World Braille Day is celebrated on January 4, serving as a symbol of honor for the braille system that has helped educate the visually impaired for several decades.
Written by Vanshika Lohia | Edited by Amit Chaturvedi, Hindustan Time, New Delhi
January 4 of each year is internationally celebrated as World Braille Day to commemorate the birthday of French educator Louis Braille. Reading and writing are important foundations for a person’s educational development, however, the visually impaired face marked difficulties for these reasons.
Braille is a system created by Louis Braille, who used a sensory military code called nocturnal writing developed by Charles Barbier, to create words that a blind person can decipher by touching.
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Origin
Louis Braille went blind at the age of three after an incident involving a sewing awl. He accidentally stabbed himself in the eye while pricking leather with the awl. He lost his sight after the infection spread to both students.
Importance
– The braille system is included in the Convention on the Rights of Persons and Persons with Disabilities.
– There are Braille codes in 133 languages, according to the third edition of World Braille Usage.
– Although Braille is not a language, it is a system of tactile symbols, made up of raised dots organized in cells. This cell has a matrix of three rows and two columns.
– The UN website states: “World Braille Day, celebrated since 2019, is observed to raise awareness of the importance of braille as a means of communication in the full realization of the human rights of blind and visually impaired people. “
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