Every year on January 4th, World Braille Day serves as a reminder of the importance of accessibility and independence for blind and visually impaired people. Around 36 million people worldwide are blind. The number of people who have been diagnosed with blindness is expected to rise to 115 million by 2050. People who are blind or have severe vision impairments face numerous challenges throughout their lives. Navigating through life is a difficult task for blind people like crossing a street, education, daily routine chores, etc. But thanks to advanced technology and inventions like Braille. It is a system that allows blind people to read and even write letters. The system is made up of raised dots that form letters and words that can be read with the touch of a finger.
HISTORY
Braille was invented approximately 200 years ago. In 1824, Louise Braille invented the raised dot reading system.
Louise was born on January 4, 1809, in France, and lost his sight at the age of three due to an accident in his father's harness shop. After which he went on to the National Institute for Blind Children in Paris. There he met Charles Barbier, who taught the students about Night Writing, a dot-based communication system. Louise Braille invented a 6 dot fingertip reading system when he was only 15 years old, combining his knowledge of music and the inspiration of code communication.
Louis died in 1852, just two years before the Royal Institute for the Blind Youth in France implemented a braille curriculum. By 1916, blind students in the United States were being taught braille in schools.
The World Blind Union and its partner organisations commemorated the 200th anniversary of Louis Braille's birth in 2009. The event became known as World Braille Day. In 2018, the United Nations General Assembly declared January 4th as World Braille Day, making it an official UN observance as the fourth of January is Louis Braille's birthday. In 2019, the United Nations commemorated the first official World Braille Day.