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World Braille Day 2024 – The United Nations General Assembly designated January 4th as World Braille Day to raise awareness about the significance of Braille as a communication tool. This day coincides with the birth anniversary of Louis Braille, the inventor of the Braille system for people with visual disabilities. Braille is a language that is used by individuals who are blind or have partial sight to read books and periodicals that are printed in a visual font.
World Braille Day 2024: Date
World Braille Day is celebrated every year on January 4 to commemorate the birth anniversary of Louis Braille, who was born on January 4, 1809, in Coupvray, France. Louis became blind by accident when he was 3 years old. But he was very keen to gain knowledge and became a student at the National Institute for Blind Youth in Paris. During his time in the institute, he got his inspiration to use embossed dots to represent letters after he watched a retired artillery officer in Napoleon’s army, demonstrate a note-taking system with dots to represent sounds. Louis founded the Braille code in 1824, in which the alphabetic and numerical symbols are started to represent using six dots. Today around the globe millions of blind and partially sighted people use this language/ code to read periodicals, magazines, musicals and all other writings.
What is Braille?
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Braille is a method of raised dots that can be read with the fingers by individuals who are sightless or who have low vision. Braille is not to be called a language. Instead, it is a code by which multiple languages such as English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese etc can be read through the method of dots or the coding that is specified there. Braille is utilized by thousands of individuals all over the world in their native languages and supplies literacy for all.
If you get an idea about how the alphabets in the Braille technique works, you will get an idea regarding the Braille sentences and how they are to be read. Given below is an example of a phrase and how it is being read through the braille method.
History of the Braille Day
To raise awareness of the braille as a means of communication in the full realization of the human rights for blind and partially sighted people, for last three years UN and various organizations are effectively using the birthday of Mr Louis Brailley. From 2019 onwards, the World Blind Organization, and the UN General Assembly celebrates January 04 a the World Braille Day. Braille is a tactile representation of alphabetic and numerical symbols using six dots to represent each letter and number. Braille is not a language, it’s just another way to read and write other languages, such as English, Italian French, etc.
Under the pandemic circumstances, even the fully healthy persons suffered, the struggle of blind and partially impaired individuals during this period is ineffable. Most of them spend the lockdown periods in isolation without anybody to communicate. To ease such difficulties UNDP and various organizations are publishing hundreds of books in various regions for blind people. Several organizations are also producing audio materials and other educational and entertaining materials too.
Click here to learn more about the Braille Code: BRAILLE TECHNOLOGY
Who is Louis Braille?
Louis Braille was born in France, on January 4, 1809. Braille was blinded at the age of three in an accident that happened when he was playing with instruments in his father’s tackle store. A tool fell and dropped into his right eye. Complete blindness was the result of that misfortune. However, he evolved as a unique musician and employed his excellence in evolving as an organist. He followed the National Institute for Blind Youth in Paris as a learner.
He issued a treatise on his classification scheme in 1829, and in 1837 he issued a three-volume Braille edition of a famous history schoolbook. At that moment, readers were made using raised print which was harsh to build, difficult to read, and hard for people to document. While following the Institute, Braille longed for better texts to read. He tested with methods to make an alphabet that was comfortable to read with the fingertips. The writing technique he invented, at fifteen, developed from the tactile “Ecriture Nocturne” code developed by Charles Barbier for transmitting military texts that could be read on the battlefield at night.
World Braille Day 2024 Theme
World Braille Day is a possibility to increase understanding of the problems affecting those who are visually damaged. The creation of braille has changed the lives of those with visual impairments, and it encourages similar possibilities. The theme of World Braille Day includes the idea of awareness for the issues that people with sight impairment face. Mostly, we are in a world where everything is looked upon with perfection. The people who suffer from the impairment are often struggling in silence. Thus, this day offers the wide opportunity for all to recognize their inner sight of kindness and promote their generosity to support a person with visual impairment.
World Braille Day 2024 Quotes
- Literacy is the priority, choose Braille and not a reason not to learn
- If you are blind and confused, choose Braille for a world ahead
- Not all visually impaired people are blind. They can read through their fingertips
- When your eyes is shut, the fingertips will be your eyes
- Lead the life with complete confidence, hold the braille strong for knowledge
- Being blind is never a reason to be away from discussion, take your braille and read out loud!
World Braille Day Celebration 2024
If you are wondering what can you do for World Braille Day 2024, here are some of the activities that you can do to make the day look better.
- You can build campaigns to ensure the awareness reaches everyone
- Most the people doesn’t know about the Braille method, so why don’t you teach them about it
- If you know well about Braille and see someone suffering without the knowledge of it, help them out on this World Braille Day
- You can let a shout out for the world to realize the importance of the day, why not post on the social media pages?
- Make sure you reach the experiences of people who are visually impaired. You can meet the people in person and help them share their experiences with the world
- You can raise money to help the visually impaired people on this day
World Braille Day Quiz 2024
- Who invented the code language for blind individuals?
- In Braille, how many dots are used to represent a single alphabet or digit?
- When did Louis invent the Braille Code?
- When did the UN observe its very first World Braille day?
