World Braille Day 4th January 2018: Braille and its effect on the lives of visually impaired individuals
Reading and writing is one of the most essential phenomena in the literacy world and its everyone’s right to be able to enjoy literature, and become remarkable writers and readers. Among all the celebrated events worldwide, WORLD BRAILLE DAY has been persistently highlighting the life and achievements of Louis Braille; each year on the 4th of January.
World Braille Day is commemorated annually with great enthusiasm as it is the birthday of Louis Braille, the blind Frenchman who invented Braille for providing assistance to visually impaired individuals. This invention allows visually impaired individuals to lead an independent life through learning and understanding of the Braille codes. Initially, the code was devised in 1821 by Louis Braille, for the provision of accessibility in learning skills, gaining equal opportunities, achieving goals, managing security and creating various opportunities for intellectual thinkers. Braille, in many ways, has had tremendous effects on the lives of visually impaired individuals across more than 120 countries.
Furthermore NGOs, governments and communities across the globe come together and celebrate by creating awareness and encouraging societies as well as businesses to support and create economic opportunities for visually impaired individuals.
BBC highlights the importance of Braille in today’s world:
“There has been a shift in the attitude of supermarkets and other key businesses”, says Pete Osborne, chief Braille officer at the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB).”Manufacturers don’t now say ‘it’d be really nice if we could do Braille’ they say we know we should, we need to know how.”
Braille has been around for 200 years and the use of Braille is seen as a vital tool as it is not a language but instead a code by which all languages can be read and written. “Braille is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired. It is traditionally written with embossed paper. Braille users can read computer screens and other electronic supports thanks to refreshable braille displays” (Wikipedia). Instead of having 26-letter system, Braille is a 6-cell dot system which represents each letter used in print materials. David Blunkett, British MP and former Home Secretary via BBC:
“It’s a slow medium. It’s necessary, I’m very grateful for it, but I would say that a reasonably fast print reader is twice as fast as I am,” but Blunkett urges people to learn Braille saying that even the best computer Braille displays and earpieces won’t help you do a presentation in the same way as having your information on paper in front of you”
As we look further into the world of visually impaired individuals and the importance of Braille in their life; we come across the effects of using Braille and how that has changed over time. As we speak of today’s accessibility landscape, we notice the presence of braille inside lifts, packaging on food products, medicines and fast food drive through. The use of Braille has advanced and allowed numerous businesses to evolve by understanding the need for creating platforms for visually impaired individuals, thus endorsing the criterion of equal opportunities for everyone. The evolution of Braille has advanced with time, as we are now more equipped with technology which has provided us with smartphones, computers and various software. Such devices have endorsed speakers and computer screen readers for visually impaired individuals, allowing them to learn quicker. We at ARISE Impact, firmly recognize the ever changing capacity of technological advancements as our audio-book modules are designed with reliable information making it experiential, personal and relatable, hence giving better opportunity for the visually impaired individuals to self-learn concepts for employability and have an introduction to the systematics of the workplace.
There are several organizations across the world, working for visually impaired individuals by teaching them how to use braille. These include: Albanian Blind Association, World Blind union, American Foundation for the Blind and so forth. These organizations work on creating platforms for visually impaired individuals and help them learn and prosper in their desired academic field. One of the great examples is late Ray Charles, a blind American musician who believed in success and was also referred as a GENIUS due to his achievements. He once quoted:
“Learning to read music in Braille and play by ear helped me develop a damn good memory.” This shows the power of Braille and the human mind. In fact, it doesn’t matter what our disabilities are, but hence its more about one’s intelligence and capability.
World Braille Day, in fact is a great reminder for all of us that nothing is impossible and that how number of codes have brought about vast changes into the lives of the visually impaired individuals. The right support from family and friends can be life changing as learning with your visually impaired friend or a family member will create mutual understanding towards the challenges faced plus working together is always a better approach. Let’s innovate together, and give others the opportunities to gain new skills.
For more audio-book information — please visit our website http://www.ariseimpact.org/ or contact us at contact@ariseimpact.org
Reference links:
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-16984742
https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/world/world-braille-day
