World Braille Day

January 4th marks World Braille Day, with this date aiming to raise awareness about the importance of braille as a means of communication in the full realization of human rights for blind and visually impaired people.

 

This date was chosen because it was the birth of Louis Braille, the man who offered blind people a new way of seeing the world through a reading and writing system that makes life easier for blind people through touch. He managed to create an alphabet with different combinations of 1 to 6 points that spread throughout the world and is still used today as an official way of writing and reading for blind people.

 

According to data from the World Health Organization, it is estimated that there are 36 million blind people in the world and 216 million with moderate or severe visual impairment. The UN recalls that people with visual impairment are at greater risk of ending up in poverty: loss of vision can lead to a life of inequality, poor health and difficulty accessing education and work.