President’s Forum to enable wider engagement with the profession.

Click HERE for full press release.

July 27, 2017April 24, 2018

Dark Spots on Iris May Be Caused by Sun Exposure

In a study well-timed for summer, vision scientists have found that eye freckles (dark spots on the iris) are more frequently found in people with higher lifetime exposure to sunlight. While not malignant, eye freckles could indicate the presence or risk of sunlight-triggered eye diseases like cataract or macular degeneration.

The study was published in the journal Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science. Over 600 swimmers at public pools in Styria, Austria had their eyes examined for freckles and filled out a questionnaire that asked about their lifetime sun exposure and sun-protection habits.

The researchers found that the development of eye freckles correlated with increasing age, lifetime number of sunburns and a history of severe sunburns resulting in blisters. The results also showed that people with dark coloured eyes were less likely to have eye freckles, as well as those who maintained better sun protection habits like using sunscreen or covering up.

One unexpected finding was the uneven positioning of freckles on the eye. Freckles were most commonly found in the lower outer quadrant (away from the nose) of each eye. The researchers hypothesized this may be because the eyebrow and nose shield the upper and inner quadrants of the eye from the sun, lowering exposure and the risk of developing freckles.

“While we do not know the exact role of sunlight in several eye diseases, we now have a biomarker (iris freckles) indicating high amounts of chronic sunlight exposure,” says author Christoph Schwab, MD, ophthalmologist at the Medical University of Graz, Austria.

Read the original study here.