World Braille Day (January 4) | What is the Braille System?

World Braille Day (January 4) What is the Braille System?

World Braille Day is celebrated on January 4 to recognize that people with visual impairments deserve the same standards of human rights as everyone else.

👉 World Braille Day 2024: To commemorate the birth of Louis Braille, the inventor of Braille, January 4 is marked as World Braille Day. The day also recognizes that visually impaired people should have the same access to human rights as everyone else.

👉 What is the Braille System?

In the tactile writing system known as Braille, each letter of the alphabet and each number are represented by six dots. Additionally, dots stand for mathematical, scientific and musical symbols.

Blind or partially sighted people can read and write using this system. They are able to read books with visual fonts using Braille.

👉 Contribution of Louis Braille to Braille's system

Louis Braille was born in France in 1809 and became blind at the age of three. He went on to develop a tactile reading and writing system at just 15 years old, inspired by Charles Barbier's night writing code. Braille's system, using raised dots to represent letters and numbers, revolutionized communication for blind people.

👉 World Braille Day 2024: Theme

Each year has a specific theme focusing on different aspects of braille. This year's theme is "Braille Literacy for All."

👉 World Braille Day 2024: History

January 4, 2024, has been designated as World Braille Day to recognize the importance of Braille as a form of communication and to promote the full realization of human rights for those who are partially sighted or blind. The United Nations General Assembly declared 4 January as World Braille Day in November 2018. The following year, World Braille Day was commemorated and recognized as a global holiday for the first time.

The UN noted: "In November 2018 (Resolution A/RES/73/161), the General Assembly decided to declare 4 January as World Braille Day, recognizing that the full realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms depends on an inclusive written dissemination."

The UNGA (United Nations General Assembly) chose the day to celebrate in a declaration, which is also Louis Braille's birthday. When Louis Braille was a young child, he accidentally stabbed himself in the eye with his father's owl, causing him to lose his sight. He spent time at the Royal Institute for Blind Youth in France at the age of 10, where he developed and perfected the raised-dot system that eventually became known as Braille. Unfortunately, Braille did not see the usefulness of his creation. He died in 1852, two years before the Royal Institute began teaching Braille.

👉 World Braille Day 2024: Significance

Braille has gradually gained acceptance as the primary written information format for the blind around the world. The purpose of the day is to understand the value of Braille as a communication tool and to promote the full realization of human rights for those who are blind or partially sighted.

According to a World Health Organization report, the visually impaired have higher rates of poverty and endure lifelong inequality. According to reports, the matter has become more serious since the pandemic.

World Braille Day provides an opportunity to promote conversation about disability rights laws, and the prevention, detection and treatment of eye diseases. The challenges that blind and partially sighted people face every day are also highlighted through World Braille Day. Braille Day also draws attention to the neglect of the blind by the authorities.

Today, World Braille Day not only pays tribute to Louis Braille, but also serves as a platform to raise awareness about the important role Braille plays in the lives of the visually impaired. Events, workshops and educational initiatives are held around the world to promote Braille literacy and inclusion.

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