World Braille Day is celebrated every year on January 4th because it is Louis Braille’s birthday, the inventor of Braille. Louis was born in 1809 in France. He became blind after a childhood accident, and he quickly mastered his new way of living. When he was just 15 years old, he created the system we know today as braille, based on a system of writing developed by Charles Barbier.
Braille is a code that uses bumps and indentation on a surface to represent letters, which can be recognized by touch.
People who do not know about the Braille language are tactile writing systems used by blind people. It is a worldly-recognised language which aims to simplify the daily lives of (visually impaired) people. Every year, the global community gathers and observes World Braille Day’s occasion to celebrate the Braille language and its significance world over.
HISTORY
The occasion of World Braille Day is observed to commemorate the birth anniversary of Louis Braille – the creator of the Braille language. It has a fascinating history, though.
The Braille language was first meant to be used for military purposes, and was developed by Charles Barbier. However, it had two significant drawbacks, which were identified by Louis Braille. Instead of using the 12-dot symbol, Braille advised using 6-dot symbol code. After a few modifications and additions, the expanded English system, named Grade-2 Braille, was completed in 1905.
In 1918, the United Nations (UN) conceptualised the idea of observing January 4 as World Braille Day. Hence, the first observance of World Braille Day took place in 2019. CBSE Introduces Sign Language ‘Braille’ As a Subject for Differently Abled Children.
Earlier…
Before Braille invented this form of communication, visually impaired people read and wrote using the Haüy system which embossed Latin letters on thick paper or leather. This was a complicated system that required much training and only allowed people to read, not write. Discouraged by this, Braille at the age of 15 invented the Braille code.
While there are now several different versions of Braille, Louis Braille’s code was arranged in small rectangular blocks called cells with raised dots in a 3 x 2 pattern. Each cell represented a letter, number or punctuation.
Since Braille is a code, all languages and even certain subjects like mathematics, music and computer programming can be read and written in braille.
Significance of World Braille Day
The Braille language is a boon for people who are visually impaired or have complete blindness. Observing the World Braille Day event on a global level emphasises how difficult people who cannot see correctly.
It also brings back the focus on how crucial the Braille language is for blind people to communicate with each other without any hindrance. Gujarat: Professor Makes Innovative Model to Convert Hindi, English, Gujarati Text to Braille.
The event of World Braille Day is observed under the tutelage of the United Nations (UN). All the member nations celebrate the event vehemently, and ensure that the World Braille Day is celebrated in letter and spirit.
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.
Celebrate Braille Literacy
World Braille Day is a reminder of the importance of accessibility and independence for those who are blind or visually-impaired. The reality is that many everyday establishments — restaurants, banks, hospitals — aren’t equipped with braille menus, statements or bills. That means people with blindness or a vision impairment aren’t given the freedom to choose their own dinner … or to keep their finances private.
World Braille Day spreads awareness about braille and other accessible forms of communication. Everyone deserves (and is legally entitled to) the same accommodations and service, regardless of ability.
Worldwide
World braille day is well-known because of the importance of braille as a means of communication for blind and visually impaired people. This day is celebrated for the awareness of braille’s work.
Moreover, we celebrate this day to know the problems faced by the blind and impaired people. Nut, it is a sad reality because many restaurants and banks aren’t equipped with braille menus and bills.
In addition to this, we celebrate this day to appreciates blind people and tell other people how much difficulty blind people face in their life.
It is important for children to celebrate the world braille system because it signifies inclusion and diversity. It may help out the children to become aware of the unique and amazing techniques made for impaired and blind people.
Furthermore, it helps them in gaining general knowledge about different people. This is also a good way to develop a thought of raising money for charity.
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) around the world use this day to create awareness about the challenges faced by visually impaired individuals and to encourage businesses and governments to create economic and social opportunities for the blind.
NGOs and disability organizations hold competitions and public outreach events. Teachers in schools teach the history of braille to their students.
