Every year, January 4 is observed as World Braille Day. The day is observed to create awareness about the importance of Braille for partially sighted people and blind.
What is Braille?
Braille is a tangible representation of numerical and alphabetic symbols using 6 dots to represent each number and letter and even scientific, musical, and mathematical symbols. Braille is widely used by partially sighted people and blind for reading. It has been named after its inventor- Louis Braille.
Background of World Braille Day
- First of all, it was in the year 2006 that the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was adopted.
- The convention was signed to address the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities.
- The Convention considered that Braille is essential for access to information, education, social inclusion, and freedom of expression and opinion.
- The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that was adopted in the year 2015 also pledged that no one should be left behind and it must be ensured that all human beings have fulfilling lives.
- Finally, in November 2018, the UN General Assembly decided to observe January 4 as World Braille Day. January 4 is the birthday of the inventor of Braille.
- The first World Braille Day was observed in the year 2019.
As per the World Health Organization, there are at least 1 billion people worldwide with near or distance vision impairment, and this vision impairment could have been prevented. Proper steps should be taken to provide braille to each and every people.