Promoting Braille literacy on World Braille Day

January 4th is the birth date of Louis Braille, the inventor of Braille, and marks International Braille Day around the world. Braille literacy is a key to social and economic opportunity, and this year, the event holds particular significance as NCBI celebrates the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All.

Over 180 years ago, Louis Braille revolutionised the lives of people who are blind, deafblind and vision impaired, with his invention of a simple system of six raised dots. Used in various combinations, the six dots can be used to form letters of the alphabet, musical notations, chemistry symbols, numbers, and punctuation and can be read by touch or by sight.

Although technology has played a vital role in opening up communications and information for people with sight loss, braille has endured. In fact, computers have facilitated the expansion of braille, with the introduction of software and portable devices which have increased its accessibility.

Software programmes and portable electronic Braille note-takers allow users to save and edit their writing and have it displayed back to them either verbally or tactually. Other computer programmes transcribe Braille to print and vice versa.

“Braille is to the blind person what the printed word is to the sighted individual - access to information and contact with the outside world,” said, Des Kenny, Chief Executive of NCBI.

Des Kenny uses Braille daily in his working life. Having lost his sight at the age of nine, he combines the newest electronic technologies with the oldest reading for people who are blind.

“Technology has opened up many different worlds for people with sight loss but we must not forget more traditional technologies, like Braille, which still plays an essential role in the lives of people who are blind and vision impaired,” he continued.

Braille literacy is particularly important for children with sight loss, who may not learn to read or write if they rely solely on audio texts and computers.

“In this, the year of equal opportunities for all, it is essential that children with sight loss have the same opportunities to progress as their sighted counterparts. In order to do this, we must teach Braille and ensure that it is valued by parents, educators and children around the country,” Mr Kenny outlined.